Winner or Waste – Closed cell foam seat

I like them. On packs with no frame or stiffened back panel I also use them for some back padding and shape.

Many uses:

1. sit pads on snow or on wet places
2. kneel pads on rocky places
3. like Steve, padding/”frame” with structureless pack (ex. Granite Gear Virga)
4. under lower legs when using a short sleeping pad
5. hand held wind screen when cooking
6. flat surface when playing card games

Worth the 18 grams to me. I carry this on most trips. It’s so small and keeps my butt warm on a cold rock. I usually loop it over the shockcord on my ULA packs. I haven’t decided where/how to carry it on the Kumo I’ve been experimenting with.

I bought one for my main hiking partner and he likes it too. If my sleeping pad popped and I couldn’t fix it is borrow his of and the two of them would provide a little insulation from the ground.

Booyah! Some great info there, thx fellas.

No. I never really use them individually. Up to a about 2012, Gossamer Gear used to offer a 3/4 length NightLite pad that was much more useful, more in a bit…

GG seems to have stumbled on the lucky coincidence of Pad Pockets, many years ago, though I will not attribute the initiator to Glen, there is no mention of who first thought of it. The Pad Pocket is simply two mesh pockets extending about 1/4 to 1/3 the width of the pad, sewn in on three sides and heavy elastic at the loose edge of the pockets. Due to all the stretchy parts, you can fit up to 5 layers of pad into them. This means a 10″ wide pad comes up to about 52″(allowing for folding gaps) making it a good place to keep your torso sleeping pad (with your empty pack doubling as some insulation under your feet and pillow-a stuff sack- not needing to be on your pad. When IN the pad keepers, it also supplies a fairly firm pack panel or frame to an otherwise frameless pack. You can drop any internal stays for less than 30pound loads. They also supply excellent cushions for odd shaped items. But they will also keep your back a bit warm…good and bad. You can do the same by sewing these pad pockets to your pack.

You must keep them sized correctly!  Just some corners do not work all that well, because, they let the pad flex and move around. Not quite the best for pads or for carrying. They can also buckle if not firmly supported at about 4″. They go in first, then load the pack till the mesh and elastic are stretched out enough to just use them more normally. This “training” period depends on how tight you make the pockets…leave at least 3″ of stretch. These van be slipped in and out as needed and make a good “chair” when leaned against a tree. The “1/3 edge of heavy elastic” keeps them from buckling in the pockets, especially if the pack is also fairly well loaded. And, the “bumps” tend to lock together, making two pieces act as one in the pad pocket. I wore out a couple of these pads over about 10 years or so.

Assuming you use a NightLite, you mesh the bumps together on two larger pads, then cut them into 10″ widths with an electric knife. Then duct tape the seams…usually, both sides. You can make 2, 3, 4, and 5 layer pads. They hold up about 5 years or so. Some of the smaller packs do not accept the 5 layer pads, or, they build out enough to make the straps no longer fit. Meshed and taped, a 5 layer pad weighs about 9-10 oz. Since it doubles as a sleeping pad and a frame for the pack, it does double duty. It also folds neatly into your pad pockets, so it does not count against your pack volume…it is all external, saving about the volume of a Nalgene bottle. A very neat, and comfortable carry. Tarp, food, ditty bag and sleeping cloths/bag are pretty much all I carry IN the pack. Cooking gear/fuel goes in the left hand pocket and two 500ml water bottles/Steripen go in the right.

Before I purchased a GG pack, I used a cut & taped pad inside my packs to help stiffen them up. These just wrapped around the interior volume of the pack, allowing for the thickness of the pad as it wrapped in a “box”. This was VERY efficient at transferring weight to my hips and beat a standard “tube” fill by a lot. One way the old Trek pack worked very well. Before that, I had tried to tie on the pad behind me but this did not seem to work as well on the older military packs I used back then. The shoulder straps mounted too low to really let them sit against my back properly.

Curious about the DutchWear folding sit pad…Comparing to the TAR Zseat it is ~1/3 the weight, but how does it compare in terms of thickness, stiffness, cushion and insulative properties?

My husband used to poo-poo “luxuries” like sit pads… “What’s wrong with the ground, or a log?”, he’d ask… then he tried one (a super-lightweight one I bought for him from China), and now he wouldn’t go without it, and uses it on every break!

Other uses for us include creating an improptu wind screen for cooking, extra padding where that tree root is sticking up under your sleeping pad, as-needed extra padding for sharp objects inside the pack, etc.

