Mainly a Hennessy Hammock with a No Sniveller underneath. When on the ground, a Prolite 4 regular at 24 oz (675g). This thread will hopefully help me do better.

3/4 length TR Prolite 4 with a short piece of a cheap blue foam pad for my legs and feet. The blue foam pad piece also makes a nice camp chair.

Full-length Prolite 4, though I need to consider a 3/4 length and using my pack. I get cold too easily and my hips get too sore with thinner pads.

Under my tent or tarptent I use thin plastic sheeting from the hardware store (paint tarps that I cut to size) -- super lightweight, cheap, and durable, but not terribly enviro-friendly. Any thoughts on something lightweight that's not so disposable?

gossamerGear NightLight torso pad and Polycryo ground sheet. If the ground is cold, wet or uncomfortable I sheath my legs with a heavily modified (down to approximately 23oz) Deuter Speed Lite 30 pack.

>Any thoughts on something [ground sheet] lightweight that's not so disposable?


Gossamer Gear Polycryo Ground Cloth (small: 1.3 oz; medium: 1.5 oz; large: 5.6 oz). I've used my small many times and it is holding up well. It is absolutely water-impermeable (I've slept on a puddle). I overlooked a sharp stick when pitching my tent, and it hurt when I sat on it. I broke the stick off through the tent floor and the ground cloth, with no harm to either. However, the last time I used my large, I shoved a tent peg through it and punctured it less than an inch from the edge. The next day there was a 3" tear from the edge near that location, which I ignored. While giving it a vigorous two-person shaking the next morning, the entire sheet ripped in half. So while the material is quite puncture and wear resistant, a tear should be taped immediately to prevent it from propagating catastrophically.

Edited by Otter on 03/21/2007 13:11:47 MDT.

When going SUL I'll pack my GG Nightlite torso length. When I want more comfort and don't mind the extra weight I'll pack my Prolite 3 short, a roughly 9 oz difference in weight. With either option I'm in a MB zipperless #5, in a bivy, on a polychro groundcloth.

Beacon 'Summit XL' 12mm thick, 73" long and 22.5" wide - and 12.5 oz.

Thanks, Douglas! I'll check it out.

Everything goes in the bivy, so from ground up:

bivy bottom (1.4 silnyl)

V
V

GG Nightlight Torso (upper body)
Pack with 1/8" GG Thinlight piece as framesheet (lower legs inside pack, wearing the pack keeps my feet on the pad and pack back)

V
V

JRB No Sniveller draped over pack and wrapped under lower legs.

Sticking your feet in the pack is clever. I once did that when I had to bail on a fastpacking trip. Spent the night in my Thermawrap vest with my silponcho draped over my upper body and my legs in my pack. Ahh, memories.

Usually I sleep on a simple Ridgerest chopped down to torso size, with my legs on top of my backpack. I'm a stomach sleeper so I don't need the cushioning that side sleepers usually want.
-Mark

Just opened a box from Campmor containing, among other things, my new 60" mummy shaped Big Agnes insulated sleeping pad. Says it weighs in at 18 oz. Is a small package, which I really like cuz am tired of wrestling with those huge rolled-up things on the outside of my pack.

I know I could go a lot lighter than 18 oz but like others here, my old bones are interested in a good rest. Been backpacking since before it caught on so recall lugging an Army surplus air mattress that must've been 5 lbs, while getting acquainted with the Adirondack High Peaks. Wasn't able to get comfortable on that anyway; it made my hips ache. Then years with blue foam minimal 'til a bear ate it. (Imagine THAT scat!) Then a shorty Thermarest, then a boyfriend bought me a really thick Thermarest which has been best of all but obviously too heavy.

Now can't wait for slightly better weather to get out there and test the new BA. Am happy to finally see new dimensions available in sleeping pads. To me 48" doesn't cut it (been there, done that) and I don't need my full 5'6" height in a pad, so happy to find this 60" one at reduced price.

Edited by vermontsilkie on 03/22/2007 08:03:35 MDT.

