The ether light XR is the first pad that’s given me just as good a night sleep as I do at home. It’s such a comfortable pad. I’m a side sleeper and nothing compares to it for comfort for me. It can be a bit noisy so when I’m tossing and turning before falling asleep it can be a bit of a nuisance but it’s never hindered my sleep
It’s not crinkly or rustly, can be a bit squeaky! But think it also depends on sleeping bag material. Like I said it’s never cause me an issue but my partner has commented on it before
Hi! Are you planning to use it on Kilimanjaro?
Many tour operators already include sleeping mats in their packages, and they’re usually about 2–3 inches thick, which is comfortable enough for most hikers.
An R-value of 3.6 is basically the minimum for Kilimanjaro - it can work, but you’re definitely taking a risk, especially if you get cold easily. If you haven’t tested it in similar conditions with your sleeping bag setup and still prefer to bring your own, it might be safer to go with the Ether Light XR or even the XR Pro if you tend to get cold easily.
I tried both and went with the Ether Light XR. It came down to what felt good. I didn’t think the baffle design on the Tensor AS was comfortable or distributed weight well and much preferred the baffling on the Ether Lite as a side/stomach sleeper.
I plan on upping the R value with a Z-lite pad if necessary.
The Ether Light is woven nylon just like the Nemo, but 30D vs 20D for the top. I compared them back in May, but I remember they felt fairly similar material-wise. I did think the Nemo was slightly more crinkly.
The Ether Light is a little slippery, but I think it makes it easier to flip around. My last pad was a polyester Exped Dura which had a lot of friction going on with my clothes, which made it annoying to flip around at night because my clothes and quilt would get bunched up and twisted.
No problem! It was one of the reasons I switched pads. The other was that I didn’t find vertical baffles all that great for side sleeping. The arm I slept on frequently went numb, and I’m pretty sure it was from the baffles pressing against it.
I’ll second the XR. It’s pretty comfy for stomach/side sleeping. But also, I tried out the NeoLoft at REI this weekend and holy crap is it a comfy cradle of air.
I have an Exped Dura 3R and it’s very warm and so far, has proven to be durable. I’ve taken it down to 30°f with no extra foam pad beneath and slept warm. Never had any air leak out.
I’m not a huge fan of the vertical baffles, but I must say that the edge baffles being slightly thicker does help keep me centered. Exped uses a microfiber insulation on these pads instead of reflective film, and I’m sold on it. I intended to swap the Exped for the new Sea to Summit Etherlite XR that has reflective insulation, but I shivered my way through a 42°f night on it.
So I bought the ether light XR in the spring and was happy with it until October. My backside was constantly chilled on a 38°f night with a z lite sol under it and 10° down quilt. I was wearing wool socks, beanie, and baselayers.
The second night was 45°f and I was more comfortable, but I was pretty disappointed given that it slept colder than the 3R Exped it was meant to replace. The old XT had reports of sleeping cold, but I was hoping that S2S had fixed that with the new iteration. If I were you, I’d get the Exped.
Yes, I could feel the cold coming through the XR with the ccf under it. I’d never had that issue with my 3R Exped, in fact, I have taken that down to 32°f with no ccf under it and never felt the cold. They have different insulation types, but I didn’t think that would matter based on the R ratings.
The XR is more comfortable though, so I’ll probably keep it for warmer temps.
I wasn’t pleased with the XR’s performance around 40°, it slept cold even with a foam pad under it. I wish I’d gotten the cold weather version. I’ve read that the Rapide also has underperformance issues related to R-value. There are a lot of good thread on this topic in r/ultralight.
Sea to summit has a lifetime guarantee on their products which ultimately became my deciding factor in choosing them between the same two pads you mentioned.
I went with s2s over Nemo and exped because of r factor and that nifty bag it comes with to blow it up. It uses the Bernoulli principle and Venturi effect to inflate the pad.
I use nemo, used to have sea to summit one but sold it as it was too loud. I was waking other people up when changing sides. I would not recommend. Nemo is comfortable too
4tunabrix
