Why use 3/4 length pad?

Many people will put their backpack under their feet.

Most folk use a short length of thin foam added to the foot end. Myself I use a 3/4 RidgeRest in conjunction with a full length CCF pad/ thinner ThermaRest to give me insulation where I need it most. Or I should say I used to do this until I bought a new S2S Comfort plus. Lucky find and good LW insurance for snow camping

Backpack or sit pad under my feet.

I have used a 3/4 pad before and just had the ground sheet under my legs. the insulation from the sleeping bag around the legs is not nearly as compressed as the hips and shoulders so getting cold there should not be a problem, especially in the summer months. I can recall the days when air pad manufacturing, materials and compressibility were not nearly as good as they are now so a 3/4 pad was the best way to save pack weight.

Why use 3/4 length pad?

Freud identified the condition years ago as masochism.

I was going say self loathing. Weight savings probably the biggest reason. But pads are pretty light these days compared to twenty years ago.

I was going say self loathing. Weight savings probably the biggest reason. But pads are pretty light these days compared to twenty years ago.

Totally agree.

With no offense intended towards anyone, anything that interferes or alters a comfortable night’s rest is a fools errand. Not all ounces are equal, and this is the perfect example where they’re not.

Pack bulk and weight.  I often find comfortable sleep is more about site selection and preparation than what pad I’m carrying; you can make a night on a 3/4 length CCF pad a pretty cush experience with some forethought.  And if I’m fastpacking I’m by nature more interested in the route than comfort.  It’s not all or nothing; there’s a time for big pads and a time for going minimal.

“anything that interferes or alters a comfortable night’s rest is a fools errand. Not all ounces are equal, and this is the perfect example where they’re not.”

You seem to be assuming that using a 3/4 pad with a pack under your calves/feet interferes or alters a comfortable night’s rest. For some people it doesn’t. At all. Some folks can sleep on a fluffed up bed of leaves under their shelter/bivy quite comfortably. Etc.

For some reason, Larry finds his 3/4 inflatable more comfortable than the full length version of the same pad (an old POE Insul-Mat). I think having his feet dangle off the end aligns his hips differently or something .  I, on the other hand, have moved to full length (or “women’s”) with the advent of lighter mats (and my aging bod) and never looked back.

With the right site a pad isn’t even necessary. I do think the original marketing reason for the 3/4 pad is weight and bulk reduction. Those 36 ounce self inflators of old were huge.

Not at all or not all of the time; most pressure is put on the bony hip and shoulder area of the body and that is where most people make best use of the torso length pad for insulation purposes. I just spent a couple of cool nights on a S2S Ultralite, a torso length RidgeRest would have made a huge difference to warmth and efficiency. It was a trip trying out a new UL sleeping system combination with the new mattress

It’s akin to shoes where comfort is personal to each individual. Me, I tried 3/4, hated it, and could not get a good night sleep. There are others who undoubtedly sleep like a baby on one.

I’ve used a series of shorty self-inflating foam pads (the newer ones don’t self-inflate fully anymore, but some is better than none for keeping moisture out of the pad) and found them all more comfortable for this side-sleeper than either the closed cell or the foamless inflatables.  The selfies all run around 3/4″ thick, so there is no need to prop up the feet for posture reasons.  Currently use a Nemo that is very light and with foam that is more comfortable than any of its predecessors, but also requires more care because the fabric cover is so thin.  But have repaired one without any problem.

Due to the thinness of the pads, have never felt the need for a longer one EXCEPT in well below freezing weather.  On these occasions, any number of fixes, including those earlier mentioned in this thread, have sufficed.  There has always been something to stuff under the feet.  Wearing light thinsulate booties to bed always keeps the feet warm.  When almost every insulating item has been layered on in the sleeping bag against the cold, the rain jacket has been folded under the feet.  At the point when every loose item has been used, the tent floor is bare and I’m warm, it marks the use of gear to the max with no extra weight carried.   Don’t have to do this often, but one never knows when the temp is going to suddenly plummet overnight.

The above being so, there was never a desire to add weight and volume with a longer pad.  Cannot sleep on any of the pump up inflatable pads.  They all give me the feeling of being on a water bed or worse.  So they don’t enter into the equation.  As for the ones that crackle with every slightest move – forget it.

Agree that boot fit and comfort is very subjective, but don’t think pads are to that extent.  I think it’s more a matter of the natural human need to acquire more “stuff”, as George Carlin put it.  But apologies to those who suffer from arthritis or the like, and who must carry whatever is needed to be comfortable, no matter how heavy or cumbersome.

I like my pad to go from my neck to thighs and then have my backpack under my legs with a 1/8″eva ontop of the backpack to give more surface area to not slide off. Cushioned shoulder pads and flattened backpack contents are enough elevation to give the 1/8″ the needed warmth addition, and if the legs slide off, it’s onto the edge of the 1/8″ which wont be as cold as the ground

Small pads and slippery pillows can be annoying but so can large bulky pads inside a pack. I prefer having a small pack and a bivy allows me to contain my pillow and leg pad. A bivy does add weight but also adds more warmth, bug and splash protection while keeping the jury rig bed together.

