Big Agnes - Divide

It's very simple if it blows up with air and inflates - at SOME point it's gonna get a hole in it. That's life! The whole air mattress thing started with Therm-a-rest's and they were pretty tough back then, now with everybody sporting hard-on's for "ultralight" gear its gonna get worse. Same goes for actual air mattress, you can sleep on them but if you're not in Texas or Arizona yer still gonna freeze your butt off. Here's why ....... People these days buy inflatable pads for the comfort, but you really need them for the insulative qualities they actually provide. Don't believe me go sleep on the actual ground one night. When you crawl in to your sleeping bag you actually crush the down or syntho fill in the bag so there is no insulation there under you and the cold even in summer can seep right in. You need a pad under you to keep you off the ground ..... the best ones for that are still the cheap blue ensolite foamy's you buy at the cheaper stores but yes, for comfort they suck. There is a yellow thicker brand called Zotefoams Evazote and they got up to an inch thick but I haven't seem them for years but they were good quality and tough and CAN'T deflate ! So ultimately if you want comfort you need to go buy a big chunk of open cell white foam four inches thick and 7 feet long like you see in hobby stores - mega comfy and the size of a house! But now you can't pack it anyway so you're back to the blow up pads - and that's it. You can go to stores and look at stuff like Futons and crap but they don't pack well ! Heck even Ikea makes a folding mattress but again good luck carrying it around, right? Pick one but they WILL get a hole in them at some point however you can try to limit that with a cot. I've used them for years and its nice. I'm gonna suggest a Cabella's Lounger Cot but they are $350 bloody bucks and the same goes a real camping pad, something like a Exped Megamat itself is $400 bucks by itself. The two cots I wanna get are gonna cost me $405 bucks so add in two decent pads like Expeds and they're $500 .... great huh? It's nuts at a thousand bucks! I actually might just go get some memory foam cut at an RV store and use that. They can't deflate and its about the same bloody price as these inflatable ones, granted it won't be near as packable and portable but both my Thermarest leak, both my Big Agnes pad leak, even the TWO Coleman air beds leak, you can't win. My tent is 210 sq feet and 10 feet tall so I don't need backpack-ability either ........

Big Agnes and sea to summit checks all your boxes. Small/compact, uses vertical baffles to prevent that bouncy castle feeling and provide actual support

My Big Agnes Divide works for me, and I'm a side sleeper.

I used a Nemo tensor +tyvek through all of the AZT. No punctures. Everything is poky in az. Consider tyvek. It’s the most comfy UL pad I could find as a side sleeper. Otherwise my big Agnes divide is more comfy but heavy.

I went from a Klymit to a Big Agnes. Night and day difference. 

The premium REI pads are your best bang for your buck. I had the big Agnes but ended up buying the cold weather REI

I just got the Trekology UL R7 sleeping pad for my husband and I. Only slept on it one night but it was comfy. I’m a side sleeper. Trying them again Easter weekend so we’ll see. We got the Nemo Tempo bags. For my kids (about the same age as yours), we got the Big Agnes Divide pad because it fits in a sleeve for their sleeping bags (also Big Agnes) so the kids don’t roll onto the ground. We did pay more than some other stuff but we went fairly lightweight and compressable in case we try backpacking too.

I have a big Agnes pad. Inflatable and not sure exactly what specs, but any inflatable pad is going to have some noise imo. I love mine. I’ve had it for 8 years, which feels kinda unreal for an inflable. Never had an issue with it and definitely put it through the gauntlet- camped in the desert a lot, cowboy camped, camped on rocky areas. Never had a leak. Love it and feel like it’s worth the price tag

I am calling BS on the OP claim of a Dollar General pool float working hell, they don’t even work in a pool much less on the ground in a tent. I have a big Agnes divide, insulated three season pad. It works great doesn’t leak is very durable and worth every penny. I sleep well at night on it.

Haha, thought I'd browse through the BA Divide as it's one I know I've recommended myself on this sub, think your comment is a couple down from one of my own. u/heyyyjoo I think the sites great, do you think you could implement a reporting tool for false positives/negatives?

Having a family of 4 can confirm individuals is the way to go. We’re all rocking Big Agnes pads. The kids are using big Agnes bags which have a pocket for the pad and keeps them from wondering around at night.

