Switchback Ultralight Sleeping Pad

My most common setup these days is: - Sleeping pad: 6 panels of Nemo Switchback -- **167g** - Quilt: 30F limit-rated 875 fill power -- **464g** - Pillow: melamine sponge pillow -- **49 g** Total **680 g** > so I wonder if it is a good idea to get the 1kg mattress. No

> I'd like to not have to buy a whole new pad just for winter, and my understanding is that a high r value pad won't cause you to overheat. Nobody on /r/ultralight here can tell you to use a winter pad in the summer. In UL, we use the lightest pads that can keep us sufficiently warm at a given temp In either case, both of the pads you mention are heavy. > My budget is $200, if there is another sleeping pad that's durable, comfortable, and light in that range I'm happy to consider it You're in luck. A piece of foam (Nemo Switchback or Thermarest Zlite) is $50 or less, weighs between like 5 and 14 oz depending how much you cut it down, and is infinitely more durable than any inflatable. As for comfort, that up to you to decide. And you can't decide that just by looking at it. Get a foam pad out for a few nights and try it, just as any budding UL hiker should. Inflatables are an overwhelming dominance in backpacking, but it really shouldn't be that way.

> lighter and higher r-value than a comparable-length ccf pad A few points here. First, having a higher R value is only a benefit if that higher R value is actually needed. If I'm backpacking in conditions where an R 2 foam pad is sufficient, then the R 4.5 of an Xlite providies no benefit to me. Second, there is no reason to constrain ourselves to comparing these pads at the same length. In UL, "foam pad" almost always means "torso-length foam pad". My 6 panels of Switchback weighs only 6 ounces, which really no inflatable can compete with. Sure you could also cut down an inflatable to even the playing field, but then you introduce a big height differential from one end of your body to the other, which foam doesn't do. and I think that at any temps where a torso pad works, nothing more than R2 is needed, so it may as well be foam. We should also consider that very light inflatables are also fragile. IMO the decision to take such a critical component of a sleep system that can also fail so spectacularly should be made with more care. I would not carry something so fragile unless it was really worth it, and it only becomes worth it at high R value (like 4-5 and above). > OP will likely sleep much better on the inflatable pad You don't know that though. I sleep very well on foam, and so do many others. Maybe OP wouldn't find that to be true for themselves. But torso-length foam has so many benefits over inflatables (lighter, way more durable, way cheaper, more multi-purposed) that all UL hikers should at least try it for a few nights before deciding against it.

I think if you're going foam-only, then it's a great opportunity to shed weight. You can do a lot better than 600 g. My Switchback cut to torso length is 167 g

The JMT is the perfect trail for some good old foam. I carried 6 panels of Nemo Switchback in July for a net 6 oz. No more carrying patches, never worry about leaks, never waste time deflating or inflating, plus you get a huge sit pad/yoga mat for free. Both cheaper and warmer (and lighter) than an Exped Ultra 1R.

Only one way to find out! I think it's plenty comfy

Your use case, plus the fact that you're asking on /r/ultralight, screams torso-length foam. Get a Nemo Switchback, cut it to length from your shoulders to your thighs, and it will be like 6 oz. Way cheaper than an inflatable, lighter than an inflatable, will never pop or leak, much faster to deploy and pack away, also serves as a stretching surface and a luxury sit pad and a wind block for your stove, and a framesheet for a frameless pack

It's all about the density. Cheaper foams are less dense, meaning that they'll collapse under weight and be less effective and insulating when laid on. They may have the same R value as a denser foam when they're uncompressed, but that doesn't matter. I have a super cheap sit pad from Amazon, and it's about as dense as a piece of bread. That's generally speaking though. I wouldn't be surprised if you could find a cheap foam pad with a density comparable to a Zlite or Switchback. They're not exactly cutting edge technology. Fwiw, I find that at temps near freezing or below, a GG Thinlight layered on top of a torso-length switchback, with my pack under the Thinlight for my legs, is luxurious

There are a lot of ultralight hikers who sleep solely on a CCF (closed cell foam) pad like a Z-Lite or Switchback. Foam is the original ultralight choice. If noise is an issue, foam doesn’t make not like many inflatable pads.

Same here. In the winter, I use the NEMO 20" switchback under my 25" NEMO Tensor All Season and the combo works fine.In the summer I use the Gossamer Gear Thinlite under my Air Mattress just to reduce the risk of damage.

I think for side sleepers you really need non dimpled surface for your hips and shoulders. Meaning layering something like a switchback with a thinlight for example. But at those weights you may just be better off with an inflatable.

I find they tend to dig in for me

I started May 4th and after getting a few leaks in air mattresses during the first weeks I used a Nemo Switchback foam pad the entire way. I only switch back to an air mattress if I’m out really late where the ground gets cold. But that’s generally November.

Air mattresses are a bit more comfortable especially if you have to set up on roots or some minor rocks. I haven’t found it to be worth all the issues with air leaks though. I’ve been able to get away with the switchback for pretty much March to October and often more. Also nice to be able to use it as a seat cushion during the day

I used a switchback for the entire trail after I had multiple air mattress leaks in the first hundred miles. Even being a side sleeper I managed just fine and I continued that for all my other hikes. I did a May 4th start date.