The only way to know for sure whether a sit pad is for you: bring one and try it on a trip!

They’re also useful for fanning the flames of a reluctant campfire, and serving as a ‘welcome mat’ for your shelter, both as a kneel pad when reaching in to grab an item, and a place to put your feet while donning and doffing shoes so you don’t get leaf litter all over your socks.

I always figured they could be used as a splint too, but thankfully I can’t say it would work from experience.

I wouldn’t leave home without mine.  I discovered  a cheap folding sit pad on ebay a few years ago.  I thought they might go very flat quickly but it’s still going strong.  I use it in all my packs, just slipping it in the pad pocket on my GG Murmmer and in the inside pad area on my other packs. On the trail it comes out easy enough for a butt cushion or other uses. I rounded the corners on mine-weighs 1.20oz.  I see they are even cheaper than when I bought mine.  Link: Sit Pad

We made a couple out of an old blue closed-cell foam pad, and use them for everything Jim mentioned, as well as a base layer for a pillow in bed.   They cost and weigh nothing.  We strap them to the outside of our packs so even when we just stop for a few minutes on a rock or log…

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John, The Dutchware pad is pretty thin. I’ve used reflectix as a sit pad as well and I find the DW pad to be warmer and much more comfortable. Just a guess but a blue foam pad like Paul mentions might provide more insulation.

Unscientific but I just asked my son if he felt like he’s warmer sitting on reflectix or the DW pad and he thinks reflectix is warmer. He was quick to add that the DW pad is much more comfortable and easy to pack.

This pad is only 0.19 inches? It is quite thin, does it give you enough cushining?

I am considering the Thermarest closed foam or inflatable one. They are much thicker.

Thank you.

My wife and I carry a Thermarest Z Seat.

Only weighs 2oz, really convenient to always have a dry/warm place to sit or kneel. .75″ thick. Good for putting against your back in frameless packs.

When we take our dog car camping, we also stack the 2 Z Seats under the dog bed (for a combined 4.4 R-value).

I used to not carry them because I also thought the ground or a log was fine too. If the ground was wet I would use other things like my Cuben rain skirt as a barrier to make do. Then one day I came across 2 sections of a ZLite pad (that someone likely cut off of their full size ZLite) in a hiker box, so I cut it in half and carried it for a while. Since then I picked up a ZSeat and have made smaller, lighter sit pads by cutting down cheap blue foam pads. I also have a GG sit pad and the torso pad. More recently though I started leaving all these behind in favor of a full length 1/8” thick pad. At 2.5 oz it is only slightly heavier than the ZSeat, but much more useful. I can lay it all the way out and lie down completely on top of it, or fold it over to make it more cushy to sit on. Then at night I can use it on top of my XLite for more warmth if needed, or if it’s too warm I can just put it under my XLite for more added protection.

Carrying a sit pad is a great safety measure. If you have to spend the night out unexpectedly you’ll be thankful you had the pad!

This year I started carrying a large Tyvek envelope cut open and sliced in two as a seat. I fold it up and jam it in any pocket or under a strap.

Weight: 8 grams

Size: roughly 12×15 inches

Cost: $0 if you recycle a used envelope from USPS or FedEx

Most of the benefits of a closed cell foam pad, but much lighter and cheaper.

I have enough cushioning built-in :-)

I also keep one in the first aid kit, so I have a clean surface to work on, while I’m sitting on the first one.

— Rex

As a challenge, I put together an under-$100, under-5-pounds overnight kit for pilots (they are REALLY weight sensitive, and yet in Alaska, very appreciative that sometimes things go sideways).  Part of it was a gardening kneeling pad.  It both gave structure and padding for a $7.85 eBay, 6-ounce, 30-liter pack and could pad your butt or keep your hips off the cold ground.  Per gram, to lay down overnight, a longer length of 1/8″ CCF would be better.  But the kneeling pad was quite stiff, very comfortable to sit on, almost all the insulation you need if you lean against a tree (I’ve slept in GCNP sitting with my back to a boulder), and arguably provided a bit of floatation for a water landing – certainly the pack wouldn’t reduce your buoyancy.

In California in the winter and always in Alaska, I have one in the trunk.  If you need to change a tire, put on chains, etc, at 0F, -20F or worse of all at 32F in slush, an inch of CFF is a wondrous way to keep yourself off the cold and wet ground.