nice pad, outstanding value

By Matthew Simerson Ranked #308 - Midweight Sleep Pads January 24, 2010

My last cold weather sleep system for climbing was a z-rest with a MH Highmountain 72 pad. Combined I get about R-10, enough to be cozy when sleeping on a snowfield or glacier. Then I saw the 3" thick NeoAir in another climbers kit. It was time to check out inflatables again.I purchased a NeoAir, and two BA Air Core pads (one insulated). All regular size. To test the three, I aired then up and my wife and I 'test drove' them on the hardwood floor in our living room. I'm a back sleeper, she's a side sleeper. After the light headedness from flowing up 3 by mouth passed, I deflated them until they were just firm enough to sleep on without body parts touching the floor.I slept on the NeoAir first, with no insulation between me and the pad. I woke up an hour later, chilled because my backside was cold. Since my back was cold while sleeping in a 65° house, I determined that the NeoAir provides an insignificant/negligible amount of insulation. So I put a blanket over the NeoAir and tried again. On the NeoAir, I awoke every couple hours, needing to roll into a new position to relieve discomfort. Not bad.On the second night, I slept on the Air Core and she tried the NeoAir. I slept VERY well on the Air Core, and only recall rolling over once. She tried the NeoAir for a couple hours and then tossed it aside in favor of the other Air Core pad.I have no explanation for why we both found the Air Core pads to be significantly more comfortable. You can see that the baffles in the AC run the length of the pad, where the NeoAir baffles run the width of it. The pad material itself is thicker/heavier on the AC pads, and likely to be more durable.Where the comfort factor is likely to be variable, the killer feature of the Air Core pads is value. You can buy two or three AC pads for the price of the NeoAir. The AC pads include a stuff sac and repair kit. The NeoAir includes neither. I returned the NeoAir and kept both AC pads.

For glacier/snow climbs, I still pack along the z-rest as well. That way I can get by with a 40° bag instead of my 15°.

View Details: Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Sleeping Pad - Rectangular

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