Back country sleeping pads
Elk
Yet another "I'm getting ready for an elk hunt" thread.
Putting my gear together and wondering what others are sleeping on I the mountains. I bought a luxury lite cot and have a couple of pads to choose from. I really don't care for the q-core very much and am thinking of taking a thermarest self inflating pad that is only an inch thick. If I bivy out of basecamp I'll likely leave the cot and just take the pad. What do you think? What do you do?
My bag is down and fifteen degrees. No sleeve.
Yeah, the Qcore is poor quality and low r value. first inflate on mine broke 2 chambers and it took 9 months for replacement. I've used mine once and with that ringing endorsement would consider selling it
The best i've used is the Expeds....had one for about 7 years- awesome.
Thermarest is excellent. Mine is the thickest, longest, and widest one they make and I don't begrudge an ounce of its weight (I think it's about 1.5 lbs). That ground is cold and hard. When I was getting started backpacking as a Boy Scout 45 yrs ago I used an inflatable rubber raft, made for swimming pools, not backpacking. Probably weighed 5 lbs. My buddies kidded me but I slept well.
Alps Mountaineering has a nice wide and thick pad on Amazon pretty reasonable. works well for me.
I use an Exped synmat 9. They're definitely some of the best on the market but they're heavy. Personally though, I'll sacrifice a little weight for comfort in the sleep department.
I'll be using an Exped Synmat 9 as well. It's comfortable IMO,
I use a Thermarest Z pad and a REI Core Lite inflatable... never had a stick or a rock cause me a bad nights sleep in the back country...
If you're backpacking it in you should probably be thinking "light and packable".
Been using a Thermarest Neoair for the past several years but I have a new Exped that's a little wider that I'll be using this year.
Klymit 15* insulated pad. Lite weight and packs extremely small. I paid $64 on ebay for mine.
I have a Big Agnes IAC that I used for a few years. Switched to an Exped Synmat 7UL very lite yet comfortable. This will be the 4th season.
What do I do? I sleep like crap the first night regardless of comfort. After 1 sleepless night and a day of hiking I sleep great the rest of the trip. I don't even notice the boulders under my sleeping bag.;)
Exped Synmat 7. Not too heavy or big. BUT, my best sleep in the woods by far
Another vote for exped. My synmat 7 is superior to my big agnes.
The hand pump is pretty useless. I blow it up using lung power. Takes me exactly 30 breaths.
Really like the insulated nemo pad I ran last season
The Q Core SL works well for me. A Insulated Air Core has worked well (and continues to) for approx. 8-9yrs.
If your not into Big Agnes Exped and Thermarest are probably your best options.
I love my Thermo rest neo air
Thanks for the replies. Lots of exped users.
