As I find myself going lighter and lighter a problem keeps occuring with my current packs: they are simply too big :D. I simply don't take enough gear anymore to fill up my gossamer gear G4 or my recently home-made BP. All that goes in the body of my pack nowadays is my sleepingbag, cooking pot, TP, emerg. ziplock and food. All this would fit in a 30 liter backpack, which I don't have, but I am planning to make one like the 5yrds to SUL soon.

The UL packs I have been using so far all use my TAR Z-Rest sleeping pad as a virtual frame, but I guess that with a smaller volume pack my Z-Rest would be 1) too large and 2) no longer used as a virtual frame.

So now I am wondering which sleeping pad I could take on a SUL and SSV (Super Small Volume) trip? Any inflatable seems to me too large and heavy, I have tried and liked bubblewrap, but I am looking for something a bit more durable. Now the balloonbed would seem right, but I have doubts about durability and I have strong doubts about the insulating properties of the balloonbed, which should be zero. The GG pads seem good, but I wonder if such a pad actually fits inside a 30 liter pack?

My question: what do experienced SUL hikers take as a sleeping pad?

Eins

I almost bought one of the Ether Thermo 6 2/3 pads because it rolls up so small. It believe it rolls up smaller than any thermarest pad. It's 16 oz. Comfy too.

http://www.pacoutdoor.com/2007/index.cfm?action=product&productID=132&groupID=23&familyID=1

I used a POE uberlite on my Sangre de Cristo hike for four nights and liked it okay. If using it in a hoodless bivy it's best to put the valve towards the feet. Unless you have ginormous (new word in Merriam Webster dictionary) shoulders, it will be okay.

Edited by jshann on 07/14/2007 09:55:07 MDT.

Hi, i have been having the same problem: reduction in pack weight corresponding to a commensurate reduction in necessary volume. Currently i use an OMM Marathon 32L pack (14 oz after custom strip down). OMM has something called a sitmat which is a very compact sleeping pad. I use 2 panels (2 oz) of the sit mat and a custom HDPE sheet (3 oz) as a frame inserted in the frame pocket and then a GG 30 in Evazoate crated pad (3.9 oz). When i link them all together (pack, sitmat panels, foam pad) it creates a 72 in sleeping pad that is thick where you need it and slim elsewhere. Incidently, i use the foam pad as an exoskeleton inside of which i place the rest of my gear. I can fit my gear plus food for 7 days easily in the pack.

OMM has some interesting stuff. Packs, Bags, mats and more.

Jim, a couple of questions----what are the OMM mats made of and how thick are they? What did you do to your Marathon to strip it down to 14 oz.?

cheers,
KD

What does OMM stand for? (link, please)? Thanks!

http://www.theomm.com/omm_products.html

Out of merry 'ole England.

I bought two of the OMM mats last week - one was their older style one - the Platformat - which has a steel frame embedded in a foam covering, so it's shapeable, the other is the new Duomat folding mat for inserting into their packs which I intend to alter my Lowe Contour Runner to fit. The Duomat has 4 sections, is either 45 cm or 48 cm wide (which is the length when it's folded and in your pack), 80 cm long when extended and has a velcro patch for mating to another pad. It's made of a very dense foam about 0.5 cm thick. When the pad is folded to fit in a pack it's about 1.8 cm thick. The top has a knit covering, the bottom is rubberised. Mine is the 45 cm one which according to their website weighs 145 grams. It would probably be insulating but not very comfortable on hard ground, but in the UK, with the grass and soft ground that probably wouldn't be the issue it would be in Australia or the Japanese Alps.

I also had a look at the Kamleika tops and bottoms. I like the bottoms and will probably buy a pair as you don't get the annoying bagginess and noise of usual rain pants.

Well thanks so far. The consensus seems to be to go back to an inflatable. Interesting to see that as one gets lighter, a transitions is made from sleeping on a self infaltable to a lighter non inflatable and back to an inflatable again. A good thing is the small volume but at a bit under a pound these inflatables seem heavy! Are there any UL to SUL sleeping pads that are also very small?

Eins

Inflatables
BMW torsolite (10-11 oz; 32x17x1; 4x8 packed)
POE uberlite (9.0 oz; 37x17x1; 4x8 packed)
Montbell Pad 90 (10.2 oz; 35x20x1; 3.5x10 packed)

Closed Cell Foam (you can easily cut to size and fold in thirds for custom fit)
Gossamer Gear nightlite torso
POE uber micro (not sold anymore?)
others

Edited by jshann on 07/14/2007 08:52:18 MDT.

How about an Artiach Light Plus cured CC pad? It weighs 170 g (6 ounces... but mine weights 150 g) and is 185 cm (73 in) long and 1.2 cm thick. Even then it is just as comfortable as my Ridgerest because of the way the knobs are placed on the pad. If you fold it in half you have a 2.4 cm thick pad, very comfortable, probably about the same as my MB UL inflatable pad. Or you can cut the pad in half and have two 3/4 length CC pads, each piece weighing about 75 to 85 g. Or the pad is long enough to roll up one end and use that as your pillow (as one BPL member suggested the other day... can't remember who or where).I'm still debating whether to take this or the MB pad for my trip this summer. It rolls up smaller in diameter (about 15 cm) than my 3/4 length Ridgerest, but it isn't as compact as an inflatable though.

Edited by butuki on 07/14/2007 09:54:21 MDT.

Deleted.

Edited by GNR on 07/14/2007 10:41:49 MDT.