World's Lightest Sleeping Pad
 

Have any of you tried the Klymit Inertia X Frame sleeping pad. At 9.1 ounces, it's supposed to be the world's lightest sleeping pad and, according to this review, it's very comfortable.

https://youtu.be/-Lf2cJ6zWT4

You might want to re-check that link. Did not work for me.

The blue old Thermarest in the photo was 15 oz, it is a shorty model.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=489678

I have a lighter Thermarest, 13.4 oz, don't recall which trips I used that one on, their Prolite 3 model I think, it is a shorty one.

I think the vintage 3/8 closed cell ones I used in the 1970s were even lighter but I could never get much sleep on those.

Try the link again, please.

I've got a Thermarest, too, but I'm in the market for a pad for my wife.

http://www.bikepacking.com/wordpress...14-740x493.jpg

Josh Kato used it on his Tour Divide victory run this past summer. He broke all the previous records, but he seems like a pretty average guy, and made very sensible choices with his carried gear (including a full shelter).

Here's what he said about that sleeping pad, courtesy of Bikepacking.com:

Worked this time. But looks a bit too weird to me, I will stick with more conventional pads and air mattresses.

That must be why I never win any bike tours, I use the wrong pads. But, ... ... the tours I go on don't have any winners, maybe that is why I never win.

Durability ?

According to this review, it's not comfortable at all. Neoair XLite 3/4 is 8 ouces. I bet the Neoair is a lot warmer too.

Thanks for posting that.

I didn't hear him say it's "not comfortable at all" but that it's less comfortable than the NeoAir. On the plus side, he hiked most of the Appalachian Trail with it (albeit without using it every night) and it never leaked, so, @Squeezebox, it's durable. It's also very easy to inflate (only four breaths) and it's less expensive the NeoAir. It'd be interesting to see a side-by-side review of the two.

http://bit.ly/1ThOoTuI have the x small version. Very light and compact. I wish this were a torso version of the larger models however as the x small is x narrow as well.

Depending on what you mean by sleeping pad, you may want to look at this torso pad (5 oz - 129g) (url redirect may not be working, so ... : bit.ly/1ThOoTu)

HOLEY crap!

makes me think of old school drilled out cranksets, brake levers etc etc.

sleeping is kinda like some of the other topics here, I put a really big priority on a good nights sleep, so campmat, proper sleeping bag and tent are way up there on my priority of not bothering with x number of grams saved.

He doesn't say that but he stresses that it's not very comfortable quite often. It might be ok if you only ever sleep on your back but I sure don't. I roll a lot and use a wide pad because the 20" pads made me feel like I was sleeping on a narrow ledge next to a cliff. I also rarely sleep inside my sleeping bag. I use it as a blanket unless it gets really cold so the idea of using the bag's loft in the holes doesn't really work. Also, the tent floor can be damp or even wet and I don't like my sleeping bag touching it. Finally, when things go wrong the sleeping bag/pad is my last line of comfort. I don't skimp on those. I'll take a good night's sleep over a few grams saved.

I have two neighbors that did the whole Appalachian Trail, they said their packs weighed 12 and 14 pounds at the end. No extra clothes at all, when they occasionally found a laudromat one would wash all their clothes while wearing rain gear, the other would hide naked somewhere. Carried a small tarp instead of a tent, I asked her how the bugs were at night and she just gave me a look that said they were occasionally pretty bad.

I understand the goal of trying to make more miles each day, but I would carry a bit more weight myself and cover a few less miles each day. I had about 30 pounds in Grand Canyon, and the weight is more important when all you have is one really big hill. But it was below freezing for part of that trip, so I had the down and polartec gear.

Like I said above, I did not get much sleep on the 3/8 inch closed cell pads that we used before Thermarest pads were invented, it would not be worth cutting a few ounces to go back to that.

Here is a review of the mat, Klymit Inertia X Frame Review - OutdoorGearLab

Take the review for what it's worth but there are some trade offs in making the pad this light.

I've been happy with the REI Flash insulated pad which weighs 1 lb.

As a quilt user this pad is not effectively useable. It seems to require a sleeping bag or additional foam insulation under it or on top of it to fill the gaps for insulation to prevent heat loss.

I have a Gossamer Gear (Klymit) Air Beam short wide pad that I like very much. It has some nice design features. The outer chamber on each side is larger than the inner ones. Keeps me on the pad. The thickness tapers from 2 inches at the head to one inch at the base of the pad length of 56 inches. It is 37 inches wide at the top with 26 inches useable not counting the edge chambers. It tapers to 25 inches at the bottom.

It is an uninsulated air pad best for Summer use unless I bring along a a 1/8th inch Evasote pad for insulation which weighs two ounces. The weight of the Air beam is 12 ounces and very compact.

** As I was writing this I notice that Gossamer Gear has stopped selling these pads which they designed and had made by Klymit. They have all Air beam Pads left on sale on clearance here.

I had one and returned it after one use. The weight savings over my REI air rail 1.5 didn't justify the discomfort.

pretty much agree.

never really got a good night's sleep until the late 70's when i bought one of the first generation, IIRC, thermarests. i've had several of their most recent offerings (pro-lite small and the Trail-Lite small), but none were as satisfactory as the first. and the pad this thread is about, doesn't impress me enough to consider switching from my current thermarest. i consider it's larger size, and weight, and durability a satisfactory trade-off. although, i'm still looking for something better than i'm currently using (trail-lite, small).

BTW, i just tried my new-gen thermarest, you know, the one that's smaller, lighter, thinner and more easily punctured than previous generations (pro-lite) :lol:, just yesterday. tossed and turned all night.

I'm a side sleeper and I can't even stand a 3/4 length pad. Or even the rounded edges. I prefer a square neo pair xtherm, or better yet my exped downmat 9 wide/long (I'm 5-10) for a sleep like I'm at home.

The original basic neolite I got a bunch of years ago gives me a better nights sleep than my older light thermorests, so newer stuff can be lighter and more comfortable---this holey mattress doesn't inspire confidence.

not a criticism, but i think i had one of those xtherms once. it was so thick i kept 'falling' off of it during the night. :lol:

the best night of sleep i've had in years, while camping, was when i borrowed someone's cot and their 2" thick plastic covered open cell foam mattress that had to be 36" wide and about 6' long.

i was horse-camping and everything was carried in by mules.

My backcountry bed has a sleeve for the mat, never a problem I have.

i tried a variation on that theme, by attempting to put the pad INside the sleeping bag. and i think it would've worked, if there were room for me to get in the bag too.

I think about where I am going before I decide which pad to take. All my thermarest pads are shorty ones for lighter weight. The thin ones (I have two versions of Pro-Lite) are good enough for me if I will be sleeping on soils like are common in forests or a grassy area because those soils are somewhat soft. But if I will be in areas with rocky soils or in frequently used campgrounds where the soil can be very hard packed, I need a thicker pad.

I also have a couple air mattresses. They are slightly heavier than my shorty Thermarest pads being full length, but the air mattresses roll up much smaller to fit in my panniers. I used an air mattress this past June when backpacking Isle Royale, we planned to try to get shelters where we could and their floor is hard enough that I knew that I really did not want a thin pad on that hard floor. The air mattresses was much better on that trip.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=490369

Maybe, but I wonder if the inertia might be warmer that it would seem. Reason? I think the sleeping bag may loft into the big holes. Just speculating.

No Thank and I will stay with my Therm a Rest trail pro sleeping pad 72x20x2

I understand that the lightest sleeping pad is a car windshield sun protector. My favorite is the NeoAir.