Sea To Summit - Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated Air Sleeping Mat
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Based on 1 year's data from Feb 10, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
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"It’s is SO MUCH more quiet than the s7 it ramped up the suction power from 4000 to 19000 yet I can let it clean my office room while being in a call now."
"Extremely quiet compared to our last one to the point where we can have it running while my partner is in work meetings (besides emptying water and dust bin, but that is 10 seconds of loud x 2)."
"pads that lift on carpet so you can run it while the baby naps"
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"20 degrees F comfortably from below. Quilt wasn't up to it"
"Just had my second camp out with it. 0 issues with warmth at 50F , unsurprisingly. Also at 60f I didn ’t sleep hot so that ’s nice too."
"I've used it in May and January, perfection in every season."
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"Another feature I love about the Sea to Summit is that their storage sack is also the pump sack. I’ve often forgotten to bring my Big Agnes pump sack when I’ve had my Rapide with, whereas that never happens with the S2S one."
"It uses an inflator bag and inflates easily/quickly."
"and has a bag system to inflate so you’re not hyper ventilating trying to blow the thing up at altitude."
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"I just put up with the pinholes and patching them on trail because I can't sleep better on any other pad. ... There's a huge difference in comfort depending on your body between the dimpled baffling of the Etherlight/Tensor and the horizontal baffling of the Xlite. ... I can't sleep on horizontal baffling despite all the good features of the Xlite. ... I'm a side sleeper and my arms and shoulders ache and/or fall asleep or go numb on the Xlite. For whatver reason I can only sleep on dimpled baffles (tensor, etherlight)"
"super comfy. ... And even me at 270lbs I can sit in my side and not bottom out (inflated a lot though)"
"The extra 4cm in width feels good. ... I am a 181cm, 100kg side sleeper and this feels like a better size and shape for me. ... It is also wider near the foot which is very welcome."
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"The most comfortable backpacking pad I've found is the sea to summit light because it has a lot of small baffles instead of long continuous tubes like most pads. That makes it a lot more supportive."
"The Ether Light XT was very comfortable, would definitely recommend if you re primarily a side sleeper."
"I love the etherlight, I ’m a side sleeper and it really helps prevent my arm from falling asleep."
Disliked most:
40
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"I don't even want to be home when my roomba is running."
"Honestly, the Neato D7 scared the crap outta my boy. ... The RoboRock, despite having a stronger vacuum, is MUCH quieter, and doesn't seem to bother him at all."
"it's so ridiculously loud I can't use it!"
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"You do NOT want a Kirby if you have stairs - trust me."
"Dropped about 9ozs and kicked myself the rest of the way down the trail for being so gullible. ... I could really feel those 9ozs off my back."
"very heavy and cumbersome"
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"found it to be the equivalent warmth of the insulated static v plus my ccf, and even pairing the etherlight extreme with a ccf, and having it fully inflated wasn’t nearly enough for sleeping on frozen ground or snow."
"I've only slept on it for one night with a Thinlight underneath, where it got down to 35F and I felt the cold under the pad for sure but it was fine. ... I would *never* use it without a Thinlight. ... not anywhere near as warm."
"Im not sure if I can trust S2S with another pad after my freezing XT. ... Comfort counts for nothing if using a quilt and you're cold."
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"which started leaking after 3 nights"
"Avoid StS Etherlight XT at all costs, as I have had two getting pinctures where the dividers attach. ... Constant flats from just lying on them."
"My new fucking Sea to Summit Ultralite decided holding air is not its thing despite very careful handling and making sure it wasn't left inflated during the day."
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"I had to return the etherlite after waking up with a sore back every night."
"I find horizontal baffles very uncomfortable."
"I found that it hurt my hips even when I let out a bunch of air (which compromised the r value even more)."
