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Big Agnes added Primaloft eco to its wildly popular inflatable pad, the Air Core to create the Insulated Air Core Mummy Pad. By using Primaloft eco synthetic insulation, Big Agnes diverted plastic bottles from the landfill. The inflatable design on the Air Core means you get an ultra-cush 2.5-inch-thick sleeping pad that will keep you warm on chilly nights and yet rolls down to fit compactly in your backpack. A perfect complement to any of the Big Agnes cold-weather bags, the Insulated Air Core can be left inside the bag's sleeve, deflated and stuffed into the sack with the bag, creating a single, self contained sleeping system.
Bottom Line: The Big Agnes Insulated Air Core: comfy, light, packs down small, and keeps you warm.
I don't have an Agnes bag and just put the pad on the ground under my mummy. I don't slide off it. If I don't inflate it all the way it's more comfy for me sleeping on my side. I bought one. Used it a couple times, then bought another one for a another family member. They both work well. It does take quite a few breaths to get it inflated, but it's not too bad.I just went camping a week ago and the temp got down to the upper 20's. This insulated me from the cold ground inside a tent.
I roll the pad up and put it into the provided bag. I then stuff that bag into my sleeping bag's stuff sack and cinch it up. It packs small enough to fit in with the sleeping bag just fine.
I have the mummy pad and I have slept in my hammock many times with this pad and I do not have a BA bag. It's a little tricky to put your pad in and get in keeping it straight but i recommend it. Also I deflate the pad a little for the hammock so its a little more comfortable.
Makes for a great night's sleep! Does everything it claims to do. Blowing it up isn't the most fun I've had, but it's an inconvenience I'd gladly deal with for a comfortable night.
I have a Thermarest Prolite 4 and am a side sleeper (no matter how hard I try not to be). I always wake up with sore hips. Friends clued me into the Big Agnes pad this past weekend. I don't have a Big Agnes bag with the sleeve - should I get the mummy to save on the weight or the rectangular to allow me the room to roll on my side and curl up?
just another perspective -i have the mummy, and thought it would be too narrow towards the tapered end. turns out, it hasn't been a problem at all thus far. i find it plenty wide enough, and i sleep both on my side, and my back throughout the night. i'm 6'1" and 175lbs and got the long. i prefer the slightly lighter weight and less bulk of the mummy pad.
If you get sore hips from sleeping on your side, try this tip I got while in the Marines. Scoop out a shallow trench about an inch deep under your hips. Helps relieve pressure and keeps your spine better aligned.
Definetly go with the rectangular! I have the mummy and i wish i had more room so my feet wouldn't fall off. The only reason I would get the mummy is if i had a sleeve in my bag and if my tent would be too small for a rectangular. If I could buy it again i would buy the rectangular!
This is my second BA Air Core pad. I bought the insulated version for colder weather camping. Guess what, it actually weighs slightly LESS than the regular version, at least on my digital scale. This pad is sooooo comfy at 2.5" and does a good job against the cold. It takes me between 17 and 20 breaths to blow it up. Kind of a pain but the good nights sleep is worth it. I'm a side sleeper and my hips are never sore anymore. The price, weight, packable size, and warmth of this pad simply cannot be beat. As happy as I am with this pad I am disappointed that mine has apparently developed a leak after less than 14 bag nights. It's a very slow one and I can't hear any hissing, I think it might be a manufacturer defect at a seam. I'll be taking it back to the "other" gear store and getting a new one. Would have got five stars otherwise.
I like the 2.5" thickness of the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core. I can adjust the firmness as with any inflatable, but have more depth to accomodate my finicky back. I'm thin and tall and can finally sleep on my side without the hip bones aching in the morning or touching down through the mattress. Then insulation keeps the air from moving in the mattress so it's warmer. Downside: gotta inflate this baby all the way with my breath each evening; about 25 big breaths, broken up to keep the dizzy head away. There is a 6 oz weight penalty over the winter full length Ridgerest I was using, but it's also lighter than the full length (older) Thermarest Camper I was carrying. Rolls up nice and small - another plus.
I don't have a question but rather an answer as I wasn't sure what the R value 4.1 was exactly, it's 15 degrees Fahrenheit so your body heat won't be sapped away like traditional pads. I'm surprised no ones asked that, so now I guess no one has to. :)
You're exactly right. Air is the best insulator against cold especially when laying on the ground. This is the same principle on why down works as well as it does. The pods trap air & therefore insulates the body against cold.
I use this pad both with and without a BA bag. Either way, this pad is so comfortable that it easily offsets any effort needed to blow it up. Let the sissies whine about blowing up a pad. When I finish up a 15-20 mile day, I can blow up a sleeping pad without a problem for a great night sleep and be able to wake up and hike even more.
This pad works great to smooth out uneven ground/to make a super comfortable 2.5" pad. Blow the pad up fully, lay on it, then let some air out until you're comfortable or just before you feel the ground beneath (if you feel the ground, put an extra breath in).
In addition, for the warmer nights, lay the maroon side down to get the Primaloft insulation to lay flat. This way there is minimal insulating value and you don't get too warm. And if you do get some chills, simply flip the pad maroon side up, allowing the insulation to hang and do its job. This pad has kept me plenty warm down into the 20's with my BA Zirkel 20 bag.
i have this pad matched up with my horse thief and i can't think of a better match. i have never been cold, it packs way down, and i have found blowing it up not a problem at all.
This pad is great. It is lighter and packs more compactly than any other pad I have ever owned. But it is also the most comfortable pad I have ever slept on. Almost like being in a bed at home. No more sore hips in the morning.
