Sea To Summit - Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated Air Sleeping Mat

Self-inflating foam mats seem like a good middle ground. I hadnt seen the nemo flyer. Looks very similar to the new sea to summit pursuit self-inflating that i just got (5cm thick, 600g). It's extremely comfortable and i cant wait to try it out, after getting zero sleep on my etherlight xt recently. Do you have the zlite for extra padding, or for extra warmth?

Ended up getting a couple sea to summit mats on sale for $60.

Most don't last very long if you're using them more than 30 nights a year in my experience. These manufacturers are banking on most buyers using them less than that. For super avid backpackers and thru-hikers, obviously we use them way more and therefore need to replace them more frequently. I've always bought them from REI and get them replaced under their policy within the year. Or if it's little seam weld pinholes, take advantage of the warranty (I use Sea 2 Summit pads mostly). But yeah I think the companies just absorb the loss from heavy users, who are a minority of total sales they make globally. Most people just buy a pad to go camping once or twice a year and it just sits in their closet for years before it gets the same amount of camp time as we'd put it through halfway into a thru-hike. Not sure if that made sense - still pre-caffeine today edit: getting holes from pokey things is a given despite the best careful babying if you're out enough, especially in the desert. but i'm not really talking about those kind of holes (that can be patched) - i mean the phantom leaks that can't be identified or fixed easily, like seam welds, valve stuff, etc. (especially on quilted/dimpled baffles) whenever i've returned a pad it's got several patches on it - i keep the solider well bandaged until he can't fight any more

I love my Ether Light highly recommend and from what I've heard there warranty is exceptional. I went with the XT Insulated req wide amazing sleeps on it.

Big Agnes build quality and warranty are both poor. I've had two pads and a tent give up the ghost. They took my tent poles for months and sent them back without having fixed any of the numerous cracks.  Buy gear from a company who cares more than BA. Sea to Summit and therm a rest are much better pads.

I’m a 6’4” 220 lb late middle aged side sleeper with a bad back. I got a Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme Cold-Weather Insulated Sleeping Pad, Rectangular last year and I love it. It’s 4” thick. I sleep very comfortably on it and my hip bone doesn’t touch the ground like what happens with most other pads.

Some folks don't, especially if they're back sleepers. The s2s is thicker and seems more popular with side sleepers

Good for you for taking care of all your gear. I also take good care of my gear and get many miles out of it. Your response sounds quite lecture-y and finger waggy tbh, making the assumption that others don't take good care of their gear. All my sea to summit pads have developed stress pinholes in the dimple welds, nothing to do with anything I could have done or prevented as a user, it's a common defect with that style of baffle. Manufacture defects on pads are quite common and have nothing to do with user care. No matter how much you baby your sleeping pad, if it has a weak valve attachment, it's gonna develop a leak.

Sea to summit etherlite xt has been my go to. Best nights sleep I've had as a side sleeper

Tra i menzionati possiedo il Sea to Summit e posso parlarne bene. A pari caratteristiche c'è il cinese Naturhike di cui ne parlano molto bene.

oh hello, followed the same route as you. Just picked up an S2S Ether Light today to test, as I'm a cold side sleeper and haven't quite found the solution yet. How have you found it for warmth? It is heavier, but sleep deprivation weights a lot as well.

Pad. The ul pick for high comfort is the s2s ether light xt

they both kinda suck tbh try a nemo tensor, big agnes rapide, or sea to summit etherlite, or thermarest neo air

I went from an OK REI inflatable to a NEMO tensor and then a Sea to Summit Etherlite XT. The waffle-looking baffles on the two latter pads were a huge improvement in comfort. I think the Etherlite is slightly more comfortable but I switched mostly for durability reasons. 3+ inch thick pad with the waffle pattern is the way to go in my book. Back feels better in the morning and I wake up way less often because some body part fell asleep.

I’d recommend looking at the Sea to Summit Etherlight XT insulated pads as they are currently on sale for 50% off direct from S2S. They generally are in the weight range of the pads you are looking at but right at the $100 price range right now. The R rating is only 3.2 so they won’t be as warm as some of your other options, but at the temps you mentioned it would be just fine.

Im not sure if I can trust S2S with another pad after my freezing XT. Comfort counts for nothing if using a quilt and you're cold.

It's literally not possible. The megamats are comfortable because they have several inches of foam inside of them. The foam makes the pad super soft and supportive. There is no way to make that packable. Backpacking air pads are either air with insulation or foam filled but really thin, like 1.5 inches. The most comfortable backpacking pad I've found is the sea to summit light because it has a lot of small baffles instead of long continuous tubes like most pads. That makes it a lot more supportive. But it will never compare to a megamat.

Ive the new one. Its slipper as most of these pads. Ive put some silicon on it so I dont have that problem.

Rapide sl is peak. My favorite pad. Ive got a sea so summit pad that i love too but can't remember the name of it. It has like a 7 or 8 r value tho.

