Would you add ~1 oz to a sleeping pad for a built-in pump?

Heidi, I’m glad that you asked. Yes, I would gladly consider a product like the one that you mention. Perhaps everyone here cares about the added weight, but for my part, I care a lot about simplicity, too. If I can simplify my setup at night with the product that you describe, I’ll be glad to do so. With four qualifications:

1. Full inflation. The pump must fully inflate the pad. (Usually, that’s an Exped Ultra 3R.) No topping off.
2. Noise. The pump can’t be too noisy. When I’m in a beautiful wilderness, I don’t want to disturb it by making a ruckus. The Alpenblow Lux is advertised as “43dB at 30cm,” and that was OK by me—but it couldn’t fully inflate my pad. By contrast, the Flextail Tiny Pump X, with its 4 kPA of pressure, could fully inflate my pad—but it was just too noisy.
3. Reliability issues mentioned in other comments.
4. The pad itself actually needs to be competitive with other market offerings, independent of the pump.

And for what it’s worth, I’ve never cared about the electric deflation that some pumps offer. Getting air out of my pads is so easy. It’s the inflation that’s a little tiresome.

An on/off switch won’t work correctly with a battery.

Not true. I have one I linked in my previous comments with an on/off switch. It’s a little gem.

https://www.nitecore.us/product/ap01

I guess I found it redundant in other cases. My batteries shut off when there’s no draw.

I have no interest in the Aerogogo. It’s what I came up with after a quick search for a like product to the one proposed. I remembered seeing one advertised which was the Flextail, which may not be too bad. An inflatable pad with a pump isn’t unique . Sort of a gimmick where quality often comes second.

Thanks @John B — this is really helpful, especially the distinction between “convenient” and actually worth carrying.

Full inflation is definitely important to me too. If I still have to top the pad off by pump sack, then a lot of the convenience disappears.

Your noise comparison is also really useful.

And I completely agree on the pad itself — the pump can only be an added benefit. The pad still has to be competitive on comfort, weight, warmth and reliability on its own.

Really appreciate the clear criteria.

Full inflation is definitely important to me too.
I am going to be contrary here. My pillow pump could get a fairly firm, even maybe hard, inflation. But I find a fully inflated air pad is very uncomfortable. I find there needs to be some ‘squoosh’ to accommodate my shoulders and hips. Many times I have even let a wee bit of air OUT of my pad before sleeping.

Cheers

Many times I have even let a wee bit of air OUT of my pad before sleeping.

That’s a fair point – firmness is probably more personal than I made it sound.

What I really mean is that the pump should be able to get the pad to the user’s preferred firmness without needing to finish it manually.

Easy adjustment after inflation probably matters just as much.

Adjustable insulation with height adjusters.

I guess I like my equipment designed by those in the outdoors with intimate knowledge greater than my own. Those looking for problems that need solving, tweaks that need doing. Knowledge to design a product on their own or in collaboration with other outdoor professionals. Here we are explaining the basic concepts while simple internet exploration is left undone. I support the cottage outdoor industry that is actually derived from the outdoors and those who love it. If the O.P. spent one night on a sleeping pad, they would know enough to adjust it. This is simply an investigation into advertising. What points to make to unsuspecting customers.

My pump (flextail Tiny pump 3x, weighs 2.3oz) can inflate my sleeping pad, and pillow – all without getting breath moisture into the pad or pillow AND functions as a tent lamp[/spare flashlight.

So, for me, I would NOT be interested in a sleeping pad with a built in pump because the built-in pump would only do one thing, whereas an external pump can do several things.

This does not smell like advertisement to me but basic market research.  Since the forum is open to all, maybe they will gather enough information to launch a better product.  Isn’t that a win-win scenario.  My 2 cents.

Research would show that the product already existed. There is no mention of insulation or anything else involving pad construction. How is the pump attached? It’s all about what two existing products can I put together to sell you while knowing very little about the 2 products. “What can I sell you”, is the whole premise before I stamp my name on an existing product. No real innovation. No real study. No knowledge of the subject  Only market research.

I have no way of knowing, but wonder if this person is from China and/or involved with a Chinese manufacturer looking to develop a product (Liu is certainly a Chinese surname)? I have no problem with this. No one put a gun to my head to open this thread or participate in it. As Jon Fong rightly pointed out, this forum is open to all… who will pay :)

I don’t understand why this should be a problem… the OP has been nothing but curious, open and polite.

yeah, we’re a tough crowd here

and, I have no problem with people making products for mass market, emphasizing marketing more than technical performance

Sure, this is a good place for market research. Lots of experience of many types here.

