Therm-a-Rest - ProLite Plus WV Sleeping Pad - Women's

I use a Thermatest Prolite, usually a short -66"x20x1.5, 15oz R 3.2. Can get one here  https://www.amazon.com/Therm-Rest-Ultralight-Self-Inflating-Backpacking/dp/B07YDMPNBR/138-8618099-6903143?pd_rd_w=VJsKg&content-id=amzn1.sym.1392ad92-d2f6-490a-8c6c-2c5b53785d2f&pf_rd_p=1392ad92-d2f6-490a-8c6c-2c5b53785d2f&pf_rd_r=5XEV0VGVTK5R3V4AFF39&pd_rd_wg=bs1VL&pd_rd_r=9b24eb35-fbf5-487c-a83d-006dbac63878&pd_rd_i=B07YDMPNBR&psc=1 For$88.  72M, 135 lb, 5'6. Side sleeper with bad back, must have firm need a firm. So I speed up inflation with a Flextail as far as it will go then close the wing and add 4-5 breaths in the cylander. Have not been able to get an all air as firm. Put empty pack under feet. Been ok to upper 20s. To pack:Flatten with Flextail, roll, let out last bit of air, fold in half, then in thirds to get a 10 x 22 ish . Lay in bottom of pack then partway up the back, drop in sleeping bag.  Also have a regular, have not tried the newr 2" thick ones but suspicious of the ribbed look.

Thermorest on sale at MEC: [https://www.mec.ca/en/product/6008-252/therm-a-rest-prolite-plus-wv-sleeping-pad-womens?colour=Cayenne](https://www.mec.ca/en/product/6008-252/therm-a-rest-prolite-plus-wv-sleeping-pad-womens?colour=Cayenne) I got my first thermorest for guides around age 10 and used it until 2 years ago when it finally gave but that's about 27 years, so may as well get something good that they can take to uni when they go! :) I know this is women's but it's a pretty good sale, i just don't know if i would pay the extra $50+ given your requirements...

I had the exact same thought also brought on by Extra and I have purchased one. It should be here tomorrow. Thanks for the write up. Looks like you did it right. The width, the lack of height and the r value are all I need to know. The durability is a total bonus.

Don't do it. Bought a cheap pad with air cells like that for my first backpacking trip, absolutely miserable sleeping experience and I have a very high tolerance to sleeping in uncomfortable situations. Laying directly on the ground was better, and whatever r rating was claimed was absolute bs. We were in a small canyon next to running water and an absolutely wicked wind storm kicked up, I froze my ass off that night, spent most of awake trying to get warm and willing the sun to come up. Second pad was a Klymit with an allegedly good r rating, same air cell style shown in the photo you attached. Did three days at 8000 feet in early March in Southwest Utah, froze my absolute ass off. I had Bought a 15 degree Big Agnes bad to match my fancy new Klymit pad in an attempt to avoid being cold again. was in a two person ultralight tent less than a foot away from one of my companions, and still woke up COLD. I'm talking laying in your bag scared to move and hit a cold spot, praying for the sun to rise, dreading going to sleep the following night cold Finally forked over the cash for a quality Thermarest Prolite Plus and I'm here to tell you for 150 bucks the difference in sleep quality but more importantly WARMTH is insane. Did three days at 9,500-10,000 feet also in Southwest Utah and slept like a baby every night. Spent a week in star valley Wyoming sleeping on a cot in a field about 15 feet away from the very cold Flat Creek with the Thermarest pad and a 15 Degree Big Agnes bag. would wake up in the morning with my bag completely iced over with frozen morning dew as well as the entire field, I was warm as could be in that bag, like I was in bed at home. Sleeping on a wack pad is something I would never wish on anybody. I would be more willing to roll the dice on my bag than my pad. If temperature isn't a concern whatsoever then go for it I guess but that air cell style is more uncomfortable than sleeping on the ground, I'd rather have a fourteen dollar foam pad than that air cell dogshit. Spend the money, sleep comfortably, enjoy your time. There are corners that can be cut to save you money, but your sleep system is absolutely not the place to do it. At best you could be uncomfortable when you're trying to recover so you can go have fun and walk a bunch with your friends, at worst your life could be in danger.

