Originally Posted by
colorado_rob
Just another data point... After some calculations* and real-use experimentation, I settled on a combo of 1/4 and 1/8" for my supplemental R-total of my sleeping pad system, saved a couple of ounces this way. I, too, bought the 1/8" pad, deemed it not enough for my torso, OK for my legs. I had some 1/4" pad laying around, but I don't like the weight penalty of using 1/4" for the whole length. My inflatable has an R value of 3.2 (as advertised) and that is a bit low for deep winter use, the combo I use has about R4.5 for torso, a bit under 4 for legs/feet.
I know, gram counting, but I enjoy it, trimming here and there, getting to minimum weight still with full comfort.
* The Calculations, a summary: I (we, actually, my wife loves it), do a lot of winter backpacking, and as most of us know, one's sleeping pad R value is of prime importance, but running some heat transfer numbers, I found that there is a steep diminishing of returns after about R4-5 or so, roughly, depending on conditions. This means any extra ounces added for more R (above R=4 - 5) in your pad, would be better spent as ounces of down in your sleeping bag. I happened to lose the Excel sheet that I did this with by sloppy HD backup discipline, but I could recreate if I wanted to.