Start with a megamat duo that will fit you and your wife for family/cub camping. You can use it solo when kid gets to scouts BSA. I recently bought a sea to summit backpacking pad and a nemo foam pad to use (hypothetically while backpacking)but also while car camping solo because the megamat is ridiculous solo.

His findings pretty much match my experiences. I have a S2S etherlight insulated. It's so cold with a quilt, It really feels like it's doing nothing, even in summer conditions. Comfortable though.

Buy once cry once. Thermarest, Nemo, Sea to Summit. They make the best small, lightweight, comfortable pads.

\+1 for the Ether Lite! I've got a bunch of pads, but I always end up going back to this one for comfort. The material is a little squeaky and I would trust it below freezing, but it's very comfortable. I've also seen it on sale regularly for less than $150.

They’re half off right now, about $100

I also love my Etherlite rec. large. I have around 100 nights on it, and I sleep better than at home. But I am in the opposite boat now, trying to find something lighter. They are heavily discounted right now (for example at Bergfreunde, but that ships from the EU), so it might be worth picking one up to try.

I had the old model and it made horrible noise in tent and especially when sleeping in cabins. My camping mates hated me. The spund was more like a rubbery groan instead of crinkly chip bag sound, very annoying. Hope that has been fixed.

i have a couple etherlights for different seasons. My partner got the REI helix which surprised me for how good it is for the price

My wife has S2S mattress - the one you are looking at or slightly colder and she likes to sleep warm. We were doing Tour du Mt Blanc this year and you want all the comfort you can get for multiple days of 1000 m up and downs even if it is worth few grams more. Nemo seems to be thicker though? And you don't have to inflate it all the way, so it will make more room for your hips but watch out, too close to the ground and it'll get cold in the middle of the night. We both use Cumulus 250 quilts and I have Thermarest NeoAir Xlite (R 4.5) - I was sweating some nights so if anything, Nemo will be too warm for the proper Summer and maybe shoulder months.

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

Sea to Summit and is a great pad. Light and insulating and a bit tougher than the Klymit pads that I have.

All my sea to summit pads have developed stress pinholes in the dimple welds, nothing to do with anything I could have done or prevented as a user, it's a common defect with that style of baffle.

I was sporting the s2s ether light and had to let so much air out. Got zenbivy ultralight fully inflated is wonderful. 200 pounds side to stomach sleeper. Seems to have a different type stretchy material.

The new SeatoSummit XR Pro pads might be a good option. They seem to have really improved on the size/weight, and have around a 7 r-value. I have one of their older XT non-pro models and find it really comfortable.

The neoloft is about 40% heavier than the ether light xt and the megamat weight nearly twice as much. I don't think either of them are ul as even the ether light xt sacrifices quite a bit of weight compared to the neoair. UL is about sacrifices. What is the lightest pad you can sleep on? If that's the megamat then that's what it is for you, but if you could sleep on a neoair and you want a megamat because it's comfortable, you're carrying 24 oz you don't need. The ether light xt comes in at just over a lb in the women's size. There's no 4+ inch pad that can match or beat that weight AFAIK. Other pads are more comfortable but they're heavier.

I personally think Sea to Summit pads are comfortable.  Nemo Tensor might interest you as well. 

Nemo Tensor, Kilos Gear AeroCloud Elite, Big Agnes Rapide SL, Thermarest NeoLoft. The Sea To Summit Etherlight XT is also comfortable but heavy and bulky for a backpacking pad.

This is why I've switched to Kilos elite pads after wasting decades and £££s on Nemo, Thermarest, etc. Kilos pads are at least 1/2 the price of the 'premium', but still unreliable, pads and easily the comfiest I've ever used. They look similar to the S2S Ether lites (which started leaking after 3 nights) but are way comfier for some reason.

I thought I needed a thick wide pad as a side sleeper. I got an S2S Etherlight. About half way thru a thru in ‘21 I had to try an XLite, because supply chain. Dropped about 9ozs and kicked myself the rest of the way down the trail for being so gullible. The XLite was much more comfortable for me sleeping and I could really feel those 9ozs off my back. Get that and bring a few ozs of Blue Chew and your gal will carry the rest of the gear! Ha!

Self-inflating foam mats seem like a good middle ground. I hadnt seen the nemo flyer. Looks very similar to the new sea to summit pursuit self-inflating that i just got (5cm thick, 600g). It's extremely comfortable and i cant wait to try it out, after getting zero sleep on my etherlight xt recently. Do you have the zlite for extra padding, or for extra warmth?

They're selling off the S2S XT right now. Good deals to be had for the most comfortable sleeping pad there is.

I love the etherlight, I’m a side sleeper and it really helps prevent my arm from falling asleep. The only downside is the bulk. It takes up a lot of space in my pack. When I’m out for long hauls I don’t have the room for it and switch to the Tensor All-Season.

Agree; I had an old Sea2Summit pad like that. By the end of its life it also had tons of little patches like that in the crevices...