To be honest with you, my wife and I are not hard outdoors people. We love getting off the beaten path, going out being adventurous. We love seeing the amazing things Mother Nature likes to show us. But when the sun goes down and the moon is out, we like to head in for some of the creature comforts of home. No sleeping on hard ground or in a tent for us.
After a long hike or maybe a rough trail with the Jeep, we do like to relax outdoors and enjoy a sunset or a moment to contemplate the Universe before hitting the hotel. Its at times like this I would like some firm comfort between me and the often cold, hard ground.
A blowup mattress was too bulky to carry in a backpack or in the jeep. Plus you needed some hefty lungs or an air tool to carry along with you. A foam pad had the same issues and was not easily cleanable nor tough enough to handle the great outdoors. We needed something in the middle. Some comfort, some support and something that doesn’t take a lot of room in the jeep or a lot of energy setting it up.
What’s the solution? Something I didn’t know even existed until this past weekend. I discovered a self-inflating sleeping pad and I knew it needed to go into my Jeep for those days and nights out in the sticks.
The whole idea of self-inflating was what caught my attention. its ease of use as well as its ability to handle the rough outdoors and not easily tear or pop. This one had some great reviews on some of the online journals as well as just looking at its construction. The 4.3 R-value was impressive if I had any intentions of being out on a mountainside during a wintertime hike (Yea, NO!). It would keep me warm even if the ground was frozen or cold.
Its lightweight and ease of storage meant it wasn’t going to be tough to carry on a hike or to pack away in the back of our Jeep for travel.
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