Considering switching to a 25 inch wide pad – advice needed

I have gone back and forth a handful of times over the years. I’m currently carrying a “small” sea to summit UL insulated pad and find it checks a lot of boxes that are important to me (reasonably light, reliably warm, easy/fast inflation, durable). The small size is kind of mislabeled, it’s actually about 60” long. Also, it’s not super thick, which has made the ~21” width less of an issue.

The biggest issue I have had with wider pads (aside from the weight) is the amount of effort required to inflate them. I’m not interested in having to carry a pump sack when I hike, and as silly as it sounds – that task is just one of those rituals of setting up camp that I hate.

Thanks Jason.

I’ll add I carry the exped schnozel bag which easily inflate my pad and serves as a dry bag to protect my sleeping bag.

I use a 25.  I’ve used 20’s in the past, and they just aren’t comfortable enough for me; I’m not an especially large ape, but if I’m on my back I feel like I have to stay perfectly rigid and straight in order to stay on the pad; any sideways movement, and I’m on the ground.  If I’m sleeping on my side on a 20″, my knees or elbows or butt or all three can end up hanging off the pad…but the 25″ basically solves all of those issues for me.  Given the choice, I’ll always go with a wider pad; if there was a 28″ available, I’d be all over it in an instant…but I also don’t even try to slice weight from my sleep system, so that’s the trade-off.

I switched years ago. I have fairly wide shoulders, and I am a rotisserie sleeper. The wider pad makes it less likely that I will end up off of it when I roll over, and if I lie on my back my arms end up on the pad rather than drooping off the edges. I have no interest in going back to a narrow pad. I have neoairs in uber-lite , the regular light, and x-therm. They’ve all been great.

For “ rollers” a 25 in pad makes a Big difference..

if the uberlite doesn’t work for you, EXPED makes some nice lite – wide-mummy pads that help bring the weight down.

After switching to 25 inch wide pad, i would NEVER go back to anything less. As Monte said, if they created a 28 inch, I would buy 6 of them! I easily save weight somewhere else,  so thats not an issue for me.

I kick myself over how many years I resisted getting a long/wide pad because it weighed a couple ounces more.  Yes, it takes more to inflate it, but I too use a schnozzle as a pack liner so it takes one extra bag inflation.  I recently moved from the TAR XLite L/W mummy to a Nemo UL insulated Tensor rectangular and would buy that again.  Very happy with it.

I only had the Thermarest NeoAir Xlite regular for years, and was also using the GG 1/8″ pad under it for the reasons you mentioned.  I got an Exped mummy shaped regular wide here on gear trade and never looked back.  I got the Snozzle and used it for both Exped and if I wanted to shave a few oz and use the Xlite.  When my son needed a new pad, I gave him the Exped and just got a Nemo Tensor regular wide insulated for me.  I have only used it once, but I think it’s the best pad I ever tried.  It’s rectangular and warm and comfy.  It came with it’s own inflator sack, which isn’t as good as the Snozzle, but it’s lighter.  I may still use that noisy and thin Xlite if I’m really cutting every gram for a given trip, but the new wider pads are more comfortable, either because they are wider or because they are better, or probably both.

I started another thread looking for a wider 25″ under-pad-pad.  MLD has a 80 x 40″ in stock for $42, which is wider than I want, and they won’t customize it since it would just be scrap for them.  Others sell the same, but don’t have stock.  I might get it eventually – can’t decide myself if it’s needed in a tent or bivy.   The 19-20″ wide x I think 60″ long GG pad would still cover a lot.  For car camping a Thermarest RidgeRest Large would be 25 x 77″ and more insulating, but I’m hesitant to take that on a backpack along with the inflatable.

sounds like a lot of 25 inch fans. I am going to try one out though in mummy to offset weight gain – likely exped ultra 3r. If I like it I’ll buy an MLD 80×40 foam pad and cut to size.

I switched to a wide and long pad a long time ago, and like others have stated, I’d never go back.   I am 5’9″ 165lbs and just like all the room.  For the weight of a protein bar I get much better sleep and reduced drafts using my quilt as a side benefit.

I use a 25″ pad.  I sleep on my back and found that with narrow pads, my elbows would drop off the edge and found it uncomfortable.

For the weight of a protein bar I get much better sleep

This.  Perfect summary.  Don’t weight-shave yourself out of better sleep; it’s the best performance and endurance enhancer in existence…so for the weight of one protein bar, you gain the ability to carry far more than that small amount, and for far longer.

I switched to 25 and will never go back. I’m about 5’11”, 170, athletic build. I used to carry two sections of closed cell to put underneath my elbows on the 20. That’s passable, until your body decides to roll onto its side – boom – awake.

I bought the 25 Nemo Tensor and use the 2.2 oz inflation bag (am investigating swapping for an inflation bag which doubles as a stuff sack). The Tensor Wide weights 18.25 oz.

The switch to 25 is probably the single biggest change in weight I now won’t compromise on. I’ll pull floss out of its plastic case before I go back to 20.

When you lay on top of the Tensor, the reflective material in it begins sending out its soothing warmth. It is significantly more comfortable than anything else I’ve ever used.

Mark

I too am a wide pad fan.  6’2″ / 185 lbs.  I can lie on my back and arms are on the pad.  I can roll and not fall off.  As others have said, the much better sleep is worth the couple ounces.  I don’t use a thin pad underneath and haven’t had puncture problems since moving from AZ and not backpacking the Superstition Wilderness (even then only a couple times did I get a leak).

