Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated

Warm, comfy, great for two, but a little loud.

We love our Exped Synmat Hyperlite Duo, but its R 3 rating wasn't working so well for colder temps. We suffered an unprecedented night in August at 15 degrees on the John Muir Trail and decided we needed something a little warmer. 

I found a sale on the Big Agnes Rapid SL Insulated double pad so we hit the trail. The R of 4.8 was noticeable on the Uintah Highline trail. We were above 10K feet for most nights and snow was just clearing out. Nightime temps were in the high 20s. We paired the pad with our 20-degree Enlightened Equipment Accomplice and bag liner and did not have any issues with the cold. 

The downside to that R rating is a bit more noise. We didn't notice it that much. But our neighbors 8 feet away did. They said they could hear us when we moved about. It didn't wake them, but if they were up, they heard us. Big Agnes states that "two layers of heat reflective film" help up the R, well this creates the usual crinkle sound. Our Exped is much more quiet. We made sure to space tents out a bit more the following nights.

Not having a gap between sleepers is key to using the EE Accomplice. There are pad coupling straps, but no matter how well you fit them, there will always be an air gap. The doublewide fixes this issue.

The 40"x72" size works well for average sized humans. I'm 5'10" and 145lbs the pad provides ample size for my 5'2" wife and I. But it would be nice to have a couple extra inches on each side. BA makes the tent floor model (50" tapering to 40" x78") if you would like some extra space in the shoulder area.

The pad comes with an inflation sack, that makes inflation more tolerable. But inflating a doublewide is a pain! We bring the inflation sack, as a backup inflator and stuff sack for the pad. But we usually bring a Flextail inflator as our primary inflation method. It's so much easier than using the sack when you are in the tent with limited space. The inflation sack is 1.9oz so it's not too much extra to bring. It will take 12-15 bags full to inflate, so it can take some time to inflate manually.

One huge downside of the BA Rapid vs our Exped is the one inflation chamber. The Exped has two separate chambers. This allows each sleeper to have different firmness. I like it a bit firmer and am heavier, so I prefer a few extra breaths in my Exped. With the BA Rapid, you get one firmness for both.

AND worse, if you get a leak, you are both sunk. With the Exped, it may only be one of us having a bad night. That is my biggest complaint about the Rapid.

Comfort wise, the pad is excellent for both side and back/front sleeping. When fully inflated, I do not bottom out on my side. And 3.5 inches of thickness is plenty to absorb shock and support the load. The side air rails are 4.25", so there is a little bit of a "lip" to help keep you on the pad. The other sleeper also feels a bit of air movement under them when someone is flipping. The dual chamber of the Exped seems to absorb that a bit more. 

We also have Klymit double pads and the BA Rapid and Exped are both much more comfortable and much warmer. 

The doublewide is a little lighter than two individual pads. The pad itself came in at 2lbs 4.3oz. 

Big Agnes includes some patches, a replacement valve seal, inflation sack, and the stuff sack. All told you are looking at 2lbs 8.8oz for the whole package. This is why we pack just the inflation sack. 

We've used the pad for 10 nights now without any issues. Overall it's a great pad for when we need extra warmth. But when temps are warmer we will opt for the Exped instead to save some weight, have individual firmness and an extra chamber for leak protection.

Background

We now have four double sleep pads! Klymits for the car and Exped and this BA for backpacking.