Automatic_Tone_1780 1.0If it’s rare, yes. However I feel like failing welds is becoming more common with new baffle designs, and I don’t want to through the hoops of buying and then returning gear all the time, and I especially don’t need it failing on me when I’m in the middle of the woods. I wouldn’t want a tent that might not be waterproof just because it has a warranty. It’s actually worse because you could test a tent right away whereas that poorly designed sleeping pad might need a good deal of use to expose its weakness. Maybe I’m off base here, just going based off posts I’ve read while trying to upgrade my sleeping pad (ended up returning the etherlight xt extreme)
Oh yeah it’s nonsense lol. I’m so confused honestly. I got it before the R value standardization made a scandal out of it. I knew it wouldn’t be as warm as its stated r value, but found it warm enough down to around 34F on its own. If I found a lighter pad with baffles like that I’d try it. Used to have a thermarest with horizontal baffles, got hip pain. Ccf pad, hip pain. Tried the new quilted air spring baffles that everyone is raving about in the form of the etherlight, still got hip pain. The etherlight I would have returned anyway though as I found it to be the equivalent warmth of the insulated static v plus my ccf, and even pairing the etherlight extreme with a ccf, and having it fully inflated wasn’t nearly enough for sleeping on frozen ground or snow. Having a hefty pad that’s neither warm nor comfortable was just unacceptable for a $180 (on sale) pad. So for now I’ll alternate between the klymit and my hammock lol
I hope the etherlight works for you. I’d get it from Rei in case you need to return it. I returned mine as the extreme version wasn’t nearly warm enough to justify the price and weight. I’d have put up with that if it was super comfortable but I found that it hurt my hips even when I let out a bunch of air (which compromised the r value even more). I was really bummed about it all. Thought I’d found my holy grail pad
Equivalent_Chipmunk 1.0I've used an older XT extreme down to single digits fahrenheit and didn't feel like there was cold seeping through the pad. That was with a bag though and not a quilt, camping on snow, no foam pad. I don't think the XT/XR is a bad product per se, but I do think I'd steer in the direction of other brands just based on what's on the market right now. Exped's not what I'd choose though. Nemo and Thermarest have the best pads right now, imo.
RevQB 1.0I’ve slept on the Comfort Plus for a couple dozen nights and just picked up the Ether Light XT Extreme after having a couple nights of bad hip pain using the comfort plus. I haven’t slept on the Ether Light yet, but it seems to be much more comfortable for side sleepers like myself. I got the regular sized Ether Light XT Extreme and have the rectangular Comfort Plus. The Ether Light is a lot smaller when packed and I’m sure the non-extreme would be even smaller yet when packed. I also think the 3” thickness of the Comfort Plus is slightly exaggerated, seems to be less than that, but that’s anecdotal. The Ether Light is markedly thicker and fellow side sleepers seem to really enjoy it. I think both are pretty nice, but based on the necessity to sleep on your side and reduce packed size/weight, would recommend the Ether Light.
The Ether Light XT was very comfortable, would definitely recommend if you’re primarily a side sleeper. If not, and you will be primarily car camping, the Comfort Plus will do well. The Ether Light’s are not on sale anymore either which is a bit of a bummer.
ShowerAlarmed5397 1.0One of the guys I go on trips with got his this week. Be interesting to see how it performs vs my S2S ether extreme!
Sudden-Grab2800 1.0I have a Sea to Summit Etherlite XT Extreme and it’s great. A regular is 7 x 9.5” packed; the large is 7.5 x 11”
THEHELLHOUND456 0.4I went S2S Ether Light XR PRO EXTREME. Great size, sound, and R value
lenn_eavy 0.3My wife has S2S mattress - the one you are looking at or slightly colder and she likes to sleep warm. We were doing Tour du Mt Blanc this year and you want all the comfort you can get for multiple days of 1000 m up and downs even if it is worth few grams more. Nemo seems to be thicker though? And you don't have to inflate it all the way, so it will make more room for your hips but watch out, too close to the ground and it'll get cold in the middle of the night. We both use Cumulus 250 quilts and I have Thermarest NeoAir Xlite (R 4.5) - I was sweating some nights so if anything, Nemo will be too warm for the proper Summer and maybe shoulder months.
acartine 0.2I'm a side sleeper and I find the etherlight XT really comfortable. It creeks and croaks like crazy though so anyone you go with will hate you. And no, it doesn't go away. People say that but they are lying lol. I think they just got used to it.
billymcnilly 0.2Self-inflating foam mats seem like a good middle ground. I hadnt seen the nemo flyer. Looks very similar to the new sea to summit pursuit self-inflating that i just got (5cm thick, 600g). It's extremely comfortable and i cant wait to try it out, after getting zero sleep on my etherlight xt recently. Do you have the zlite for extra padding, or for extra warmth?
croaky2 0.2\+1 on the NeoXTherm. Have used one for 20 years. Recently got a Sea2Summit Etherlite XT it is more comfortable for a side sleeper.
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