UltraLite
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Reddit Reviews
Over the last thirty years I’ve had nine camping mats and only one has failed, a Thermarest ultra lite one, and that was after five or six years of use. All brands, but mostly Thermarest.
We picked up a Big Agnes Divide Deluxe for my girlfriend and that thing is obscenely comfy. I’m 6’ 215ish male and side sleeper and it stays inflated the entire night, with enough structure to keep my hips from touching the ground at all. Might get another for myself. It weights in at 2 lbs but the quality of sleep for me is insane. Prior to this u had a Nemo Tensotr which refused to stay inflated and a Thermarest ultra light pad which, while comfy, is super prone to punctures and gives me some hip to ground contact after a full night.
I hate inflating a 3" thick mattress; maybe often not worth the trouble vs a very old, 1-inch "ultra-light" thermarest pad. (amazing durability).
I have had several Themarests fail. Not that easy to patch, either. Now I mainly use a roll-up egg-crate style waterproof pad (Z pads are too bulky). Fits in my handlebar roll. Works better in a hammock too. And cheap.
Exped, REI, and Thermarest pads have all lasted that long and more. All self-inflaters.
I've had a self inflating Thermarest for about 30 years. I never camp without it and it still works great. Some years ago I had a canvas cover made for it. It's a disguise for when I go Civil War reenacting, and offers a layer of protection against brogans.
I use Thermarest pads, have for years, I store them deflated and rolled up, the self inflating feature works fine for me but it takes a little time, just unroll them as soon as you get to the campsite and leave the valve open until you’re ready to sleep, it may need a little topping up by blowing but not much
I've used a Thermarest self-inflating pad as my main bed for almost 3 years now and it's still going strong - the key is to get a quality one and occasionaly rotate it to distribute wear, plus putting it on some kind of platform rather than directly on floor helps prevent moisture issues that can degrade the matterial over time.
These are self-inflating pads - just open the valve and they'll mostly inflate on thier own, then you only need a few breaths to top it off!
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