Honestly i can't say enough about this pad. It is amazingly comfortable, packable, and after the first time you blow it up (15 minutes) it only takes a few minutes every time after. Packing it up is a cinch too, just open it up when you wake up and about 90 seconds later the thing is flat. Fold it in thirds and roll it up to pack it back to the shipping size and smaller than any Thermarest (foam or air, short or long). Great job BA. Also, if you have a BA bag, there is no better system when you get the pad/bag sleeve system going.
slept as low as 35 degrees so far, and it's a warm pad. love it. extremely comfortable, and pliable (as opposed to stiff like other pads). very comfortable even for a side sleeper like myself, and wasn't at all slippery like other pads i've used. takes about 5 minutes to blow up, i did it in a couple shifts with a a few camp chores in between blow up session.. i have the long mummy version, and it packs down to the size of a nalgene bottle, and at 23 oz, it's lighter than older style pads half the size. LOVE IT!!
Most comfortable air mattress I have ever used backpacking. I also own the non insulated version and recommend against that as I slept cold on it and I almost never sleep cold. The insulated version worked very well for me.
Prep and thruhiked with this pad in 0 degF cold and kept warm throughout the night. The cut is ample enough for a broad shouldered hiker and this thing fits magically into the BA Horse Thief for your summer bag. I used the regular and I am 5'10" 190 and this thing was perfect for my frame. I blew it up and used it every night for 135 nights. I wouldn't put any Tyvek underneath while sleeping in the shelters on the AT because the material is super tough and definitely not slippery which is good for keeping your bag on top. I will never use another sleeping pad because this thing has everything right. One problem a lot of thruhikers have is not being able to readjust to sleeping in a bed for almost a month because our bodies got so used to sleeping on hard surfaces. I had no problem readjusting because this felt like I was on a bed every night I was out there. Sleep is super important for your body and mind when you are trying to recharge day after day of long 20 milers, this gave me sound and nourishing rest every night. I didn't mind the 5 minutes it took to blow up because I knew what kind of comfort I was getting ready to enjoy. A fantastic airpad that weighs nothing and gives you a great nights sleep.
This is the nicest pad when it comes to comfort and warmth. I used it on Rainier this past summer, and it was like sleeping on a cloud. I am climbing Denali next year and feel very good about the performance 0f this pad.
Tried this pad after I returned the clearview due to material. Inflatables are a rather new thing for me as I am used to closed cell pads but thought I would join the rest of the group and get a really great nights sleep. This pad is nice, it kept me warm in 30 degree weather but the pad itself I just find uncomfortable and finicky. Perhaps I just didn't give it enough time, but I feel being 2.5 inches off the ground means that you either have to never move at night or be ok with half your body being off the pad. If it works for you great, for this closed cell guy, the move was a mistake. Returned it due to no fault of the manufacturer. Quality seems tough and durable.
I have only used this once now and it was about 20-25 degrees out. I was not cold at all nor was I sweating buckets. It fit perfectly inside my BA bag and I really like this pad becuase I can just leave it inside the bag if I so choose and stuff the whole thing in a stuffsack becuase putting it inside the bag is really the worst part. It is light as heck, plenty warm, and comfortable as all get up.
I have had two of these (I sold one to my friend after he fell in love with it) and both have served me great. This is the most comfortable, packable, and light weight pad around. I have always stayed warm with this pad. The only exception was one night I spent camping in Swaziland, temperatures were low and my backside got a little cold at first, but that warmed up as the heat in the tent built up. This pad is great, my friends are all getting them too.
Makes me feel a little guilty because I got my wife a therm-a-rest trail at a local retailer and mine's so much more comfortable. Whenever we end up on the same pad on those cold spring nights (he-he) its always the BA, so it can take some abuse too. It doesn't matter if it's 2.5 inches or 10 inches (the pad) as long as you're not touching the ground your floating on a nice cushiony pad of air. 5 Gold Stars.
I really like this pad because it is very lightweight and comfy, you can't feel the ground at all. It's also easy to care for. I used it with a GoLite down quilt that snaps around the bottom of the pad, so you can really keep cold air out.
This was a perfect mattress easy to fill up and packs very easy. I fell asleep easy and it kept me warm. I also noticed I did not slide around as much as I thought I would.
Last year I used a foam pad and felt every rock during my less-than-restful trip. On recommendation, I purchased this pad and slept in heavenly bliss on 2-3 inches of insulated air. Packs very small and extremely light weight. It does take several lung-fulls of air to inflate.
Bought my Big Agnes Pomer Hoit 0 Degree bag with matching insulated air core sleeping pad. Used the combo for a climb up the remote & seldom climbed north side of Elbrus in Russia end of August, 08. Two wks of use in temperatures to 20 degrees and gale force winds which threatened to rip our tents apart at the foot of the glaciers. The Russian guides were envious while they were cold in their gear and my fellow American climbers were wishing they had the 2 1/2" of comfortable air under their bags. Everyone was surprised by the light weight of the bag/air pad combo. I slept comfortable & warm the entire time. Another plus is having the mattress secure in the bag sleeve so you're not rolling off the mattress.
Comfortable but a little hard to blow up compared to a Thermarest. It would be a struggle at altitude. I really like the compact package when deflated. Haven't tried it in cold temps yet. Overall a good alternative to a thermarest if you need a lightweight, compact pad for backpacking trips.
I slept on my pad for about a 3 days, it was relatively comfortable, i mean you're camping so its not like being in bed. But compared to foam pads i've used in the past it is way better.
Temperature wise i could feel the pad pick up heat right away once i crawled into it. The only thing is that the lowest temperature shown on my thermometer was 40F so i'm not sure how it will handle bellow freezing.
I also slept on a smooth surface so i cant say how good it is on a rocky surface, but i will say that my body didn't touch the ground once. It is very thick and easy to inflate.
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