Glacier National Park Chat

I'm thinking of buying either the xlite, xtherm or the trekker version. Most of the reviews are good but they do say these sleeping pads can make a lot of creaking noise. Does anyone have experience with these? Another thing is I see the regulars have 20 inch width and I'm not sure that's wide enough. Any opinions on this.

Paul

the therma rest pad is noisy. my wife has one. kind of like crinkling wax paper. I've got the big agnes pad and think it is superior.

I've only tried them out at REI. They are crazy noisy when you lay down on them.. but I guess its personal preference. If you're someone who finds a comfy position to lay in and stays there all night it shouldn't be a problem.

Also, it seems like it'd be more a problem for hikers sleeping in the tent with you, than yourself.. but I could just be making that up.

I've been thinking about an xlite. I've a prolite plus that's never self-inflated and it would be nice to have something with a little more cushion (2.5" to 1.5") and that's smaller and lighter. The issue has been convincing myself that those small improvements are really worth 160$ to me.

smahurin wrote:
Also, it seems like it'd be more a problem for hikers sleeping in the tent with you, than yourself.. but I could just be making that up.

Or the tent next to you.
We spent a week in GNP with a couple that both had them. They are very noisy! It was comical at bedtime as they settled in.
One good thing is we didn't have any night time critter problems. And they are a good wake up alarm.
IRG

I have one of these in large wide bought in early 2012.
http://www.rei.com/product/811907/exped ... -7-air-pad
I'm 6'4"/180, so I bought the large/wide (78"L and 26"W and 21oz.)
I have had to repair one tiny pinhole leak in 2013. Took all night to go half way down.
I'm a side sleeper. I don't believe it's a noisy pad. Whatever, it is by far, the most comfortable pad I have ever owned.
No it's not light at 21oz but comfort is important to me. Comfort for me means better sleep.

I roll mine up "full width" and fits easily in a old stuff sack that's about 23"x5". I strap it on the outside of my pack.
Rolling it avoids "creases" folding makes. Better idea imo.
You can carry yours however you like

Paul, you could fit on the MW version which is 72"L and 26"W and 20oz.

pete

A few days ago at Snyder Lake. Just an accident that the EXPED logo showed in the pic.

It sounds like the noise of the NeoAir would bother me. I tend to turn a lot during the night so I'm glad I checked with you the forum first. I might go down to REI this weekend to test it out just to make sure.

Pete, the Exped might be ideal. I'd probably try out the regular wide version first. Although it's somewhat heavier than what I'm looking for, comfort beats out a few extra ounces.

I did a ton of research over the winter when I was looking to upgrade my sleeping pad. I went with the NEMO Astro Insulated Lite (http://www.rei.com/product/866791/nemo- ... eeping-pad). It doesn't have the longitudinal baffles which I found to be slightly annoying and the width is quite good since the sides seem more "vertical" than the others I tried. You can shave some weight as well if you you need the insulated version. I'm incredibly happy with it so far.

We have been happy with the Neo-Air All Season pads. They seem less crinkly than the other Neo-Air models. But we also cover ours with the down coupler when Laura and I are camping together. I haven't seen the Nemo pads but I have been very happy with every piece of Nemo gear we have. So that's a consideration.

The other thing you might give some consideration to is a sleep system. The Nemo Tango Single and other down comforter designs are lighter since the insulation is in top. So combined that with a warmer pad that slips into the bottom of the Tango and you'll get less crinkling or go with one of the Nemo pads. I'd suggest the 25" wide pad in any case. The Tango single weighs 1 lb 13 oz. If you want a warmer comforter , look at Enlightened Equipment.

The Tango Duo is the most comfortable backcountry sleeping system I've found and it's no heaver than two good down bags.

Heff

Heff936 wrote:We have been happy with the Neo-Air All Season pads. They seem less crinkly than the other Neo-Air models. But we also cover ours with the down coupler when Laura and I are camping together. I haven't seen the Nemo pads but I have been very happy with every piece of Nemo gear we have. So that's a consideration.

The other thing you might give some consideration to is a sleep system. The Nemo Tango Single and other down comforter designs are lighter since the insulation is in top. So combined that with a warmer pad that slips into the bottom of the Tango and you'll get less crinkling or go with one of the Nemo pads. I'd suggest the 25" wide pad in any case. The Tango single weighs 1 lb 13 oz. If you want a warmer comforter , look at Enlightened Equipment.

The Tango Duo is the most comfortable backcountry sleeping system I've found and it's no heaver than two good down bags.

Heff

Were you using the neo-air when we backpacked? I don't remember the noise being an issue then.

I went to REI yesterday and checked out various sleeping pads that they had available to test. One of them was the Neo-Air xlite. It didn't seem as noisy as I expected, although it was hard to tell since REI was pretty noisy at the time. One thing about the xlite that I don't like is the shape. They cut off the corners of the pad and trim the leg portion to save weight. To me that's a big negative.

paul wrote:

Heff936 wrote:We have been happy with the Neo-Air All Season pads. They seem less crinkly than the other Neo-Air models. But we also cover ours with the down coupler when Laura and I are camping together. I haven't seen the Nemo pads but I have been very happy with every piece of Nemo gear we have. So that's a consideration.

The other thing you might give some consideration to is a sleep system. The Nemo Tango Single and other down comforter designs are lighter since the insulation is in top. So combined that with a warmer pad that slips into the bottom of the Tango and you'll get less crinkling or go with one of the Nemo pads. I'd suggest the 25" wide pad in any case. The Tango single weighs 1 lb 13 oz. If you want a warmer comforter , look at Enlightened Equipment.

The Tango Duo is the most comfortable backcountry sleeping system I've found and it's no heaver than two good down bags.

Heff

Were you using the neo-air when we backpacked? I don't remember the noise being an issue then.

I went to REI yesterday and checked out various sleeping pads that they had available to test. One of them was the Neo-Air xlite. It didn't seem as noisy as I expected, although it was hard to tell since REI was pretty noisy at the time. One thing about the xlite that I don't like is the shape. They cut off the corners of the pad and trim the leg portion to save weight. To me that's a big negative.

Yes I was using the Neo-Air all season pad. I've been happy with it

Heff