I would not go back to a narrow pad.

I am also a fan of the extra long pads.  Again, comfort and better sleep.  Yes, I’ve used a half-length pad with my pack under my legs, but wouldn’t go back to that.

My pre-lightweight kit weighed north of 50 lbs.  My lightest kit, just under 14 lbs.  Now I happily carry about 16 lbs, which includes the long/wide pad and an umbrella.  A couple of creature comforts well worth my carry.

IMO, the proliferation of high volume 2.5″+ pad thickness goes hand in hand with a desire for more width.

I much prefer the thinner ProLite generation of foam filled pads and find 20″ is perfect, even in winter.

Interesting counter take…so is the idea that if you have a 2 inch thick pad or less your arms “falling off” to the side is less jarring?

For me, it’s the awkward angle of the arms.

Interesting counter take…so is the idea that if you have a 2 inch thick pad or less your arms “falling off” to the side is less jarring?

That’s what I was reading; that, or taller pads needing to be wider in order for sleepers to remain stable.  In either case, I would disagree; I was not happy with the old 1″-thick foam pads that were 20″ wide.  I had the exact same issues with those as I do with a newer, thicker pad.

Also, to back up a bit: I’m not a mummy-pad fan, either.  I like to tuck elbows and wrists out and underneath my head, so those upper rectangular corners come in handy.  Same goes for my feet, when I spread out in one direction or another.

🎶 Slept on every kind of rig that’s ever been made
Traveled the back trails so I wouldn’t get weighed 🎶
With apologies to Lowell George …

… and not entirely accurate in my case, but close enough.

I’m finally sleeping well on a 3 x 25 x 72-inch R-4.8 inflatable pad, ain’t never goin back.

Spent decades on thinner, colder 20-inch pads in various shapes and lengths. But when I finally went thick enough to be warm AND almost comfortable, my arms started falling off the sides. Grrr. Triggered Yet Another Sleeping Pad Upgrade (YASPU).

Like many others, rectangular pads rule for rotisserie sleepers! Several extra ounces are totally worth a good night’s sleep.

No problems with punctures, but I avoid puncture-prone surfaces. Consider a right-sized Tyvek ground sheet, probably tough enough, lighter than a foam pad, much easier to stow, and relatively cheap.

So many ways to inflate, from lots of huffing and puffing, to modified trash bags, to special pump sacks, to my current favorite – a lightweight battery powered air pump.

Besides – don’t all good stories involve pirates batteries? :-)

— Rex

I have many personal comfort reasons to prefer foam filled max 1.5″ pads at 20″, but whatever, right? Those pads are close to dead to most backpackers. Give it a generation and they will be forgotten.

But here:

– Most extraneous soft goods will fold to thin pad thickness easily to extend the width where needed, like elbows.

– Torso sized thin pads will be equal thickness to the pack used to extend the length.

– Sitting up on thick pads displaces all the air under your butt. Sitting on the pad is common in winter.

– Foam filled pads don’t give off that free falling vibe at the edges.

– No thin pads are crinkly

– Some folks like inflation bags, but you don’t need them with foam filled pads

– A ProLite Plus with 3/8″ CCF under gets me to neg 5 or so, with puncture insurance. 800g

– And finally, but not least: My sleep, not yours, is most restful and regenerative on a ProLite. I have 9 pads currently, so I speak from experience.

My sleep, not yours, is most restful and regenerative on a ProLite.

And that’s what’s important.  I tried a ProLite and a couple of other pads for a few nights a few weeks back; each offered some of the worst sleep I’ve gotten in the outdoors, lately.  I went back to my poofy XTherm and then wondered why I ever thought about a different option.  It’s all about what works for the individual, and there’s no inherently right or wrong answer.

Also: when I sit on an inflated pad, I usually let a bit of air out of it and double it over.  I’m pretty sure that I’m not supposed to do that, but it’s comfy AF.  Haven’t destroyed one yet, but I’m probably doing them no favors.

@nunatak said:  “IMO, the proliferation of high volume 2.5″+ pad thickness goes hand in hand with a desire for more width.”

Very likely true, but the old 1.5″ thermarest style pads do not offer enough cushion for my hip bones (and those of many side or rotisserie sleepers) while the thicker neoair style mattresses do.  But with the thickness comes the need to keep 100% of the body that high, hence the long and wide mattresses.

But in the end, whatever let’s you sleep.  I slept on a 3/4 length 1/2″ ensolite pad from the time I entered Boy Scouts until my mid 20’s.  Then it was on to a themarest and then the thermarest plus the closed cell foam pad.   As I age I seem to want more cushion.  For those who still get by with less, do it.

Years ago I used an AT hiker hack of taking a Xlite long and hacking down into a 25″x72″ pad. Finally, great sleep satisfaction for its 2.5″ thickness. Then I tried a friend’s Nemo Tensor and was sold on 3″ thick, 25″ wide. Then Expeds new pad the U 3R was even more comfortable. With the new 3″ Xlite and Big Agnes new pads on the way, ground sleeping is now in a golden age along with UL packs, quilts and UL shelters. Cool stuff for all (but it is not cheap….).

Ha, yea I too chopped a long Neo air and cutting it down to 66×25. Little short if on my back but fine on my  side. 14.8 oz. My old orange thermarest self inflating has a big bubble now but I put hundreds of nights happily on it. Don’t know how I’d like the Prolite but I’ve thought about it. I think if I’m tired enough it wouldn’t matter. You want everything to be like home at the start of trips but then eventually you don’t care.