Sea to Summit  Ultralight Insulated Air Sleeping Pad

This is the kind of product that may end a lot of debates (competition) about sleeping pads, if enough people will try it out and spend the cash. There are several design features that make this pad extremely comfortable and user-friendly. The price seemed a bit high at first but I found a 20% member sale, and the size large costs about the same as a night in a hotel, and after I put 100 nights on it this season it will be a bargain. Not to mention the fact that it may come in handy at a hotel if the beds are bad. My first three pads were a NeoAir Trekker, Klymit Static V, and Big Agnes Q Core SL, and I think this is the finest, by far, in terms of comfort, warmth, and ease of use. The rolled size is just a few inches shorter than my bear can, a little bit longer than a nalgene, so it packs perfectly across the width of my pack. The folds in the pad are sharp creases that follow the design, so it is effortless to trifold this before rolling. There are several versions of this pad, but I chose this for the combination of warmth while remaining at a very low weight. The added weight of the other models seems a bit silly for "added comfort" when this thing feels amazing. The large is only 19 oz, pretty warm (haven't tried it on snow but haven't felt any ground cold after ten nights about 45 degrees), and big. I am 6'2" 230# and sleep with my arm up under my pillow and feet extended, and nothing hangs off. Twelve breaths to blow it up, and the optional air stream pump saves a little time but keeps spit out of the pad. Air Stream works great as a clothes sack. The pad has two valves (the highest-end, heaviest, red version has valves on top and bottom in case of a blowout), the inner for inflation, outer for deflation. The pad empties about 90% of its air within a few seconds of opening the outer, so you don't have to 'squeeze' deflate it once before rolling it up like many other pads. If you are thru-hiking you will appreciate how much time this pad may save you in the mornings. The inner valve has a small red tab that allows you to deflate the pad in short bursts for comfort tuning. The surface is tacky and a tad bit squeaky when skin rubs it, but normal rolling around is not loud like some others- there is no crinkling sound. The greatest feature of this pad is comfort- they really nailed it. Just a really amazing surface to relax and sleep on from any side, and there are no points where your body presses through to the ground like my hips can do on the Klymit . You can move around a lot without shifting the air in it or leaning.

I love the idea of this pad. Let's start with the positive aspects: 1. The valve is awesome. The one-way inflation valve is one of the best designs i've seen in a sleeping pad. The high flow deflation valve is awesome and saves a ton of time when packing up camp in the morning. I almost kept this pad for the valve alone. 2. The pad is reasonably quiet. 3. The pad is really stable. You don't feel like you are sleeping on a pool toy, this feels more like a bed. 4. The pad is really comfortable when sleeping on your back. 5. The packed size/weight are awesome. Now the one drawback; When I sleep on my side (which i tend to do during the night) my hip bone tends to go right through the mat. I've noticed that people are split on this in the reviews. Some of the online reviews tend to indicate that this mat isn't appropriate for side sleepers while others say that they can turn onto their sides without sinking all the way through the mat. I have a theory; When inflated, the design of this mat allows you to easily compress one "air spring" all the way to the ground. If you spread your hand over 2 of these cells, it is much harder to compress, spread to 3 or 4 and it is nearly impossible to push through. My theory is that my hip bone is sharp enough to not spread over more than one or two cells. As a result, my hip bone connects with the ground under the pad. Pay attention to this if you lay on one of these in the store. Also try testing the pad with it less than totally firm because the air volume will change a little overnight. If I slept on my back more, i would probably keep this pad as everything else about it is really nice. Overall it is much more comfortable than the old self-inflating pad it was replacing, but the cost on the pad is high enough that I don't want to compromise. I am tempted to try the slightly heavier version that has dual layer air springs in the middle of the pad, because honestly the valve and comfort otherwise is quite fantastic.