Thick enough for this back-sleeper with big glutes

By martylolic1569250 Ranked #296 - Sleeping Pads October 11, 2009

I'm a back-sleeper who has never been comfortable sleeping on flat surfaces. I need a significant dip for my glutes (butt) or I wake up after a couple of hours with a stiff and sore lower back. The first inflatable pad I ever used that was thick enough to provide the countour I needed was the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core. I would deflate it just enough so my butt didn't bottom out, creating the dip in the mattress like my bed at home.

However, I soon discovered that the Big Agnes did not live up to the "Insulated" part of the product title. In consecutive nights in the low 30's using the BA vs a heavy old well-insulated pad, I woke up chilled on the BA and had to put on some extra clothes. The insulating value of a pad and a sleeping bag work together as a system for keeping warm.

The Exped Downmat 9 does everything the BA does in terms of my back-sleeping needs, plus it insulates enough so that I don't have to also carry a foam pad in cold weather. It inflates very easily with the integrated hand pump: just press down repeatedly with the palm of your hand covering the opened valve.

I have only used the Downmat 9 on one trip so far so I can't attest to its durability, but it seems very well constructed and comes with a lightweight repair kit for use in the field. I would recommend this product for cold-weather use and for those who need a thick pad for a comfortable night's sleep.

View Details: Exped DownMat Sleeping Pad

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