Padology – brain download from upcoming book.

I think the issue was just writing: “Sometimes a book isn’t needed.” That’s not constructive, and it reads more like someone being an ass, but that’s always the problem with comments: they lack any kind of tone. I thought my reply was funny, as I imagined it was someone like Steven Wright on the other end of the line.

A lot of well written words. Not very useful. Are you happy?

I appreciate the clarification, although I don’t know why you’re trying to take me on with that second sentence.  Sure, I’ve disagreed with your perspective and actions, but I’ve been polite in doing so.

I think the issue was just writing: “Sometimes a book isn’t needed.” That’s not constructive, and it reads more like someone being an ass, but that’s always the problem with comments: they lack any kind of tone.

Agreed; it’s hard to read tonality into forum comments.  I didn’t find that particular comment to be overly ass-ish, but it did feel more negative than constructive.

Personally, I’m quite hurt that nobody responded to my own comment on the necessity of books…but if one hasn’t read the book I mentioned, they wouldn’t get the joke. 😉

I thought my reply was funny, as I imagined it was someone like Steven Wright on the other end of the line.

It was good one-liner, for sure.  Maybe a bit at the other guy’s expense, but given your intended tone and the existing dialogue, not unreasonably so…and compared to the ensuing discourse, it was rather tame.

On that note, I think it would be helpful to simply move on from the non-helpful.  So…Andrew: what exactly are you looking for in terms of further feedback or critique?  Talking with an author before they put out a book is a rare opportunity on both sides; it should be maximized.

At first I didn’t read this because it was tldr and/or AI generated

But after the comments, I got curious and read it, sort of skimmed it at places.  I thought it had some good info.

I have had 4 prolites over several decades. Before that I had a guidelite, but it weighs 2 pounds.  Hmmm… I wonder if I still have that…  Then, three prolites delaminated.  I threw a sharp rock at the last one and split it open.  I just got a trail prolite which is 2 inches thick, and 24 ounces.  The first prolite was 16 ounces.  I’ve just used the trailprolite a few times but it seems to be more comfortable, although I don’t like the extra 8 ounces.  I got an uberlite, but I don’t really like it because I feel tippy on top of it.  All the prolites have been much better.

One thing I’ve noticed is that when I sleep on snow I need a much warmer pad.  The temperature of the top of the snow is 32F.  If I sleep on duff, the surface can be 60F – it gets warmed up by my body over the course of the night.  The duff has a lot of insulation.  If I sleep on rock, it’ll be maybe 50F – there’s still insulation in the rock.  And thermal mass so it takes a while before it warms up.

When I slit open my prolite, I just slept on it deflated.  Some warmth.  Plus, I was on duff which had some warmth in it.  No need for any backup.

Then, I remembered I had some tenacious tape and that sealed the slit up nicely.  Except there was still a slow leak.  I thought maybe the tenacious tape was leaking so I then tried seamgrip, which did the same as the tenacious tape, still a slow leak.  I could not find where that slow leak was coming from.  I sprayed soapy water on it and looked for bubbles.

One time I found a leak by submerging it and finding bubbles.  I put a dot of seamgrip on the place the bubbles were coming from and then it was good.  I should find a swimming pool to try this with my new slow leak.  When you submerge it, you put a lot of pressure on it to keep it submerged, which produces a lot of air pressure, so there are bubbles.

Your article is more pointed to mountaineers, which is sort of niche.  There are many more of us lazy people that just hike around at lower elevation.

I have slept on climbing gear before, like a rope, but it was not comfortable.

Good read. Here are my comments:

In the instructions for patching an inflatable pad, silnylon is suggested as a patch material. It won’t work, the PU based glues like aquaseal don’t stick to silnylon. It should be replaced with “coated nylon” or better “PU-coated nylon”.

Using the abbreviation SIP / self-inflatable pads for all inflatable pads seems like a weird choice nowadays. The actual self-inflatable ones are now just a niche, especially in applications where the weight matters.

Great points.

Although no pad has ever truly been self-inflating, all such pads inflate a little, making it seem like a good distinction between a ‘blow-up’ mattress or ‘air bed’. Because this style of pad always has a lofting core, “core pad” would be a more precise term. You should refer to all EVA pads as “cellular pads” since not all are made of EVA.  But I think most people understand what self-inflating pads are now, and by pandering to the few, you’d probably just confuse the many.

I’ll dig deeper into patches, and I’ve lumped in all lightweight fabrics under the heading of silnylon, which is a critical error.

This was exactly the kind of high-value feedback I was looking for. Thanks.

Try AI. It’ll correct your mistakes.

A couple of high-level things stand out to me, and to my two housemates – both relatively new to backpacking/climbing – that I asked to read this:

• The acronyms can get a little confusing, even if you know exactly what they mean.  In a couple of sections they tend to dominate the text and make it a bit harder to follow.
• It might help to throw in some trade names or commercial examples earlier in the description.  Both of my housemates said “EVA?  Is that, like, one of those flat pads?” and I had to stop and think for a second in order to explain it to them.  Gear-nerdy sections are great, as long as the non-nerds still have an entry point for comprehension; otherwise, it’s a skip-over section for those people.
• The text is heavily mountain-focused; if you’re looking for crossover utility to backpacking, hiking, etc, then adding examples specific to those pursuits would be very helpful.

Just a couple of thoughts; hopefully they’re useful.

Out of interest, what do you do for work?

Out of interest, what do you do for work?

I’m not sure if that was a general inquiry or a question for a specific member.  Assuming the former: I don’t…at least not in any significant capacity.  I’m taking a hard break from almost thirty years in construction, architecture, design and manufacturing (in that order) and figuring out what to do with myself, because I’m seriously burnt out from that career.  I occasionally do some freelance consultation for people, but I’m considering something more tactile and outdoors-focused for my next phase.  In the meantime, I do a lot of hiking, a lot of writing, a lot of tinkering and a lot of housework: I think I’m officially qualified to headline The Donna Reed Show, now.