Janet Brewster writes: "Under my tent or tarptent I use thin plastic sheeting from the hardware store (paint tarps that I cut to size) -- super lightweight, cheap, and durable, but not terribly enviro-friendly. Any thoughts on something lightweight that's not so disposable?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Same thoughts here, Janet. For years I used an old nylon poncho/tarp (that I happened to have - I think it was my former husband's Vietnam era Army issue) under my '73 North Face double end A-frame tent. Getting a Stephenson tent soon, I hope, and they say just to use the plastic. I know I have a roll of construction plastic but frankly, it's heavier than I'd like and I don't care for the disposal situation either. Looking into Tyvek. Does anyone know of an inexpensive source of Tyvek?

I have used blue and green foam back in the early eighties as a kid.

I more recently have used a Thermarest that while comfortable was extremely heavy and more trouble to use on the trail than I cared for.

Having used the Ridgerest, like Mark, cut down to a shorter length and weighing in at 10.2 oz...I am converted to this style of sleep pad.

I recently got the Gossamer Gear 3/4 length pad which I believe is an inch less in width from a Ridgerest, but seems to be slightly more comfortable. It does not seem to be nearly as durable as the Ridgrest (which I have used as a camp chair/ lake float/ windscreen) but if it lasts 2 weeks worth of nights in the wild...will be worth the $28 to replace.

I have used the GG polycro...and Tyvek...and regular painters visqueen film for groundcloths, and overall I prefer Mylar. It seems to dry quicker than clear plastic...and might have an edge for puncture resistance...and is not nearly as heavy as Tyvek. I am not sure any of these items is any "greener" of an alternative.

They are squirley as heck.. You know they put a weight on the cyclic to damp the vibrations. A bunch of parts flying in close formation in my opinon! ha ha...

Gee, my choices seem popular (I guess that's comforting ).

I've recently changed what I use and don't have any trail miles on the new setup yet; I've tried the lightest thermarest (13.6 oz) in a bivy and various things with a hammock. Now I'm using a tarptent with 1 mil painters plastic under that. For padding the GG Nightlight Torso (3.5 oz) and on top of that the GG 3/8" thinlight, 59" long and 6.1 oz.

The padding issue was partly resolved for me when I bought a GG pack for which their nightlight torso was designed to fit as the back padding.

The whole setup felt great in my backyard; my intuition is that it will hold up well on the trail too, but TBD.


Brian

Warm weather: Thermarest ProLite3 (full length)
Cold weather: Pacific Outdoor Hyper Mtn (far warmer than it looks)

I use an Insulmat Max Thermo 3/4 length. It's only 15 oz. but has 2.5 in. of loft! Thicker and lighter than my REI Lite Core. I use my pack for insulation for my lower legs and feet.

Brett,

Absolutely not. I would not be afraid to learn though...if I had the time and money.

The gentleman who flew us in for the heli-assisted hike was a true veteran and seemed extremely capable. The chopper itself while small, seems to be a workhorse. I have noticed them being used a lot for camera work/tv production. The ultimate safety in a particular aircraft has more to do with how well the operator knows it and maintains it like his life depends on it, IMHO!!!!

Ohh, and if we are adding in sleeping aid's, I just got a Western Mountaineering pillow...which at 4+ oz. is worth it's weight in gold. I would rather have this killer pillow over a better pad given that I generally sleep best on my stomach.

If you can, I recommend trying this at least once in your life. This particular trip we went on, the helicopter saved us 10 hours of driving and afforded us an opportunity for incredible views, a fly over to do a reality check on a ridge-route we wanted to persue, and a thrill factor to book-end a week of hiking.

Edited by scottalanp on 03/23/2007 12:20:07 MDT.

Scott, that sure saves time on the approach- excellent! The Robinsons are the #1 selling helicopter in the world recently numerically speaking.
Its a great way to get to the trail head..
Thanks for explaining the photo!

Sorry to divert this thread momentarily.. I recently switched to the Montbell UL pad system, a toggle-joined pillow, mattress, and sit pad that totals 180cm, and finally because the pillow no longer moves around, I can get a full nights sleep. Highly recommended.

Edited by Brett1234 on 03/23/2007 10:45:42 MDT.

Insul-Mat MaxThermo, full length. And I don't care what it weighs; I'm getting some good sleep. Getting old sucks.