ALPS Mountaineering Elevation Air Pad

This is a durable, thick pad that has just about every feature you would need for a beginning backpacking set up. The pump took me a while to figure out, but basically just give it some CPR (or check out YouTube) and you'll get it figured out.

I'm not sure why you would need a different pad than this. It's light and packs down to the size of a nalgene essentially. I doesn't deflate during the night, and it's comfortable. One thing that's kind of a pain is the inflating. The built-in pump works great and doesn't take too long, but can be a little tiring. Also it seems a little high off the ground once inflated but it's not bothersome. I would recommend it to someone not willing to spend 100+ on an inflatable sleeping pad.

You'll be counting sheep in no time on this sleeping pad, it is 3.5 inches thick! This blows up really easily, and comes with a little patch kit in case you develop a leak. I'd recommend this to any beginning backpacker since it is not crazy light but it is pretty comfortable.

I think this pad is a great value compared to comparable light-weight pads. Packs down to a nice size. Very comfy, durable, although i would agree it is slightly on the narrow side. The pump is extremely nice to have, works well and doesnt add much weight or bulk. Not intended for cold weather camping.

I can't believe how lightweight it is and how easy it is to get it to pack down into the little stuff sack it comes with. I would give it 5 stars, but I wish the regular was a little wider- I had to get the bigger size to get the width I wanted. Comfortable for side sleeping and only takes 2 minutes to inflate with a cpr compression motion.

I am incredibly pleased with how this compares to my super cheap Styrofoam pad. The horizontal bars do indeed provide extra support for side sleepers. Only real issue I had was that I had never used a foam pump like the one in the pad. One quick YouTube tutorial later and I was set!