Anyone have experience with the REI Stratus pad? Not the lightest, but significantly cheaper than the exped synmat ul or thermarest neoair. Thanks.

For 20oz the pad is pretty solid, packs down quite small, fairly lightweight, and the insulation on it is definitely decent.

I really like the raised baffles on the side of the pad as it keeps you centered on the pad very well. For the price, I would probably take the Stratus Pad over the Exped, even with 4 additional ounces of weight.

Edited by badscooter on 09/13/2012 13:52:30 MDT.

I would love to hear others reviews. I am looking at the 25" ones and the weight is the same as the Neoair trekker and all season (25 ounces). R-value is in-between the two and priced half as much! The weight of the x-lite blows everything out of the water, but I am concerned about how fragile those things are.

Maybe I'm wrong in this, but it looks like the space between the baffles is sealed through. Wouldn't this just create cold spots without insulation?

I imagine that this makes construction--and thus price--a lot cheaper. I just worry that it could be a fatal flaw.

Yeah, certainly Kookabay used to say the box construction prevented cold spots. REI reports an r-value of 3.0 which is pretty darn good. I have never looked into how the r-value is measured. If it is a true estimation of overall insulation then construction technique has been taken into account. If it is just a measure of insulation through a baffle then indeed actual use could be much worse.

My wife just got the REI Stratus pad and I compared it to my REI Lite Core 1.5. The Stratus seemed more fragile and possibly more susceptible to punctures. It was also much bigger in size even though the weights and R value were kind of similar. The REI Lite Core 1.5 seems more durable and packs smaller and is the same price. We have not used the Stratus pad yet, so maybe it is tougher than it feels. Good luck!

I checked out this pad yesterday at REI and compared it to other "lightweight" options such as the Synmat UL 7. The Stratus' fabric is definitely beefier than the Synmat UL, more comparable with the Synmat Regular or the Downmat.

It's not box construction, but I heard an anecdote from a user while I was shopping: he said he liked the pad and that his down bag filled in the spots where it was welded-through, which enabled the down to loft in those spots. This would likely negate any insulative loss due to the welds. Your mileage may vary.

Myself, I bought the 40th Anniversary Prolite pad. Tested out the Prolite plus but the 2" of the 40th Anniversary was too good to turn down. Slept very well. Clocks in on my scale at 24 ounces (the Prolite Plus reg was about 23), R value of 4. Not really relevant to the conversation, but I went in wanting to buy the Stratus.

I tried out the Neoair X-Lite and not only did it feel delicate to me but moving around on it is pretty darn noisy.

I tried out the Stratus in the store and here are my impressions. As others have said the material seems tougher than the Synmat UL 7. Packs up almost as small as the Synmat UL 7. I tried both the 20" wide and 25", the outer tubes being larger bothered me with the 20" but were fine with the wide. It is advertised as being 2.5" thick but this is misleading as I believe only the outer 2 tubes are that thick, the center seems more like 1.5 to 1.75". It was more comfortable than the older self inflating pads I have, and quieter than the Big Agnes Air Core and old style neo air ultralite. I think it is a good value at about half the price of the higher end pads but I am leaning towards the Exped Synmat UL 7 because it was so comfortable (flat), quiet, small, and light.

For those of us using quilts, there is no bag to fill in the holes.

As for the NeoAir XLite, it has the same denier as the previous version. Cascade Designs has an excellent warranty policy.

This seems like a good alternative. Anybody try this out?

I've got one. It's not as quite as warm or as comfortable as an XLite but for the price and presumably higher durability it's nice. That said, it is still quite comfortable and the matte finish and channels between the baffles might make it more comfortable in the hot summer.

I've slept on it at least 10 nights so far. The wider baffles on the sides do help keep you from sliding off at night, which is a nice bonus, and it is pretty easy to inflate and deflate.

I have used it a couple nights and I am quite satisfied. I used it with an EE quilt during some cold windy nights at 11,000 ft in the Sierra's and was quite warm. It replaced and old, thin thermarest self-inflating pad. It seemed warmer than my old pad. The warmth seemed well matched to my 30° over-stuffed quilt.

Thanks for the comments. This looks like a real steal. It's allot heavier than my current pad but I want to go to a 25" wide pad because the last several years weren't very comfy on a 20" pad. I'm a side sleeper and can move about a bit.