Therm-a-Rest Trail Comfort

This the first self-inflating sleeping pad I have owned. I normally use closed-cell foam pads. I have only used it on 2 trips a total of 6 nights and I absolutely love it. 3 nights in a tent, 1 on the bare ground, and 2 on snow covered ground and 3 nights in a lean-to with a wooden floor.

I will never go camping without one again. It's comfortable and insulating. I mean let's face it, I'm not as young as I used to be lol.

It's a little heaver than I would like but it's worth its weight in gold. I could have found one that weighed less but I move around a lot when sleep due to a bad injury so I bought a rectangular full length 2" pad. Therm-A-Rest is coming out with some new models for 2009, some of the large ones weigh around 1 pound so I would look there if weight is a issue for you. Yes I would defiantly recommend this to a friend.

I gave it a 4.5 because nothing is perfect just kidding.

Pros
Extremely Comfortable
Good Isolation factor
Rolls up small

Cons
Heavy for a mattress but worth it
Does not fully inflate when it is below 0

At my age, you can scrimp on certain things; but after a day of hiking, I want a good night's sleep. Also, I have a tendency to roll off a regular sized pad. So I got the Trail Comfort in a Large.

If you are thru-hiking, this is not for you at 3lbs 4oz, when a Ridge Rest Large is about 16 oz. However, if you can tolerate the weight, the rewards, in terms of comfort and cushioning are well worth it. You'll get a peaceful, restful night's sleep with this Trail Comfort.

A word of advice: When you are ready to de-camp, open the valve, roll the pad up as tightly as you can, close the valve, unroll the pad, re-roll the pad as tightly as you can and when you are about 75% re-rolled, open the valve to let out the remaining air, then close the valve when finished rolling. You'll get a nice tight roll for your pack. If you use two velcro straps to tighten the roll, it should slip easily into it's carrying case.

I gave it a "4" because for comfort, etc. it rates a "5" minus a "1" for the weight.

I'm giving it a 5 despite the weight because I knew that up front. Sure, it's a little heavier than I'd like, but I find other places to trim weight.

I was able to try out different pads at REI. Before I went, I thought I wanted one of those 3-inch pads, but I didn't like it. The Trail Lite was a little too thin for this side sleeper. When I haven't been able to sleep on the trail, it hasn't been because of the pad. If it looks like rain, I fold it length-wise and roll it up and put straps around it, and rolled like this it's still small enough to fit in the sleeping bag compartment of my Bora 80. When I'm on the Trail Comfort, I don't feel the Arkansas rocks under me.