Sleep Tight, Sleep Light: Sleeping Pad Analysis

Few pieces of gear can determine the success of a backcountry trip like a sleeping pad. Sure if its just an overnighter you can endure anything, but being cold, uncomfortable and sleepless will make a big impact on your morale quickly. I've been in search of the right pad for a long time now and I'm sure I'm not alone. The goals? Find a pad that maximizes comfort and insulation while minimizing weight and bulk. Cost is a concern, but if the right pad comes along, the value of good sleep in the woods clearly justifies a one-time investment.

Origins:

Like a lot of people I started my outdoor sleeping on a closed cell foam pad - specifically a RidgeRest by Cascade Designs.

Practically unbeatable in the categories of insulation (R-value is 2.6), price (only $19.95 for a short), and weight (9 oz for a short). The drawback to this system is primarily in the area of bulk. The smallest you're going to get one of these things compressed is 20"x6.5". This means that the pad must either be lashed to the outside of your pack or used as a pack liner if your pack is deep enough and you have the room to spare.

Comfort is another concern as 5/8 inch of foam is not going to offer a cushy sleeping platform, but the difference between the comfort of a closed cell pad and a lightweight self-inflator is negligible. while there are other options in the closed cell category including blue-foam pads (a little cheaper), Z-Lite (a little more expensive) and others, they all share these pros and cons.

Despite the bulk, I have returned again and again to the closed cell pad. Mostly because of the weight savings, but also because of the added insulation and the negligible difference in comfort from self-inflators. If something could match the closed cell foam in weight and insulation but fit nicely in my pack and offer additional cushion I'd be sold - hold that thought.


The Self-Inflator Era:

Next in my gear evolution came the Thermarest. I had an old 3/4 length "lightweight" self-inflator which I used happily for about 3 years until it completely delaminated on the AT and became a giant, purple, oblong balloon. Most recently I've been using the short length Thermarest ProLite3.

This one is a clear winner in the bulk category as it packs down to the size of a standard water bottle (3.4"x11"). It is slightly more comfortable than a closed cell foam pad at a thickness of 1", and gives up a little in warmth (R-value of 2.2).


Weight is the area where the self-inflator slips against the closed cell foam pad. For comparable length pads, the ultralight self-inflator is nearly 50% heavier than its foam counterpart (13oz for the short length (*newest model cuts this by 2 oz to 11oz)). While a few ounces is not all that much on it's own, it adds up. A few ounces here and a few ounces there there and pretty soon you're carrying a 50lb pack for a 2 day trip. There have been other attempts in the self-inflator category, but none have done anything remarkable in terms of saving weight.

Another consideration is that while a self-inflator can puncture, a foam pad cannot. A patch kit weighs about nothing, but when a fellow trail shelter occupant flings a glob of flaming, molten plasticware on your pad and melts a hole the size of a soda can in your pad on a night when the temps drop to single digits, you'll wish you had foam (yes, it happened).

Finally, a self-inflator costs considerably more than a foam pad - like 3-5 times more.

The Air Mattress Revolution:

Big Agnes broke the two-way sleeping pad race open when they introduced the Air-Core and Insulated Air-Core pads. These pads promised comfort on a whole new level with a full 2.5" of thickness!

The Air-Core offers similar compressibility to the ProLite3, and a bunch of comfort for just $44 for the short. The trade-offs come in the insulation (R-value is 1, summer use only) and in weight (16oz for the short).

The Insulated Air-Core adds a layer of Primaloft synthetic insulation to the Air-Core to bump the R-value up to an impressive 4.1 - good enough to fully insulate from temps as low as 15 degrees (F). Compressibility and comfort are still superb, but the wight jumps to 18oz and the price creeps up to the $79 of the Prolite3.

Other companies also have introduced variations on the air mattress including Pacific Outdoor, but weight remains an issue.

Enter the Thermarest NeoAir. At 2.5" thick it's got the comfort of an air mattress. With an R-value of 2.5 it insulates as well as a closed cell foam pad. Compressibility reaches an all-time high with a packed size of only 9"x 3.3" (small). And weight is equal to that of a comparably-sized foam pad at a mere 9oz. With a $119 price tag (small) the investment is significant, but for me the combination of benefits far outweigh the one-time investment. The only other concern is vulnerability to puncture. Patch kits are available and weigh next to nothing, but initial reports on durability seem to indicate that these things aren't as brittle as they might appear. When I'm hiking, I'm totally unaware that my NeoAir is in my pack, but when I lay down for the night it becomes the most fantastic and important piece of gear I own.