I have an Exped Synmat and it's quite comfortable. It's more "air mattress" than my Thermarest Prolite Plus but more comfortable. So much so I'm insisting my wife use my Synmat mattress instead of her existing Thermarest on our next trip. I can handle the lesser one (I hope). I think basically if you're spending some money it's always going to be more complicated than "air mattress". I think OP means a classic vinyl sack filled with air. They tend to have poor support, zero vapor management, and are cold (because air convection inside the mattress takes all your heat and moves it to the ground).

100%. Personally, I'm looking into using a trimmed Pro-lite this season. I just bought a used one off of ULGearTrade for $25. Planning to trim it down to torso size which I think I can get ~10oz. My hope is that the OCF in there will give me enough comfort, but also more stability than a 3" inflatable, which although less plush I think could translate to a more comfortable sleep.

Yeah I'm stoked about it! It's supposed to arrive from r/ULGearTrade today, so planning (unless I fuck it up) to document and post on r/myog in the next few weeks and review here in the spring once I get a few nights on it.

I recently cut down a ProLite Plus to torso size, about 36in. Rolled up in stuff sack it weighs 11oz, and initial review is that it’s more comfortable inch for inch than a xlite for me. At 1.5” height, it’s not too bad of a drop off to the legs and packs about the same size volume as a regular xlite. Quite a bit more durable too with both foam inside so I would expect a bad leak to be less devastating, and also 50d fabric. 

the prolite is my favorite sleeping pad, just so damn comfortable. gets left behind a lot though, heavy, as you point out

Really depends on your budget, how heavy would be too heavy, and how compact you need the packed pad to be. Something with an R-value around 4 or 5 should be fine if the temps will not dip below freezing. Good brands include Therm-a-Rest, Big Agnes, Nemo, Sea to Summit, Exped. If you are dead set on the self-inflating type (foam in an airtight cover) the Therm-a-Rest Prolight Plus series are a burly older design that is not quite as comfortable nor packs as small or light as the newer inflatables, but is a step up from a simple foam pad. Price is not too bad, either.

No experience with the new one. I much prefer my small prolite plus to my xlite. I find it alot more comfortable. It also makes a great frame sheet for a frameless pack.

My thermarest Prolite 4 is almost 20 years old. Has hundreds of nights on it at least 50 nights a year for 10 years but maybe a dozen a year (Avg)the last 10. It has only been loaned out for the last 5. So probably 600 nights or so. Self inflating are pretty durable if you take care of them. My Prolite has even survived 3 generations of dogs. Which isn't saying much, people assume dogs nails are like razors. I've never lost a tent, bag, inflatable boat or anything from a dog nail. We finally after 30 years of dog ownership got a rip in a couch cushion. That's it.

Klymit isn't insulated at all. Even the insulated one. It is labeled R4 which should keep it warm enough into the 40s but you'll be cold on it in 50s. So as long as you understand that, it's a fine durable pad. I cannot imagine the ampex being heavier. Best case, fall temps, you need to add that military thermarest under it. Actually, I recommend this in anything but summer temps. I didn't find it comfortable at first but it was my first airpad. I had been using a thermarest prolite 4 since probably 2005 which I found fine, but as I noted I usually double pad in cooler weather so often it was the prolite over a ridge rest or Z-Rest. It turns out, you need to blow it up much less than you think. Now I find it noisy but comfortable. However, it's my summer beater pad now. Anything below freezing (or really below 40F) I take my Rab R7.3 pad, which I actually feel heat radiate off. It's crazy... And yes, for cold weather I still put a thermarest close cell foamy under it. That makes it R9