Short, thick sleeping pads

I'm 5'8" and use the neoair Xlite 47". I put my pack under my feet and don't find it to be an issue. I'm happy with the pad.

has a pad that tapers in height from the top to the bottom. very nice feature. i tried it out and loved the height, but needed more length. lots of people also put their empty packs under their legs to compensate for height and warmth.

http://gossamergear.com/sleeping/air-beam-sleepers.html

WIDE – 28" Wide tapering to 19" X 56" Long X 2.5" tapering to 1.5" in height 13.9 oz

A ThermaRest ProLite small is good enough for me most of the time. It's thin enough that my empty pack and cutdown ZLite sitpad works great with it.
Below freezing, I switch to a thick inflatable, though, and want full-length. I like my feet at least level, preferably raised a little, when I sleep. Hard to make that happen with a short thick pad.
Besides, you mentioned the Downmat, which implies low temps. I used to use a short pad year-round, and always had to wear extra socks, wrap a fleece around my feet, etc. when it got cold. That went away when I switched to an insulated full length pad.

I have a Klymit x frame. I also have a torso ridgerest solar, I might bring one, or both pads. I really like them. I hate thick short (air pads though) because the drop off is too much.

I use my short xlite for most warm weather trips.

I don't mind the drop, as much as the narrowness at the bottom. It takes effort to stay on if not on back. I have a piece of ccf sitpad I use for lower legs.

Is a full length more comfortable? Hell yes.

Thanks everybody for the replies!

I'm not sure if I can get used to the backpack-for-the-feet solution. So far, I have always hated to (partially) unpack my pack, so that it is reasonably flat and even. And even then, tossing and turning a lot, I didn't really like that option.

Owen, you quite correctly assumed that I'm looking into these pads rather for cold weather – for anything else I'm very happy w/ my TAR Prolite S. But shouldn't a EVA pad be enough in terms of insulation for the feet/lower legs even in colder temperatures?
I'm reluctant to buy a full length downmat because they're really heavy and if it fails I'm pretty screwed. Whereas a torsopad+eva combo would leave a bigger margin of error.

M B, do you deem the full length pad more comfortable mainly because of the rolling-off problem or also in terms of the gap? You said you didn't mind the gap.

Does anybody else use a combination of thick torsolength pad and eva pad for the length? How happy are you with that?

Hard to say, but the combo of really narrow + drop = not as comfortable as full length. I sleep more soundly on my full length xlite, or prolite plus. I sleep somewhat fitfully on my short xlite, a little better on a short prolite plus. However, its good enough most of the time. I toss and turn a lot, and find myself working to stay on the short xlite. But for 7.6 oz, its hard to beat.

That said , I keep top of xlite short around my shoulders, so that the length seems longer, almost to knees. My head goes on clothes sack with spare items, mostly on top of shoes, the tips of which are under the pad. If I have my head on the pad, it ends at mid thigh, and isn't as comfortable to me.

I've found the groundsheet to be fine for lower legs but not so much for knees. Drop off is not so much as pad will collapse at bottom. 3/4 length is more liveable for me than 1/2 or even full length if tapered.

Putting your feet on your backpack doesn't work if your backpack is wet. Then you are going to get your sleeping bag all wet.