I know that I have read of folks cutting down an inflatable to 3/4 length, such as the S2S mats or the Neolite.  I wondered if there was more of an issue with drop-off for knees and hips, since those pads are thicker?  And, what do folks do if they are hiking in rain?  That wet backpack under my down quilt doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.

I need wider pads to be comfortable sleeping, I wake up if my arms fall off the edge of the pad and lose heat in contact with the floor of the tent.  I’ve been trying to find a compromise with heavier inflatables, and have flirted with the idea of cutting one to mid-thigh level.  If the S2S Ultralite Insulated is 72″ long, and weighs 24 ounces, that works out to be 0.3 ounces/inch.  Cutting off 24 inches should save about 7.2 ounces, although since the pads aren’t rectangular it isn’t precisely true.  But, the question about the wet backpack has made me not take the plunge.

That wet backpack under my down quilt doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.

If you use a liner (trash bag or compactor bag) for your backpack, you can put your backpack into the liner, wipe off any stray moisture from the outside of the liner, and put it under your legs at night, paired with a 3/4 length pad. This isolates a wet backpack from your legs, and it keeps dirt or body oils inbedded in the backpack from touching your down bag/quilt.

One drawback of the backpack-in-liner is that it’s more slippery than a backpack alone or a sit pad. But, you can put the shoulder straps on the sides to serve as bumpers to keep your legs in the middle. It’s also harder to retrieve items from inside your backpack at night (like a camera) if it’s wrapped in a liner.

It has also been a way to get lightweight inexpensive pads to meet different needs. We have purchased three different pads by Klymit for about $30 from retailers and Klymit’s eBay all under 13.5 oz.

My son uses the Inertia Ozone, so the pillow stays attached.

My wife likes the wide Inertia X Wave because it is wide and the bottom tapers down.

I use the Static V Junior, since I need about 2.5″ of cush for optimal sleep.

We use backpacks and foams to supplement as described above as needed.

A 3/4 pad is most useful as a “summer” pad.  Your legs are not as temperature-sensitive as the rest of you, so I have never even put my pack under my legs, but that’s an option.  I generally have no problems with a torso-length pad, let alone a 3/4 pad, in the summer.  In more demanding conditions I would say that a full-length pad is worth the weight.

Even in colder weather for years we used 3/4 length pads (most recently NeoAir original) and placed lightweight foam sit pads on top of our backpacks under our feet.  But my wife claimed she sleeps colder these days, so we just purchased full-length NeoAir Xtherm pads.

I sleep the same no matter what pad I use, whether it be a thick inflatable or a small torso pad; meaning I frequently wake up and shift position at the beginning of the backpacking season and the longer I’m out, I start sleeping like a rock.  Though as a Cowboy Camper I don’t often use those 20+ year tent spots where the ground is compacted to the hardness of concrete.  But I do sometimes sleep on picnic tables and the like, soI guess the hardness doesn’t really bother me much as long as its without things that poke me or cause pressure points.  Since it doesn’t matter what I bring, I might as well bring the lightest I can for the temperatures expected.

For me this means a Gossamer Gear Torso Pad + a sit pad (except they changed their sit pad design recently so it doesn’t match the Torso Pad anymore so I now use a cut single section of an old Torso Pad) turned sideways. In colder weather I’ll add one of their full length 1/8″ thinpads underneath.  All together about 8oz.  The torso+sitpad also works as support for my frameless backpack and the thinpad on the outside of my pack gets used for taking breaks during the day including taking naps.  I’ve found the combo works fine for me down to about 20F.  I’m a side sleeper that tends to curl up some (which is warmer than sleeping stretched out on my back and requires less length), so the sit pad pretty much holds my knees and the rest of my legs off the ground where only one of my feet touch the ground.  The thinpad combined with bunching up the extra bottom of my quilt under them (and the socks I wear to sleep) pretty much keep my feet warm. On the rare occasion where I found the ground much colder than expected for the ambient temperature (usually because there is water flowing underground due to a poor campsite selection), I will use extra  clothing or my pack for extra warmth down at the bottom, or just wear my long hiking pants to bed.  Never slept cold with those methods even down into the teens; though I don’t sleep on top of snow with that system. I would add a thicker pad for additional insulation under the torso pad if I expected to actually sleep on snow.

We rely on the 3/4 inflatables in 3 season conditions for cush. And supplement with foam for insulation purposes as needed based on conditions. I need a 25″x45″x2.5″ pad to ensure comfortable sleep. Like Miner, after four or five nights, I sleep better.

Iago, what’s the weight of your inflatable, and what brand? How long and thick is the foam under your legs? I was contemplating exactly that setup, but wasn’t sure it would net me much weight savings.

Hi Diane,

I have experimented with the Klymit X Wave and 1/4 foam and the Static V Junior and 1/8 foam. The weights of the Klymit should be on their website. The X Wave has a relatively heavy pump, but you can inflate without it too, see if you can find the weight without it.

I am traveling without access to a scale and slow internet.

A Xlite NeoAir short is probably lighter, but I paid $30 for each of those pads, so I outfitted the family of three for less than the cost of the Xlite. Also, I like the piece of mind of having a foam.

I have purchased foam sheets and cut them to various lengths from Foam By Mail in 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 thickness. Later for winter. I am speaking from memory, but I think a 25″x48″x1/4″ is around 4.5 ounces. Back August 5th, so I can give exact weights then.