Big Agnes Air Core pad... anyone?

[cwayman1]

hey,

looking for a sleeping pad for my girlfriend that won't bore a hole in my pocket. right now i'm thinking about the BA AirCore pad. Has anyone tried this one... or one like it? any info is much appreciated!


-cwayman1

also, if there has already been a thread about it then could someone please direct me to it ?

peace!

[Deadeye]

I use the BA insulated aircore short mummy - great sleep, doesn't take long to inflate/deflate, reasonable weight & cost, great product

[darkage]

I changed from my thermarest to BA aircore and haven't looked back .... I've been fairly exhausted at the end of some hiking days and still found that blowing it up wasn't an issue .....

[bigcranky]

Just make sure you get the insulated pad.

[skinewmexico]

Might look at the POE Ether Thermo 6 too....I've had great luck with mine.

[yaduck9]

BA AirCore pad

Mine is insulated. Used it up in Utah this spring and it seemed to let me sleep a little warmer. I slept much better, its much more comfortable then your standard foam pad or z rest. it does weigh a bit more, but I think its worth the trade off for a better nights sleep.

[buz]

For me, was upgrade from nice Thermarest pad. Slept better, packs smaller, weight a little lighter. Get the insulated one, for me, good to 30 degrees, not 15 like stated. YMMV. I like mine.

[silversleep]

BA aircore is quite popular on the AT. most, including myself, like it fine.

[jrnj5k]

BA Aircore pad is great. Very heavy though. EMS makes one thats lighter and cheaper. Id check that out.

http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_d...34374302901338

[cwayman1]

are there any REAL draw-backs in getting an UN-insulated pad? and thanks for all of the input so far !

[rockdawg69]

are there any REAL draw-backs in getting an UN-insulated pad? and thanks for all of the input so far !

Depends on how cold you plan to camp? Insulated gives you the option of longer camping season and those sudden unexpected temperature drops.

[bigcranky]

are there any REAL draw-backs in getting an UN-insulated pad? and thanks for all of the input so far !

For your GIRLFRIEND? Are you kidding?

Sure, the drawback is that she gets cold and kicks the **** out of you. That's what my wife would do.

There is a reason why sleeping pads made for women have a higher R-value than men's pads. For whatever reason, from my experience it appears that women sleep colder than men.

[cwayman1]

well, the lows for her entire trip are supposed to be around the mid/low 50's... maybe dipping into the 40's... MAYBE, and most of our bp-ing is done in the summer- both being full-time students and all. I think I might just go with an un-ins one... haha, against bigcranky's... well... seemingly crankiness

[vtsoutherner]

The EMS pad does not have a baffle system like the BA - it has cemented 'valleys" which privide almost no R value at all. i just bought the BA air core in sulated and thought it a much better product.

The EMS pad is way cheaper, though...

[bigcranky]

I think I might just go with an un-ins one... haha, against bigcranky's... well... seemingly crankiness

In this case it's not crankiness, Grasshopper, but experience.

There are two things that I will not cheap out on: 1) sleeping gear for my wife, and 2) rain gear for my child. These rules are based on long and sometimes painful experience (I still have scars from all that kicking.)

Seriously, the ground is a huge heat sink. It sucks the heat out of the human body unless there is some insulation between said body and the ground. Even with lows in the 50s (and especially in the 40s.) It may be nice and warm when a hiker goes to sleep, but waking up cold at 4:00am is not fun.

If you decide to go with the uninsulated BA pad, at least get her a $10 Wally-Mart blue foam pad to put under it for some insulation. You can trim it down some to save weight and bulk.

[BobTheBuilder]

I hate to say this, but....my mileage has varied.

I love the comfort of my insulated air-core, but I have sent it back to BA three times for leaks that have resulted in me waking up on the cold dirt with a pad that doesn't hold air. To BA's credit, they have replaced it every time without question. Each new one they send me looks a little different, like they are improving the material, so maybe it is getting better.

The latest one leaks slow, so I use it car camping because if I wake up once to reinflate, that gets me through the night. Nonetheless, if I am out for more than one night, I take my thermarest. No way am I trusting a whole trip to my insulated air-core. Sorry.

[bigcranky]

If you want another option, try this one:

http://www.rei.com/product/734514

[Deadeye]

I love the comfort of my insulated air-core, but I have sent it back to BA three times for leaks that have resulted in me waking up on the cold dirt with a pad that doesn't hold air.

Which is why I also carry a half a z-rest (6 sections). It does triple-duty or more: it's a sit/nap pad for mid-day breaks, it goes under my aircore pad prolonging it's life, it provides padding should the pad blow a gasket, it extends the temperature range a whole bunch, etc.

My pad hasn't leaked yet, but IMO any inflatable pad is a leak waiting for an opportunity, so be prepared.

[SC Ryan]

I used one for the first half of the trail. Very comfortable, but I couldn't get the thought out of my head that it was getting heavier each time I blew it up from the moisture of my breath. Early in my hike, I took my pad out a couple times and could feel the insulation inside it was frozen from the moisture build up. Plus I finally got a leak and sent it home in favor of a z-rest.

[cwayman1]

hmmm... this may be one of those "dumb what ifs" but what if one inserted an emergency space blanket either between the ground/pad or between the pad/bag? you know, to create that extra layer of heat reflectivity(possibly NOT a real word) i mean, i can't be the first to think of this...? ideas... comments?