Sea To Summit - Ether Light XT Insulated Air Sleeping Mat
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Based on 1 year's data from Feb 10, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
232
81
"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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86
"it was hands down the best night of sleep I’ve had in a tent."
"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)"
"Just did 5 nights out and 4/5 nights were as close to home sleep as I've ever had. ... As I've aged I have been slowly decreasing the number of consecutive nights out because of poor sleep. ... I plan on tripling the number of nights I spend out this summer."
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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."
74
21
"I had a whole excel file going and the Nemo Tensor kept coming back as the sweet spot on price, weight, pack size and R value no matter how I sliced it."
"considerably warmer than other 3R pads I have had. ... Glad I upgraded."
"I've used it on below freezing nights and it has worked well for me."
6
0
"3+ inch thick pad with the waffle pattern is the way to go in my book. ... Back feels better in the morning and I wake up way less often because some body part fell asleep."
"The Sea to Summit mats are incredibly comfortable with 4-6inches of foam."
"I’m a side sleeper and the extra thickness is welcome"
Disliked most:
38
62
"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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10
"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."
"My only dislike from the Etherlight is the exterior finish on the materials they used makes it squeaky on the tent floor and against some sleeping bags. ... The Sea to summit etherlight packs too big for what it is and the external material is super squeaky on a tent floor."
"Ether light I found noisy and sold it."
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30
"I had to return the etherlite after waking up with a sore back every night."
"I'm a side sleeper and had one of the worst nights sleep on the S2S Ether ... Something about the S2S made my spine bend the wrong way on my side."
"it always makes back and hip issues worse."
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10
"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."
"As a cold sleeper for the love of God do not get the ether light. I had it for a while and I was just dang cold all the time unless it was properly warm out."
"your Ether Light only has an R-value of 3.2 which is way too low for 0-15°F temps (you need at least 5+ for those conditions) ... no amount of merino will fix heat loss through the ground."
2
7
"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."
"Or if it's little seam weld pinholes, take advantage of the warranty (I use Sea 2 Summit pads mostly). ... but i'm not really talking about those kind of holes (that can be patched) - i mean the phantom leaks that can't be identified or fixed easily, like seam welds, valve stuff, etc. (especially on quilted/dimpled baffles) ... All my sea to summit pads have developed stress pinholes in the dimple welds, nothing to do with anything I could have done or prevented as a user, it's a common defect with that style of baffle. ... I talked to someone at Sea to Summit once who said that those type of failures are not due to external puncture/abrading but actually weaknesses that can occur when the seam welds are done that get exacerbated/worse over time. Typically they occur under the torso/arm area and are due to more contact from elbows specifically. ... sometimes (like quilted/dimpled baffles) the pads are just prone to little defects that emerge the longer the pad is used that no amount of babying can prevent. ... No matter how much you baby your sleeping pad, if it has a weak valve attachment, it's gonna develop a leak."
BottleCoffee 1.0I have a S2S (short model) and I kind of wish I got Nemo Tensor.
I found mine really didn't live up to the R rating. I was freezing even at +7, and I normally run hot. I wonder if the wet saturated ground had something to do with it, but I never had issues like that with my old MEC self-inflating.
Fred_Dibnah 1.0Hey I have the black S2S Ether Light XT Air Sleeping Mat (reg-wide) I normally hammock camp but tried a tent. I'm a side sleeper and had one of the worst nights sleep on the S2S Ether, I had to swap with my partner who has a thin 1 inch think Thermarest. Something about the S2S made my spine bend the wrong way on my side.
Bobby6k34 0.8I love my Ether Light highly recommend and from what I've heard there warranty is exceptional. I went with the XT Insulated req wide amazing sleeps on it.
I love my Ether Light highly recommend and from what I've heard there warranty is exceptional. I went with the XT Insulated req wide amazing sleeps on it.
lenn_eavy 0.5My 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.
Accomplished-Way1575 0.5Exped Dura. It has down. I have the 6R LW. You can get a slightly lighter version which is lighter due to thinner face fabrics. 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. And I am not the only one. This is why I bought the Exped Dura.
AggravatingTooth1901 0.5I like my ether light xt by sea to summit. But it’s really the only decent one I’ve ever tried so. Or much to compare it to.
askvictor 0.5The sea to summit is 10cm thick, which is amazing for it's size and weight. But it's made of a noisy fabric
badi95 0.5Ended up getting a couple sea to summit mats on sale for $60.
I got some Sea to Summit Ether Light XT pads on sale a few months ago for the kids and they seem to be happy with them. So they may not need something as nice as a megamat for a little while.
Beneficial_Clock6838 0.5Test both and then decide, because everyone has a different body. I personally switched from the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated (size L with similar baffle structure to the Tensor) to the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT (size RW). Both are wide, the NXT is just regular length and as a side sleeper, I’ll never go back. I think the crucial point is to inflate it to the right pressure because overinflation won’t be comfortable. My preferred pressure is when I sit on the pad I almost touch the ground, but when I lie down, it feels perfect.
billymcnilly 0.5Self-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?
Ive used the sts ether light xt and the ba zoom ul, and the zoom ul is more comfortable for a side sleeper imo. Not sure if the xr is much better than the xt
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