Great summary!
FWIW my (particularly specific) alternate take on sizing is: having a Neoair Xtherm revolutionized my experience on the trail thanks to a proper nights sleep (including on snow) - HOWEVER my first one was standard width, and my brain never fully shook the underlaying feeling that I was about to roll off (obligate side sleeper, so always a degree of instability). I did use my pack to my back to help ease this, but very suboptimal, especially in a small or shared tent. Getting the wide version was the final peg in giving me a warm stress free sleep - the increased weight was negligible for me in this case. Of course everyone’s mileage will vary wildly, but sometimes it’s the myriad little things that make the difference - I always recommend trying to find a friend or rental you can try your top 2-3 options in the field before sinking the dough :)
For comfort alone i could not do that. Some can. Not me. A comfortable place to sleep is THE biggest luxury on the trail. It’s important to be comfortable. I took a neoAir torso length and a torso length GG evazote 1/8 inch to go under it for more warmth, but mainly protection for the neo air and a something to lay or sit on during breaks. It’s really nice to have a foam pad for laying down on during breaks!!! When you don’t want to inflate your air mattress.
It was a nice UL dual pad setup, with my food bag and backpack under my lower legs. I still got a couple holes in my air pad, so having the foam pad helped when i had a slow leak that i had trouble locating for a few days until i had access to a pool of water to put it underwater in to look for the bubbles from the pin hole puncture! I patched it and was good.
I now use the neo air winter / 5.7 r / 4 season full length pad and love it! No punctures, even on some sketchy rocky ridge bivy setups.
I did a gossamer gear evazote 1/8 in pad torso length and a thermarest neoair torso length. It worked well. I had the exazote for rest stop to lay down and it protected my neoair from punctures and added some warmth
About 12oz between the two
I don’t do extended distances anymore so I would probably keep my x-gold and Nemo inflatable for comfort. I mean I do after all want to be able to get up in the morning and hike. LOL
I switched from the Xtherm to the Tensor All-Season last year and found the vertical baffles much better for side sleeping. The weight penalty is minimal for the comfort gain, though the Xtherm is definitely warmer if you're consistently in sub-freezing temps.
BB-56_Washington
