Thermarest prolite plus vs. women's prolite plus (other pad recs welcome)

[Melissa]

Hey folks,

Short version:

Anyone have opinions on or experience with the Thermarest Women's ProLite Plus vs the regular Thermarest ProLite Plus? I'm leaning towards the women's one, but would love to hear from folks who have used either.

Long version:

After a long spell of car camping, I've been using my backpacking gear this year, and I've discovered that I can't sleep on my current pad, which is an REI brand Flash (16 oz). It's just too uncomfortable. I'm not a great sleeper to begin with, and once you add in the back pain from my pad, I'm lucky if I get 2-4 hours of sleep on a 2 night trip, and that's after hiking all day and being pretty tired. On the bright side, my current set up sure helps me get up for sunrise since I'm already awake and just waiting for the hideous night on the pad to end!

I've tried my husband's pad, which is the REI Synmat 7 (14 oz), with the same results. I've tried many different inflation levels with my pad to no avail. Time for a new pad.

I do sleep ok-ish on my old school car camping pad, which is just an old thermarest, but it weighs in at 32 oz and is bulky, so it's impractical for backpacking. Comparing the two above pads to my old school thermarest, it seems like the larger air chambers of the two REI pads are what I'm hating--no matter what level I inflate/deflate them to, the large baffles are not for me.

I would ideally like something that combines the lighter weight and size of the REI pads with the more comfortable baffle arrangement on the thermarest. Turns out, thermarest has a few options that seem like they fit the bill, specifically the Thermarest Women's ProLite Plus and the regular Thermarest ProLite Plus. They both weigh in at 20 oz for the regular size, but it's hard to determine if the women's version is really that different or worth getting. The women's is 6" shorter than the regular, so I assume the weight saved there went into SOMETHING, presumably insulation, since the women's is rated at an R value of 4.2 and the regular at 3.4. Shorter and warmer would be great for me, since I'm only 5'5" and would love a pad that would keep me warmer in winter. Thoughts?

Feel free to recommend other pads suitable for backpacking, and I'll feel free to ignore any recommends for pads with large air baffles, which I hate (I get that many people use and love that style of pad, and I'm happy for you). Thanks!

 

[TannerT]

My .02 is look into the REI stratus (or similar) or the Big Agnes Insulated Core. Packability, thickness, warmth are all great. My wife and I switched to the Big Agnes (from the thermarest prolite (she had the womens')) after a two week trek along the JMT. Sleep has greatly improved and we use them for backcountry and frontcountry camping. Our kiddos use the REI stratus.
Anyway, look into those and I highly recommend either.
Salud!

 

[Nick]

I have both of the ProLite pads you are asking about (or at least pretty close). Men's and women's. If you like sleeping on a regular closed cell foam thermarest, then you might really like them. I did at least a season on each and they were fine. I do like being a bit closer to the ground than the 3" thick pads. Only downside was size and weight. Both of mine have leaks, but if you feel like doing a patch job, you're welcome to take one. They'll probably end up in the garbage soon anyway.

 

[Melissa]

I have both of the ProLite pads you are asking about (or at least pretty close). Men's and women's. If you like sleeping on a regular closed cell foam thermarest, then you might really like them. I did at least a season on each and they were fine. I do like being a bit closer to the ground than the 3" thick pads. Only downside was size and weight. Both of mine have leaks, but if you feel like doing a patch job, you're welcome to take one. They'll probably end up in the garbage soon anyway.

Fantastic! Thanks, Nick, I'd love to give yours a go. I have a patch kit. I'll ping you directly.

 

[Melissa]

My .02 is look into the REI stratus (or similar) or the Big Agnes Insulated Core. Packability, thickness, warmth are all great. My wife and I switched to the Big Agnes (from the thermarest prolite (she had the womens')) after a two week trek along the JMT. Sleep has greatly improved and we use them for backcountry and frontcountry camping. Our kiddos use the REI stratus.
Anyway, look into those and I highly recommend either.
Salud!

That Big Agnes you mention doesn't look too terrible as far as open air cell pads go, thanks for the recommends.

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

I have have both the men's and women's version of the thermarest neo air xlite and do precisely the same thing as you. While both models weigh the same, the women's model is shorter but has a higher R value. Perfect for me as well since I'm short and would rather have the extra insulation.

 

[pstm13]

I just wanted to chime in and say thanks to who ever suggested that I get a neoair xlite or what ever those things are named. I love it. I have been using a wal mart pad that works great for the money (I still really like it). But man Thermarest is sent from heaven. Thick as a brick and light as air. The long version runs just shy of $200 but they are worth it.