But Terran makes a good point: this is not very sophisticated market research.

Brad suggested:

What the world really needs is a 25″ x 72″ x 1″ R-5 self-inflating pad that weighs under 17 oz’s.

That is a better suggestion. Like an evolution of the old Thermarest Prolite. Maybe more durable, if that is possible without adding half a pound.

In other words, forget the pump and make a better pad.

I have a circa 2014 Size Regular Thermarest Prolite pad (20″ x 72″ x 1″). It weighs 16.32 oz’s. This was the Apex of self-inflating pad design. Then it stopped, and the world went insane for ever thicker inflatables – like the proverbial Manhattan skyline, the race was upward.

I find it all pretty dumb, but that’s what people “think” they need. It’s a bit of “which came first, the chicken or the egg” – ie, were we all clamoring for 4″ thick pads, or did manufacturers create the “need.” Likely a bit of both. But to me the whole thing is out of hand. Even though i own several, I don’t actually want a pad that “needs” an inflator lol.

I want the pad I laid out on the page – a durable 25″ x 72″ x 1″ R-5 self-inflating pad that weighs under 17 oz’s.

While the masses will want thicker pads, I know there is a market for such a pad. Hang out a bit at Reddit Ultralite lol.

I think the reason Thermarest keeps making models that are even heavier is because of delamination.

They keep reformulating the foam and adhesive

Reviving this thread.  Smoking good deal on right now in Canada (and by extension maybe US given exchange) on Naturehike Wind nano air pump, $29Can

Less than half the price of the Aerogogo and 1/3 price of the Alpenblow or Outzac (in Canada).

On my scale, 30g.  Inflated my Nemo Tensor Insulated wide long in 60 seconds to firm (no breaths needed).  Works off my two battery packs but not my iphone11.   The nemo pump sack was 2 oz, so this even shaves 1 oz off.

Pump does not ship to US from Amazon.ca

That sucks.  I buy stuff from Amazon.com often and it ships to Canada.  Thanks for checking.

Those are cool gadgets, I was looking at the Aerogogo and I’m tempted to buy one just to play with it. I would only be able to use it when carrying a power bank, which I almost never do, but I could get one for those rare occasions.

FYI – They are on AliExpress for as low as $19.

I’m not surprised someone linked to a car-camping mattress with a built in battery and pump. I was going to suggest that. Ultimately what you are selling is convenience. External pumps have a fiddle factor. Maybe this is really low (I haven’t used them). But I can definitely see the advantage of a built in battery/pump that you just switch on. Given weight isn’t a huge issue for car-camping I can see why they already built this.

Obviously that is too bulky and heavy for backpacking but I can also see something more like what the OP suggested. The pump is built in and has a simple USB output. All you do is connect the cord, flip a switch and go. As noted, it should deflate just as easily. Maybe this is light enough (and reliable enough) to make up for the fact that it only works on one pad. Maybe not. But I could see how it might be better simply because the interface between the pump and the mattress is optimized. Maybe everyone has a pump in their mattress instead of passing around a pump. Then it is just a matter of sharing a battery (which is where a lot of the weight is).

I bought an Aerogogo Giga Pump to try it out. When I connect it directly to power, it is very nifty and fills a pad in less than a minute.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work with any of my power banks. I thought maybe it was because they were older, so I picked up a flextail power bank, and that also didn’t work. Apparently, the pump needs more than 2A. I returned the flextail and ordered a nitecore, hopefully that will work. Supposedly it outputs more current.

BTW, I could actually run it off of my iPhone 16, but the phone gave me an error message about too much power, which scared me.

You can get one of those usb power meters to see how much current the pump is drawing.  Then select a power bank that would deliver that

You can get one of those usb power meters to see how much current the pump is drawing.  Then select a power bank that would deliver that

Yep, I should probably get one. I was able to find the specs on the website, so assuming they’re correct, the new power bank I ordered *should* work.

I guess I just expected that if the current was so critical for the pump to run at all, it would have been prominently noted.

Dan, my naturehike pump starts every time with my anker battery but not with my lighter Costco no name battery.  But if I reconnect it a few times it fires right up.  Give that a try?