Pad Sizing:

You may have noticed that nearly every pad I've mentioned in here is a short pad. I'm 6' 2" tall, so it's not a matter of matching my height. Rather, I have always found that it makes much more sense to me to put my pack under my legs at night to insulate and pad them from the ground rather than add another 30%-50% in weight only to have to shove my pack somewhere else in the tent anyway. This may make more sense for men than women since the concentration of weight for men is at the top (shoulders) whereas most women are heavier in the middle (hips). However, it's simply a matter of preference and an easy way I've found to trim another few ounces off my load.

Happy hiking and sweet dreams.

Photos 3&4 (c)2008 Steve Howe

Repel Mosquitoes Without Repelling Brain Cells

Its summer time and if you’ve been hiking, camping, or outdoors at all this year, chances are you’ve run into some of those bloodsucking wee beasties that are the bane of many an outdoor adventure: mosquitoes. For most people choice of repellant is a no-brainer: you pick up some spray or lotion containing DEET (N-diethyl-meta-toluamide), slather it on and fuhgeddaboudit. However, this no-brainer may actually be pushing you towards actually becoming a “no-brainer” by causing lasting cognitive deficits by damaging neurons in some key areas of the brain.

According to The Duke University Medical Center News Office, studies have shown that use of DEET can result in brain cell loss and significantly impaired performance in tasks involving muscle control, coordination and strength. In addition, research shows evidence of significant neuron degradation in areas of the brain controlling movement, focus, learning, and retaining information. One disputed demonstration of the risks of prolonged DEET use is the so-called “Gulf War Syndrome” suffered by veterans returning from military service in the “Desert Storm” campaign. Standard issue for soldiers in this campaign was a 75% DEET insect repellant. The symptoms reported by some soldiers are consistent with those effects found in studies on long-term exposure to DEET.

Researchers caution that the potential effects of long-term exposure to DEET include breathing problems, sluggishness, pain in the joints and muscles, loss of memory, headache, muscle weakness and shakiness. Risk of these effects seems to be amplified when DEET is paired with some types of medication (including OTC) and other pesticides (such as permethrin). Researchers urge limited exposure for adults and strongly discourage use of DEET on children.
The good news is that there is an extremely effective alternative that is plant-based, natural and carries no risk of melting your brain: Lemon Eucalyptus Oil. Of the three active repellant ingredients approved by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as effective against mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus (DEET, Picaridin, and Lemon Eucalyptus), Lemon Eucalyptus is the only one that is plant-based and natural.

I can hear the skeptics mumbling now, “Great, Tree-Hugger, I’m not going to donate a pint of blood on my next trip just so I can be Earthy and Natural…”, but this stuff really works! Science, Semi-Science, and Not Even Close to Science Personal Anecdotes follow:

Science
According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, M.S. Fradin and J.F. Day showed the average time of protection for Lemon-Eucalyptus Oil base repellant to be 120 minutes with a maximum of 317 minutes. This is compared to an average result of 302 minutes for a 23.8% DEET product.

Semi-Science
In June 2007, Backpacker Magazine published a repellant comparison using the same “arm-in-cage” technique as the NEJM study (its semi-science because the only used one tester (victim) in the study). In this test, the Lemon Eucalyptus lasted 240 minutes before the first bite, out-performing the 30% DEET product by a full hour! While two concentrations of DEET above 30% (34.4% and 100%) outperformed the Lemon Eucalyptus, it also melts plastic and brains.

Not Even Close to Science Personal Anecdote
In July 2008 Steve Howe and I spent 8 days on a thru-hike of Utah’s Uinta Highline Trail. An excellent repellent testing ground, the High Uintas provided the backdrop for an informal repellent face-off between Steve’s DEET and my Lemon Eucalyptus (which Steve slandered on night one). The results? I win. Seriously though, while the skeeters were ever-present, barring the wind-ripped high passes, I had no problems with bites while fishing alpine lakes or meandering mucky moose marshes. I did, however, out of sheer laziness, borrow Steve’s DEET on our final night out. While I did not suffer any bites, I did wake up with an extremely swollen and painful left eyeball, complete with gory broken blood vessel giving the effect of an ocular stab-wound. (again, it melts plastic and brain cells).

In addition to not making your brain or tent melt, Lemon Eucalyptus Oil actually makes stinky hikers smell better and is derived from a natural, renewable resource (see my blog on the trees in the Smokies for why that’s a good thing). Its also lacks the greasy feeling that other repellants, lotions, and balms can have). Lemon Eucalyptus Oil is currently available in a repellant produced by Repel (who is not reimbursing me in any way (but I’m open to offers)) and comes in a 4oz pump-spray bottle for a MSRP of $7.25. Seems like a no-brainer to me...

Top Picture Public Domain. Fishing Picture (c) Steve Howe, All other (c) Peter Rives including the one of a skeeter biting my leg (dedication!)

