I purchased one of these two years ago and am writing this review hoping to give other buyers some guidance on whether this would be a smart purchase for them. I'm 6'2" 190 lbs and, for the most part, a side-sleeper. I've mainly used this within my sleeping bag inside a tent, though I have placed it inside my bag when using a backpacking hammock for extra insulation during late spring and fall trips.
PROS:
- Very lightweight and packable. I can easily fit the pad, its "bulb" inflation pump, a repair kit and my inflatable pillow into the included stuff sack, which is slightly bigger than a 16oz can, but less than a 32oz Nalgene.
- Surprisingly comfortable and warm for a minimalist design. As a fairly big dude and a side-sleeper, I was pretty pleased to not have more sore spots in the AM.
- Customer service for repairs has been good. I never had to bicker with Klymit about repair issues- they honor their warranty.
- Turnaround for repairs has been reasonably quick.
- Initial purchase was cheap; not a great long-term value though.
CONS: My overall impression is that this is a good concept prone to suffering from manufacturing shortcomings/seam defects. My pad first split at the seam near the calf support cross pad on the first night of my second trip with it. No slow leak over the night; totally flat within a minute. 4 more nights of sleeping on clothing after that. Patched it with the enclosed repair kit in the field, but it just wouldn't fix. Once home with enough time for a decent patch job and curing time, I went overboard on the seam glue as a precaution after the first repair job had cured. Used it for a 3-day trip using my hammock afterward with some minor deflation (likely a pinhole leak from my home repair). Not a biggie, since the hammock was comfortable and it was warm enough to not need to loft my sleeping bag through the pad's design. I did the soapy water immersion test with it, and fixed any tiny bubbles with seamgrip and aquaseal. Dried it and double checked to make sure there were no leaks. The rest of my camping that year was within 2 miles of trailheads and I opted to use a thicker pad for comfort that season.
Fast forward to the first trip of next camping season- a month-long backpacking roadtrip from the PNW to Boulder. I had one or two pinhole leaks during the first half, easily fixed with seam grip and some tenacious tape (I packed prepared for smaller problems). The calf support cross pad again delaminated, this time on the upper portion in a different segment. This time at Nelson lake on the Belly River trail in Glacier Nat'l park, 10+ miles away from anywhere close to comfortable.
I sent it back to Klymit's HQ after that trip for a full review of leaks and repairs. They sent it back within 15 days of my return. I did the soapy water test and left it inflated for a few days in my garage, with no discernible leaks. Their customer service and warranty honoring is good, as far as I have experienced.
And then I went to use it last weekend in the PNW (5/19/17 for future readers)... Three hours after racking up, the nylon splits at the base of the support pad, through another seam, near my right ankle and ran for around an inch towards the end of the pad. This time it was a clean tear through two layers of what should be ripstop nylon. For those inclined to ask for clarification- no, there were no sharp objects at the foot of my sleeping bag. A friend only out for the first night loaned me his Nemo Tensor for the remainder of the trip. No rips, no delams and a good night's sleep, other than some crinkling sounds from a colder weather pad.
I've prob spent an extra $30+ on top of the initial $60 I paid for this pad in repair materials and shipping back to Klymit for manufacturer's repairs. After last weekend, I bought a new pad from Thermarest's NeoAir line and am giving up hope on this pad. I'll be losing some packability and gain about a pound in pack weight, but it's worth it to me to have a good night's sleep that won't pop.
I would not recommend this pad until they iron out some of the kinks in their manufacturing and design. For instance, you can look at the overview of the pad and see 4/5 of the crossbars use baffles. By leaving them out in the area around a user's calves, I imagine they hoped to save some weight in baffle glue and some $ in manufacturing. What I think happens in the field is that it leaves an area particularly vulnerable to delamination and popping. Much like the two delams I've seen in the field.
This is only my experience with this particular pad. Like I said before, there may be some benefits to you. My experience has been overly negative and this review is only my heads up to others who may not be as informed as I was pre-purchase.
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