Three weeks ago my Wife, son and I visited a nearby SAIL outdoor store looking for some new gear for an upcoming canoe trip. Our journey lead us to the sleeping pads and mattresses. My Wife and I had two different ideas of what we wanted in a sleeping pad. For myself, it was mostly about pack size and weight. I could give up a bit of comfort to leave a little more room in my bag. As for my Wife, she wanted pure comfort at any expense. Now, these were our initial thoughts as we began to sift through the various stock SAIL supplied and the demos they had out to test. I bounced from the various models from Sea to Summit, Big Agnes and Thermarest not really giving any though to Exped. I kept coming back to the Thermarest Prolite Plus L. I liked that it was a foam air mix and it was self inflating, the price was great also, for what was considered a four season sleeping pad. My search wasn't done yet. I had to retry all the pads once again, and even a third time for good measure. Lets just say I spent about an hour and a half trying out each pad in stock. I still for some reason did not get on an Exped and for the life of me cannot remember why. My Wife and son during this time camped out in the floor model tents, trying out the Helinox chairs and relaxing while I was attempting to find my perfect sleeping pad. Once again I came back to the Thermarest ProLite Plus L and this time The Big Agnes Air Core. With the Air Core needing a pump my decision was final, I would go with the Thermarest. Here is some things I found out about each mattress (personal opinion and in no way am I an expert). I am aware that opinions will vary as well as experiences with these pieces of gear.
Sea To Summit Ultra light Mat > When I moved on it the mat sounded like a Sun Chip bag being crumpled up. Although, I was told it was due to the floor in the store and would not sound like that during a camp. Still did not appeal to me.
Big Agnes Air Core> You needed to blow this up with either your breath or a mini pump that you could purchase extra. For me I do not like blowing into an air mattress as you are expelling condensation in and setting yourself up for possible mold or in colder environments, ice that will not help with warmth. There was the pump option but that meant I had to transport an extra piece of gear that would rely on batteries. No thanks.
Thermarest Prolite Plus L> It was wider in the torso section which meant that it would still support me as I rolled to different positions throughout the night. It was self inflating which was a bonus in my mind and I found the foam to be comfortable despite how thin it was.
Exped SynMat 7 M> You will have to continue reading to hear my thoughts on this :)
I come to find out after my whirlwind of decision making that my Wife had tried out the Exped SynMat 7 M and had decided on that one. With our purchases made, it was time to test or choices out on our upcoming four day canoe trip into the Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park.
Ok now fast forward to the present......
We just returned from our canoe trip and spent 3 nights in the backcountry on our air mattresses/pads. My Wife reports that she has never slept that good while camping EVER! While I cannot say it with as much enthusiasm, I also slept very well on the Thermarest Prolite Plus L. Looking over at my Wife on her lofty Exped though I couldn't help but wonder why I did not try it out back at SAIL. Well.....I had to try it out now, so after convincing my Wife to give it up for a few minutes I stretched out on the one I did not try and it was glorious! I also had the opportunity to inflate the Exped which is done with a built in hand pump. No need for breath or exterior pump. It inflates very quickly with minimal effort and the valve to deflate is placed in a great spot for releasing the air while rolling it up. On the Thermarest, I had to give it a couple of breaths to firm it up after self inflation was finished. The Exped also packed smaller than my Thermarest. Although I like my Thermarest and will continue to use it, I would personally have to give the edge to the Exped SynMat 7 M. Only time will tell how durable these mats are but I know one thing, if I can sneak the Exped out on some of my trips without the Wife, the Thermarest may get a rest back in the gear closet :)
Please feel free to leave your comments on the experiences you have had with different sleeping pads/mattresses. We would love to hear your feedback.
Until next time, what gear would you choose?
Johnny- Two4adventure
Here is the link for the Thermarest Prolite Plus: http://www.cascadedesigns.com/Therm-A-Rest/Mattresses/Fast-And-Light/ProLite-Plus/product
Here is the link for the Exped SynMat 7: http://www.exped.com/switzerland/en/product-category/mats/synmat-7-m
