[Philmont] Self-Inflating Foam Pad Recommendation

Don't know what you paid for your REI pad Mike, but I have a similar story
with a somewhat different solution.

When I went on my shopping spree for my 2004 trek I bought a Thermarest
Prolite3 3/4 pad. I also purchased the stuff sack to go with it. Totoal
damage - about 90 bucks - 75 + 12 + tax. Better yet it wasn't all that
great, sure it rolled up into a package smaller than a package of PhilFood,
but it was just about as effective as a pad. I used a crzy creek chair
under my feet, the whole thing was just short of a disaster.

So, lessons learned I went shopping again in 2006, started looking at the
ThermaRests - Prolites 3s and they haden't gotten any cheaper ... or thicker
... and I wasn't thrilled about the price. At about the same time our troop
was making an investment in backpacking tents, our choice was the REI half
dome but the cost was a bit hard to swallow given the duty a scout tent gets
... it was at this point we discovered ALPs mountaineering. Their Taurus-II
was real close to the REI at half the price. So I looked int their pads
... a normal pad is less than $30, including a stiffsack and repair kit; the
lightweight full size is about $25, short about $20 (all prices from their
55% off scout price list).

Short story - Our troop uses their packs for backpacking and replaced our
Eurekas for weekend camping, I own an ALPS internal fram backpack and air
pad. All top quality and a prices you can't beat.

Retail site: www.alpsmountaineering.com

Scout site: www.scoutdirect.com

The Scout Pro Leader program allows one leader per unit to purchase a tent,
sleeping bag and pack at 60% off for eval purposes. (normal scout pricing
is 45% off)

-----Original Message-----
From: Philmont@troop47.com [mailto:Philmont@troop47.com]On Behalf Of
Michael_J_Conkey@nbc.gov
Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2007 2:17 PM
To: Philmont List Member
Subject: [Philmont] Self-Inflating Foam Pad Recommendation

While we are talking a bit about gear, the one upgrade I made for my trek
gear-wise this past summer was that it was time to trade in my slow-leaking
Thermarest for a newer model. I went to REI fully expecting to get another
Thermarest. I'm not one to sacrifice sleeping comfort for lightweight as I
figure it is important that I get a good night's sleep so that I can keep
up with the gazelles on the trail the next day. So don't talk to me about
a 3/4 length pad where my sore heels rest on the ground. Or some narrow
pad that doesn't accommodate your shoulders. The sales guy talked me into
the REI Lite-Core 1.5 Self-Inflating Pad - Regular. Said it was what he
recently traded in his Thermarest for. In short, what an outstanding pad
and very lightweight. It was 5 times more comfortable than my Thermarest
at about 1/2 the weight of my old model at only 1 lb, 11 oz and 20% less in
price ($75 total). Plus, it came with the stuff sack and repair kit
included that normally cost you extra with your Thermarest. And it rolls
up in to a roll about 12 inches wide and 5-6 inches in diameter. Can you
tell, it was my new best friend on the trail <g>! My tentmate was eyeing
it and said he now had a suggestion for Mrs. Santa to bring for Xmas. But,
as always, this is just my 2 cents, your mileage will vary. YIS. Mike
('76, '02, '04 and '07).

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As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
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cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
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Received on Thu Aug 16 19:04:46 2007