I have a big ag one that I got on sale from REI. It's honestly great. I don't remember the exact style but it was made of a thick fabric which made it pretty pop resistant and it had the nice bag inflator which was great. A bit noisy to inflate like that but if you do it before people go to bed it's fine

I have sea to summits, big agnes, and nemos for the fam. It all depends on the person.

If you want small the mega mat isn't the answer. I use a Big Angus pad and I am happy with it. I couldn't imagine sleeping on just a foam pad though

I also have one of these and loved it initially. After two months on the road it is now failing almost every night. I’ve exhausted the patches that came with the pad and it’s now covered with third party gear repair patches. I am ~75kgs and I don’t over-inflate it. I paid good money for this thing and it is absolutely not worth it.

Big Agnes is what I use. They are so much quieter than other inflatables.

Plus one. I have a therm-a-rest Xtherm, two cheap Amazon pads (they didn’t last), a Big Agnes, and I’ve tried the foam pads (they’re not for me). Exped seems to have the best tech. Their pads are quiet, comfy, reliable, and I love the synthetic down on the inside

I had a Big Agnes for a decade. It sprung a leak on a trip this time last year. I found the leak on a seam and called to ask about repairing it. They asked for a pic, which I sent as well as a pic of the valve cut off (per their instructions) and my new pad arrived in a few days. No charge. I’ll never buy a pad from a different manufacturer again. https://preview.redd.it/qcc2h29uz8ve1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a5db870df20331f504fddf587c14258a32a7250

The big Agnes pad is really nice and very comfortable, I do think it's R value is over stated though.  On nights where its around freezing or just below I've found myself getting rather cold.  I know my sleeping bag is fine because it's always coming from the ground often I'll toss some clothes under my legs and it helps to stop that issue.  I will probably invest in a better R value pad for the winter/shoulder seasons 

The issue I have with the Neoloft is it makes my shoulder numb. I spend most of my time on my side, but I toss and turn like crazy. I was playing around with the inflation level but so far haven't solved the numbness issue. Other than that, I agree with you it's probably the most comfortable pad I've yet tried. The Big Agnes Divide is very good and weighs about the same. Both these pads are just under 2lbs if you get the Wide version. This one has vertical baffles that I think work better for me, especially as a very active sleeper to keep me centered. No numbness. I have a CCF Switchback that I only used once without much grass under it. It was hard on my back and pretty much makes side sleeping impossible. I want to try it again with some taller grass underneath to pad it. There may be some times where the weight savings are worth.

The therma rest and the nemo both haven't high r-value to size to weight ratio. so if you're a to pack light and super warm and want a large pad those are the best options plus they have good valves. Big agnes makes a comfortable as hell pad, it weights about the same as the the other 2 but its r value is about 4. Not bad at all, I sleep cold so i like the warmer matt, the the BA is the most comfortable inho. Alps mountaineering also makes a couple of good ones, but the valves aren't as nice.

I just got the Trekology UL R7 sleeping pad for my husband and I. Only slept on it one night but it was comfy. I’m a side sleeper. Trying them again Easter weekend so we’ll see. We got the Nemo Tempo bags. For my kids (about the same age as yours), we got the Big Agnes Divide because it fits in a sleeve for their sleeping bags (also Big Agnes) so they don’t roll onto the ground. We did pay more than some other stuff but we went fairly lightweight and compressable in case we try backpacking too.

I have a pretty basic Big Agnes sleeping pad that's probably R-3.5 or something like that. I've used it for several trips in Washington and Oregon in the summer. Being cold from below was not a a problem. I think R-1.5 would be OK in the summer, the ground warms up quite a bit during the summer. A more insulated pad would only be necessary if the ground is frozen during the day. What probably matters most for you is size, weight, and comfort - it needs to be thick enough so you don't feel the ground through the pad. I would also look at how difficult it is to inflate. The one I have has a terrible valve that seems to be designed to be as inconvenient as possible. You have to blow into it, but there's a bit of resistance to air coming in, and the valve is such that it's hard to tell if it's open or closed. I'm attaching a piece of an old bicycle inner tube to make it possible to use a bike pump. Some pads have a built-in hand pump and that would be useful. I can't offer a recommendation for a specific product since I haven't bought one recently, and the one I have doesn't seem to be available any more.