Big Agnes AXL pads. Anyone buy one yet? Spec vs actual weight?

Yes it’s light – but Big Agnes doesn’t seem to publish an R value. This seems very strange for such an expensive branded product.

Makes you wonder what they are hiding.

Easy to beat Thermarest and Exped for weight if all you’re doing is skimping on the insulation.

Something doesn’t feel right here…

My Reg/Wide insulated weighs 15.0 ounces (no stuff sack).  I am in a similar position as others having the Exped Schnozzel pump bag and wanting to use it with the BA AXL.  I have a friend that has a 3-D printer and we successfully came up with the following:

Link to Gear Deals:  ADAPTER

Weldon,

are you going to sell these by any chance? I’d be interested. Or can you send the file. I have access to a 3D printer. I’d rather by one though.

Hey Don,

I’ll get this listed on Gear Deals later tonight, but will send you a DM shortly, thanks!

I’m in for a couple (I lose stuff). I’ll keep an eye on the deals page. Take my money Weldon!

Hey Richie – PM sent

I tried using my non-insulated mummy AXL this weekend. It inflated fine with the Pumphouse in my living room.

We were car camping with my son’s scout troop, so I brought options to try out, including my usual sleeping pad.

I tried inflating the AXL in the tent, but somehow the piece that allows it to be a 1 way valve was gone. I think it might have fallen into the pad.

I didn’t weigh it yet, but it’s going back to REI today. Poor design, IMHO.

“Yes it’s light – but Big Agnes doesn’t seem to publish an R value. This seems very strange for such an expensive branded product.

Makes you wonder what they are hiding”

On the contrary:

Since there is no industry consensus on how to measure and publish R value for sleeping pads, I believe Big Agnes is actually being more honest then their competitors. If I recall, R value information started showing up on sleeping pad specs in the early 2000’s. As far as I’m concerned, it’s been waaay to long for the manufactures to come together on this. Before then, 90% of pads were either closed celled foam, open celled foam + air, or d.a.m.. Those configurations are generally more predicable to measure than the air only mattresses which dominate the market now.

The building industry is held to very strict standards on how to measure and publish R-values. If they don’t comply, they get forced to cease and desist, or get sued by the FTC.  It’s probably about time that the sleeping pad folks step up and do the same. It is not out of the realm of possibility that a suit could be filed against a company for false advertising, when someone either gets hypothermia or dies due to a false dependency on R-value information…

Especially in the litigious society that we live in nowadays…

Which may have been the case Matt, were they not so obviously ‘inflating’ the degree of warmth that their mats provide. Personally I was ok with that as I wasn’t expecting a pad of that weight to keep me warm at 15 degrees.

My AXL insulated mummy arrived today. I tested it at home briefly (alas, no nap) and found it to be quite comfortable and not particularly noisy. It did, however, require a full 20 breaths to inflate, which is something to consider for use at elevation.

On my scale, it weighs 321g pad only/335g with stuff sack and repair kit. So that’s around a 6% variation from the published specs. I can personally live with that since the pad itself seems functionally excellent.

It is unfortunate that Big Agnes and another of my favorite companies, Nemo, don’t publish R-values.  And Matt Dirksen, you are correct:  there is presently no standard testing methodology for rating sleeping pad warmth. When R-values are assigned to a given pad, that might actually create an unwarranted sense of confidence on the part of the consumer.

That may be changing, though.  I heard a couple of outdoor vendors last week mention that several of the big manufacturers are collaborating on developing a testing protocol that will do for sleeping pads what EN 13537 has done for sleeping bags, namely create a level playing field when it comes to warmth.  It might be another year or two, but I think the vendors recognize that confusion in the marketplace is not really helping anyone.  It will be interesting to see how ratings change when standards are developed!

So I finally got out with my BA non-insulated AXL this weekend (just got home). The good news is that it’s very light and comfortable, the other news is, I was cold! I’ve never been cold before on a 55-60deg night. I was using a quilt I’ve used plenty of times in these conditions. I woke up several times during the night feeling cold, specifically at my hip or shoulder. It definitely felt cold coming through the pad.

What is supposed to make this pad comfortable down to 30deg? I felt like I was laying on a pool toy.

“I felt like I was laying on a pool toy.”

Technically speaking, that’s all it is – although I’d hope it’s a little more durable. I got one, and have only been using it with a 1/8″ ccf pad over top of it. In that situation it’s worked “just fine” on the two trips I’ve been on. (I really only got it for comfort, not insulation. I do find it more comfy & quiet  than the xLite.) If I were to be using it for cold weather, I’d sandwich it between two ccf pads at a minimum.

Matt, I understand what your saying. I’ve been thinking about the 1/8 ccf pad addition, but I already have enough trouble staying on 1 pad through the night and, adding even the little bit of weight from the1/8 pad seems to go against the expense (and reason for buying) of the AXL pad.

I’m undecided about returning the pad, but really? Cold from the ground on a 55deg night? I could have laid on top of 190 $1 dollar bills and been warmer !

I wouldn’t use an uninsulated one on its own at all.

I picked up the adapters from Weldon and they work great is anyone is thinking of getting one to use with the exped schnoz’.

I think I’m going to be returning my insulated AXL.

Had a chance to use it tonight in low40s/upper30s and was miserable all night. My 20* UGQ Bandit kept the top part of my body warm, but anywhere I was making contact w/ the pad was very cold. Was hardly able to sleep all night.

It’s a shame because the pad is otherwise extremely comfortable.