Sea To Summit - Ultralight Air Sleeping Pad

Klymit Static V if you are small (only non-insulated, the insulated ones are to large for the price). Although they are advertised as being 183cm long, mine was only 179cm long. I'm 185cm tall and could not use it comfortably. Got an Sea to Summit ultralight air mat on sale in large in that price range. Pretty comfy and still very small. But you need to know, that at this price point you will get either a small/lightweight or a warm mattress. The sleeping pad that combines both in the best way possible is the NeoAir X-Lite in my opinion, but it costs double. It might still be worth it to spend the money, since you might want to upgrade it eventually anyways. The air mats from Decathlon are also a good choice, although they are not the smallest. Foam pads are also an option (Nemo Switchback, Therm-A-Rest Z-Lite, Decathlon MT500)

Well my pad, the sea to summit ultralight, is currently $140 and you can get it on sale for ~$130 right now. So no, not $200. I’ve had mine for 8 years now and it’s still holding strong. Never had a leak

A 20 F bag is only going to be comfortable down to 30 F or so depending on how warm/cold you sleep and how much additional clothing you wear to bed. If you're going to be winter camping in Colorado, I'd plan for colder temps and get a 10 F bag. I'd also pay a bit more for the Western Mountaineering Versalight vs. the Zpacks bag. The Zpacks is lighter by about 4 oz in a 6 ft bag, but more delicate with 7D material vs. WM 12D. Shape is different. The Zpacks is straight from the shoulder through the hips at 60" while the WM is 2" wider at the shoulder, but tapers down to 50" at the hips like a traditional mummy. Some like the extra volume through the middle in a more square bag, but for others, it may not be as warm. Take a look at the S2S Etherlight XR (4.1R) or XR Pro (7.4R). I find the Airsprung construction quite a bit more comfortable than the Nemo or NeoAir pads. Summer pads are quite a bit cheaper than winter pads, so I'd lean towards separate pads for the conditions. I've seen the S2S Ultralight Air (1.1R) on sale for under $100 in the past.

Same. I have a Sea to Summit Ultralight and I sleep so well on it… 2” thick, weight is 15 oz, R-value 3.1

Nice to hear that you liked the Sea to Summit Ultralight, I've been eyeing that one, after 50 years of sleeping on CCF pads. Foam pads are fine on the ground, but don't cut it on a shelter floor.

The Thermarest NeoAir xl is the best by a decent margin. It’s also the most expensive! The Nemo Tensors are nice, not quite as comfy but my wife’s has a serious mild problem. For budget, the best by far is the Sea to Summit Ultralight. It was my favorite pad for a long time and I’ve worn out two or three of them on various trails and bike trips.  As for ccf pads, i wouldn’t recommended them for the AT. It’s actually the trail that made me switch to inflatables because of the shelters! They are nice when sleeping on softer ground but not enough cushion for hard wood. 

Sea to Summit ultralight pad had nothing but punctures (or material defects) for me over the years. Although their warantty is spotless, this doesnt help when you are traveling and you need a new pad immediatelly. Also consider if you plan using it in thorny landscape, you would be better with some kind of foam mat.

I just got the 20 bucks Decathlon ccf pad and actually manage to sleep ok on it when I don't bring an inflatable. It's fairly warm as well, have used it down to -12 C in winter, placed over an uninsulated inflatable mat, and it was almost enough (had to add a few clothes layered under the ccf pad). Just went on a longer basecamping trip to the Alps (so just staying at campings) and guess what? 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. Would have saved a lot of trouble to just bring the stupid ccf pad. It weighs about 400 grams, as well, so there's not a big difference in weight, just comfort.

It's literally not possible. The megamats are comfortable because they have several inches of foam inside of them. The foam makes the pad super soft and supportive. There is no way to make that packable. Backpacking air pads are either air with insulation or foam filled but really thin, like 1.5 inches. 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. But it will never compare to a megamat.

Sea to Summit has a structure they call "air sprung cell". I personally own an old NeoAir but have tested a Sea to summit pad with that structure and I must say, it was much comfier. I've been trying to justify chucking in the money for a new pad, but am not there yet.