Internal Construction— The I-Beam construction of this pad was designed to increase stability. One of the Air Core's main dilemmas was stability, so this has the potential to be a big upgrade. To alleviate discomfort at your knees, it is a good idea to place a pad between them when sleeping on your side. You can bring a second pillow for this, but a sit pad can also do the job. Deflate pad and clean the surface around the puncture. Pad should be warm and dry before affixing the patch. Unlike the Q-Core SLX, this pad has a higher R-value of 4.5 so it will help keep you warmer on colder nights. The Insulated Air Core Ultra Sleeping pad weighs 22oz, which isn’t very light, but not too heavy either. For such a great price, the extra warmth is worth a few more ounces. The integrated Pillow Barn sleeve keeps our pillows in place all night. Its rectangular shape and quilted construction give that home comforter feel and allow for a variety of sleeping positions. I’m 5 feet 11 inches and my wife is 5 feet 3 inches, both with athletic builds. In the bag, we can cuddle close or spread out with ample space to sleep.

Locate the leak. If you have trouble finding it, try submerging the inflated pad in water and look for bubbles.The NeoAir XLite is only available in a mummy shape, but they offer various sizing options including a regular, small, large, and regular wide. A wide version is always a perk when it comes to side sleepers to help ensure we stay on the pad throughout our shifting from side to side during the night. I was initially rather nervous of putting the mat directly on rough or uneven ground as it certainly doesn’t feel quite as robust as it is. However, over the last couple of years I have become less precious about this. And the good news is that the double rip-stop nylon and aviation grade TPU has lived up to it’s promisese. The bottom of my mat has held strong, despite its abuse.

If you are looking to camp when temperatures fall into the teens (F) and below, I recommend going with a sleeping pad that has an R-value at 5 or higher. That being the case, the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm is the sleeping pad to beat. Sleeping Pad Weight Big Agnes are a colourful bunch who make colourful gear. They started 18 years ago and developed over time to become one of the most respected outdoor equipment companies in the world. After being told by industry heavyweights that the market was too saturated, they decided to come up with something truly unique. The Big Agnes System is an original concept that involves affixing a sleeping pad and bag in a simple and highly comfortable manner. Once this concept took shape, everything evolved from there. Insert the new valve flange through the deflator valve with the stem oriented up towards the inflator valve.I feel like this pad is as durable as any other of the inflatables. The material is thinner than what you would find on a self inflating pad, but this is tradeoff is what makes it so much lighter. Overall, I am not worried about puncturing it under normal conditions and while being generally careful.

During the 4 night trip the temperature would drop into the thirties, and at one point I woke of with ice in my cooking pot. However I never felt cold from underneath the pad, while sleeping in a 20 degree down bag with a thin base layer. Press down on the top of the valve flange to create separation andgrab the edge of the flange through the bottom material of the pad. In terms of overall shape, the Q-Core SLX features outer chambers that are raised a touch above the central ones, to subtly help cup you within the pad. Together with vertical and lateral pad construction, along with its quilted finish, it’s a design that I found provides both support and comfort, once the best air pressure is found. If you’re a side sleeper, I expect you’ll get on well with it, as it’s unlikely your hips will get cold or sore. And I can report that unlike some mattresses, sleeping on the Q-Core won’t keep your camping neighbours awake – there’s no squeaking or crumpling sounds to be heard. Within, the Q-Core SLX boasts Antimicrobial treatment inside the pad prevents to prevent microorganism growth from all that laboured breath.Overall I am happy with the pad so far, and assuming it will last like my other pad, I would recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade or get a new pad.