My usual principle with camping gear is the lighter,the better. Which is why no matter where I’m sleeping, whether it’s deep in the backcountry or in my backyard, Ialways sleep on a three-fourths-length . It’s not very comfortable.
Since moving to the Southwest,I’ve been going onmulti-day rafting and car-campingtrips with friends who have luxurious sleep systems featuring plush and rooftop tents. Feeling a little left out, I recently got a($299). It’s changed the way I sleep outside.
The Comfort Deluxe comes in three sizes: Regular, large, and double. I got the double,which is a whopping four inches tall and 51 inches wide—basically the size of a full bed. It fits neatly into my and is big enough for my girlfriend and me to sleep on comfortably together.
My favorite feature of the pad, although it takes a bit of practice to figure out, is the multifunction valve—a one-way valve thatallows the matto self-inflate in just a few minutes. The valve can bereversed during the deflation process so it will allow air out, but not in, which prevents any struggle when trying to roll up the pad.
To decrease weight and increase packability, Sea to Summit removes 40 percent of the foam from inside. It’s hard to determine how well this worksbut the pad has a very even surface and I haven’t been able to find any holes or divots. The entire thing packs into a three-by-five foot stuff sack and weighs nine pounds.