My Tent Quiver: 1, 2, & 3 Person Shelters

The tent. THE quintessential piece of camping equipment (sort of). Here are my standard go-to tents for 3-season (and southern 4-season) trips and the "why" behind these choices:

The solo: Big Agnes SeedHouse SL1

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This tent has been my go-to solo tent since 2003 for 2 simple reasons: weight and functionality. This little badboy is freestanding, super-lightweight, bugproof, long enough for tall folks, stormproof, has a vestibule, as a fastpack option (footprint and rainfly only when bugs are not of concern), you can sit up in it, and its an awesome stealth green for low-impact camping. At just a hair over 2lbs for the whole tent and considerably less for the fastpack option this is just about the lightest freestanding solo tent out there. The bathtub floor keeps out splash from driving rain and ample guyout points allow for a super-taught pitch when conditions (rain and/or precip) warrant. It should also be noted that this tent comes in 2 and 3 person versions as well that perform just as admirably.

The Double: Six Moon Designs Europa II

With enough space for two adults, all their gear and a dog inside you'd expect for a shelter to come in weighing more than 4 lbs - howzabout less than 2 lbs? Now don't get too pumped because the Europa II is no longer produced. The one I have is from 2004 and has been discontinued (although I can't imagine why), but there are others out there that are similar. Golite, Six Moon Designs, and Tarptent are all manufacturers that produce a similar shelter using trekking pole support(s) to save on weight and guylines to provide tension and structure. While a step up from a tarp in that these shelters offer bug protection, these shelters are minimalist. In fact, the Europa doesn't even have a front door! However, despite the light weight and simple lines, these things stand up very well to the elements and when pitched correctly can (from experience) withstand tropical storm rain, hail, up to 2" of snow, and 20+ mph winds. With ample venting, these shelters also have negligible condensation problems, even with a single wall of non-breathable sil-nylon. The closes thing to the Europa II that I've found currently in production is the Tarptent Squall 2. Its a little more robust (it even has a door!), but still weighs in at a mere 34 oz.

The Triple (sort of): Black Diamond Skylight

Alright so the 3 person status of this tent has to be qualified because I've not yet tried to cram 3 people into it with the exception of myself and my 3 and 5 year old little girls. I think its safe to say that it'd be a friendly fit for three, but with a decent vestibule, great head space and ample length it could certainly be done. Now enough qualifying: Black Diamond makes an awesome line of single-wall tents called their Superlight series. By eliminating the traditional double-wall (body and rainfly) design using waterproof breathable Epic by Nextec fabric, Black Diamond has been able to offer more tent for less weight. With the Skylight you get a 2-3 person, freestanding shelter that guys out tight enough for 3+ season use. The vestibule is a good size and the best feature is that the front 2/3 peel back for mesh-only ventilation and views in good weather. At just a hair over 4 lbs. this is my heaviest tent by far, but 4lbs. is still ridiculously light compared to most industry standard 2 person tents, let alone 3 person tents. With the supplemental seam-sealing recommended in my previous post this tent is a high-performance bomber of a tent.

Supplemental Seam Sealing for Single Wall BD Superlight Tents

One of the most significant advances in tent technology recently has been the use of waterproof-breathable (WPB) fabrics to produce single wall tents which breathe batter and weigh less than their double-wall competitors. Black Diamond is one of the leading innovators in single-wall tent technology and their Superlight Series (One-Shot, Hi-Light, Firstlight, Lighthouse, Skylight, and Guiding Light) use EPIC by Nextec body fabric and Sil-Nylon floors to create superlight, freestanding, waterproof-breathable, 3-Season tents.

Each tent in this series comes with a seam sealer application as well as instructions.

As an addendum to the seam-sealing instructions provided by the manufacturer of such single-wall tents, I'd offer the following:

• Waterproof-breathable fabrics are being asked to perform to conflicting jobs: let moisture out from inside the tent to prevent condensation while keeping all moisture outside the tent from passing through.


• These lines of single-wall tents generally use an internal pole set-up which results in the waterproof-breathable fabric being stretched tight across a frame created by the poles.
  

When these two factors are combined, the result is that there are some areas on these tents where the tension on the WPB fabric causes some degree of permeability. Therefore, there are a few additional areas of application I'd recommend for these tents to ensure a waterproof barrier from the most brutal of downpours.

1. Apex where the poles cross.

2. On the diagonal (where the poles lie) from the apex to below the top square seam.

3. At the first Velcro fastner joint and first pole joint below the tops square seam on front and back.

The pictures should help to identify exactly how to apply the supplemental seam-sealer. Basically, these are the spots that see the highest amount of tension in a taught pitch aside from the actual seams themselves. Hitting each of these spots may add a half an ounce, but that weighs a lot less than a soggy tent, sleeping bag, clothes, pack, boots.....

Thanks to Steve for the tip and Zack for the tent....

Enjoy.