Klymit Static V Sleeping Pad

1.5 year UPDATE: Multiple camping trips (5+), in-house sleeps, two backpacking trips, and complete male-toddler durability testing (complete. Kid LOVES it) - thing is holding up like a champ, doesn't even show wear. comes with a patch kit; don't need it. I'd love to test that...but will need to wait awhile. It deploys fast, isn't hard to roll up (even well-meaning friends don't screw it up too bad), is fun if you just want to lay on the ground for a nap (what? you don't?), and super comfy. No leaks at all - hips are still off the ground in the morning (less so, by a bit) and I'm still 200 pounds (ok, maybe 206...the wife's a swell cook) The Lux version is very large/capacious - takes more than twice as much breath (still under 1 minute), but sleeps like a matress. Much bigger, still very compact and EASY to pack. Side-sleepers are likely to find it worth while - the static V requires....aiming..., to not go off an edge, so your mind is attending to that as you sleep. CON: These things are LOUD in a tent! Crinkle scrape! The air pockets are sound tubes, the fabric is just very....loud. Feels smooth, but somehow each fiber catches whatever is on top. (Too smooth - con #2: too slippery! Spent a night on a hillside because we had to stop for the night, it was warm and comfy - but have you tried caterpillaring uphill on a slick surface, wearing a banana peel mummy bag?! It's ridiculous. Worst. All night. The worst.) It's loud enough to wake light sleepers in the tent. however, I got it as a light-weight, get-the-hip-off-the-ground sleep pad: it's still 5 stars for it's sheer brilliance. If they ever fix the slip and the sound, I will STRONGLY consider gifting the ones I own and getting the upgrade. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Far be it from me to use the term genius lightly! But this thing is nothing short of that. Is so lightweight, so small, and unfolds into such a flat pancake sheet of cloth that everyone's initial reaction is no way. There is no way this thing is going to blow up to be a pad that can hold anyone's wait let alone a grown man. I'm 6 2 and 200 pounds and I say with elation ecstasy and exuberance that my hip is off the ground! I am a big side sleeper and I cannot believe it I can't believe I'm saying it but this thing keeps me off the ground more than any pad I've used yet. I love the feel the cloth, I love the ease of the valve, I can blow this thing up at eight breaths but that's not really the key don't focus on the number of breaths go for speed. I can blow this thing up in 30 seconds, are there any self inflating pads they can go close? All of these dips and valleys in the pad not only add to the Comfort Inn contrib your body they allow the pad to expand much higher in use much less air - that means you get a thicker pad for way less than half the breath! It's amazing. The insulated pad is amazingly warm - truly. I have the insulated Static V, the standard, and the Lux. All excel at what they do - I recommend this product to friends. about insulated version: I went out in late on this thing on the cold cement on a cold night and whatever was touching this pad with the warmest thing. I was wearing clothes a sweater and a blanket! It really works it's really true the website talks about this thing as if it was state of the art, & I so agree! Mind blowing I got the camo and I love it! I was worried that it would be somehow different or inferior, it's not at all. It's an awesome piece of equipment and I don't see why I would get the shiny bright red one over this awesome forest looking thing. Besides, you don't want people knowing where you sleep! Because of the baffles, the air doesn't come out very easily and in fact it goes in kind of cool, when you blow in you can see the air going into the mat well after you finish the breath. In the same way if you just try and roll the air out of the pad some will stick in the bottom, so you do have to be fairly intentional with how you get the air out. It isn't hard it's just not as intuitive. You just fold it in half lengthwise and either roll it up really quick or flatten it with your arm from the ends to the top. Then fold it again in half and roll up. Don't worry too much about getting it perfect, or the slippage as you roll - it'll be fine, the bag is roomy enough.