11 in Sleeping Pads
Sea To Summit - Ether Light XT Insulated Air Sleeping Pad
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Based on 1 year's data from Mar 2, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
28
5
"Side sleeper with a bad back here. Can highly recommend the sea 2 summit ether light xt large rectangular."
"Switched to a Ether Light XT Insulated (regular mummy, not wide), took a tiny weight penalty, slept like a baby ever since."
"I love the etherlight, I ’m a side sleeper and it really helps prevent my arm from falling asleep."
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6
"They are extremely lightweight for that kind of warmth."
"It rolls up relatively small ... it really gets the job done when I need something that fits in my pack"
"The ether light xt comes in at just over a lb in the women's size. ... There's no 4+ inch pad that can match or beat that weight AFAIK."
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6
"Quiet."
3
8
"They are extremely lightweight for that kind of warmth."
"at the temps you mentioned it would be just fine."
"The ether light xt comes in at just over a lb in the women's size. ... There's no 4+ inch pad that can match or beat that weight AFAIK."
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0
"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."
Disliked most:
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8
"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."
"The only downside is the bulk. ... It takes up a lot of space in my pack. ... When I I’m out for long hauls I don’t have the room for it and switch to the Tensor All-Season."
"It fixes the problems of the XT like ... bulky pack size."
0
9
"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."
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"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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"I had to return the etherlite after waking up with a sore back every night."
"I find horizontal baffles very uncomfortable."
"To me it’s much comfier than than the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT I had before"
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5
"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 1.0Are you winter camping? An R of 3.4 is sufficient even just below freezing. Sea to Summit makes short pads.
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.
Creative_Ad2938 1.0I have a previous back injury. I find the Womens S2S Etherlight to be the most comfortable, though the least warm. Next for comfort is the Nemo All Season, as well as the Nemo Tensor. In comfort, they are both just slightly less comfortable than the S2S. Both are warmer than the S2S. I have used the ExPed Hyperlight pad for about 40 nights. I believe this pad has been replaced with the newer version. Mine was a 2.8R value. For me, the warmth was equal to the S2S pad. It was not an uncomfortable pad. It just wasn't as comfortable as the S2S and Nemo pads. I tried the Thermarest NeoAir Xlite. My lower back ached when I used the pad. It just didn't have the support I needed. I wish I could use it as it has great warmth to weight ratios. I used the wide versio pads for each of these, though the Exped was a mummy MW version I would assume what is comfortable for me may not translate to you as your back injury may be different than mine. My injury involved the lower back. I have slept in a hammock a few nights and never experienced back pain.
Empty_Woodpecker8711 1.0I have the summit ether light wide, started using when 300 lbs 5’5. It was the 4th pad I tried and the one I have kept using and would recommend. Haven’t tried the others though.
Excellent_Break710 1.0I also love my Etherlite rec. large. I have around 100 nights on it, and I sleep better than at home. But I am in the opposite boat now, trying to find something lighter. They are heavily discounted right now (for example at Bergfreunde, but that ships from the EU), so it might be worth picking one up to try.
hickory_smoked_tofu 1.0OT, the North American clearance price on the remaining XT mats is incredible. $59 for the women's XT.
HippocampeTordu 1.0I went with the S2S ether light XT wide. I think it is 4" / 10 cm thick whereas my previous thermarest prolite was 5cm... My hip needs 10cm. At the minimum.
ManyMixture826 1.0I’m 6’ 180 lbs, typically a side sleeper. My favorite pad is the Sea to Summit Women’s Ether Light XT. 6’ by 25 inches and 4 inches thick… great for side sleeping. Yup, I sleep on a womens pad - the men’s large/wide pads are unnecessarily long for me as a side sleeper. Why carry weight I don’t use?
SciMom10 1.0Fellow side sleeper! I'm female so I have hips and I NEED good compression. My shoulder felt jammed up in the Nemo Tensor All Season. The REI Helix was the best once I was on my side, but I felt like I bottomed out when rolling over and also if it wasn't fully inflated but definitely check this one out. Currently I'm on an Sea to Summit Ether light XT (fem version) because I found it on sale and I love it! It's similar in comfort to the Big Agnes Rapide SL (my husband has the big agnes, but it's super expensive so I went with the S2S because I was getting desperate).
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.
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