Big Agnes vs Thermarest
 

I've used a Thermarest regular Prolite 3 for a few years and liked the self inflating and lightness
of the pad, but never really felt comfortable on it. So I bought a Big Agnes Insulated Air Core pad a few
weeks ago and had a chance to try it out last week.

The pad is a a few oz heavier than the Thermarest and takes far longer to inflate; the Thermarest only takes a couple of breaths to inflate after being rolled out and left for a few mins, but the Big Agness take 5 mins of blowing to inflate as it is not "self inflating". However it packs smaller than the Thermarest and its 2.5" tickness vs the 1.5 of the Thernarest makes it far more comfortable. Gone is the soreness in the small of my back. Bottomline is that the extra weight and light headedness after inflation of the Big Agnes is well worth the far more confortable night's sleep I get. I'm a convert to Big Agnes.

I like BA's pad too; much more comfortable than anything else I have tried.

I bought a big agnes last summer and I absolutely love it. If only they'd build it with an integrated pillow it would be even better.

I've commented on this before. I bought the Big Agnes last year and used it on my summer tour. It was more comfortable than Thermarest. It's longer for about the same weight (full-length Big Agnes vs. 3/4 Thermarest.) The Big Agnes packs smaller than the Thermarest. My back problems sleeping on the ground were lessened with the Big Agnes.

The only drawback was having to blow it up every night. However, I timed myself and it took about 2 minutes, not 5, and that was exhaling easily into it, not blowing hard. I found it fairly meditative, rather than overly annoying.

I haven't used the Big Agnes on a really cold night, so can't comment on its insulating properties. I bought the insulated one for cold nights. I had a couple of mildly cold nights in the mountains last summer. I didn't notice that it was colder than my Thermarests.

The jury is still out on the durability. My Thermarests have never failed once, and the first one I bought is about 20 years old and has been slept on countless times. My Big Agnes has only made it through about 20 nights' sleep.

I have the Big Agnes as well, and found that if you use the least amount of air necessary to keep your hips off the ground it is even more comfortable!! I'm going to sew a custom sheet with an integral pillow case that fits my Big Agnes inflatable pillow. Slide the pad into the sheet sleeve and inflate the pillow, no more sliding off in the middle of the night.

My wife and I have the BA pads as well and like them a lot. We don't do much more than some weekend trips currently and have nothing to compare it to but they are nice. We have BA bags too which have a pocket you slide the whole pad into which is pretty cool. The BA bags have a pocket to stuff a pillow in though we just fill it with clothes for now. The BA bags are larger than most bags and allow you to turn on your side without rolling the whole bag with you. My wife loves the bigger bag as she couldn't take the feel of a tight mummy bag and it fits her pretty wide hips better than any other bag did.

Yea, but how does it compare to the couch you're going to be sleeping on:D

Haha.
1. She doesn't read this forum.
2. She knows she has big hips and doesn't get mad about.

Still funny though.

Interesting thread.

I always had lower back/hip problems on Thermarests until I switched to their Prolite. I have no problems sleeping on the Prolite. I have too much invested in all my Thermarests to switch to BA at this point in time, but if anything should happen, I'll have to consider the BA.

Do you also have the BA sleeping bags? Any that you'd recommend for biking (summer to 3-season weight, non-down)?

My wife and I have the Crystal 30 degree bag. It is actually a mix of synthetic and down. We chose this model for the price to weigh to temperature rating of it. I couldn't afford anything super expensive but wanted something relatively light as well. We live in TX and don't plan anything more than weekend to maybe week long trips around here so we fit into your summer to 3-season weight category as well.

I got the regular bag and my wife the long as she wanted the extra width for her previous mentioned hips and dislike of a tight fitting mummy bag. We got alternate side zippers so we can zip together for trips together and have been pleased so far. We have used them on some nights into the 40s and they have kept us plenty warm so far. I don't think my wife will want to be touring if it'll be much cooler than that anyways as she won't want to be on the bike when it's too cold out during the day.

I always seem to be in the minority in this debate.

In my experience, the BA doesn't insulate very well. I also didn't enjoy blowing the thing up. It is VERY comfortable, however. If you never camp in cold climates, this is a great pad.

The Thermarest is easy to inflate and insulates well. I find it comfortable after a full day of cycling.:)