@BillyBob - The Nemo is actually 2 oz. lighter at 21 oz., vs 23 oz. for the XTherm. both pads are 25"x77".
@Just Bill
Male, 38 years old, 5'9" tall, 190 lbs (about 40 lbs over where I'd like to be).
I don't do any of it as often as I should, but I snowboard, mountain bike and hike/backpack.
I am pretty experienced in the outdoors and in cold weather, so I do believe there is an acclimation factor in play here.
While I do agree that I may have acclimated, through experience and testing, and developed an ability to sleep through cold better than some, I don't think that I'm some sort of super human warm sleeper. I have gotten cold in my tests and on trips, and generally find that I need a lower temp rating on my insulation than the actual conditions (even if it is accomplished by added clothing etc.).
I've seen you go further into this on other threads. I agree that pads are designed to be used on the ground, but this answer still doesn't do it for me.
Per the Therm-a-Rest website "our proprietary reflective coating radiates heat back to your body and prevents heat loss." I'm no expert, but I did take physics and natural sciences in high school and college, and I can justify to myself that whether on ground or in air, my body heat is entering the pad and staying in it. The variable is that the underside of the pad is exposed to the air in a hammock. However, there is still the barrier of the underside of the hammock (especially the thicker ripstop nylon of the REI), and I don't find it a stretch to believe that the 70D fabric on the bottom of the pad, combined with the "proprietary reflective coating" would block heat loss from the air. Maybe the reflective coating itself is enough?
But honestly, I have no idea what I'm talking about, and could easily be convinced otherwise. I simply have not seen a definitive answer on this issue. I'm going to write Therm-a-Rest and ask them what they think. Perhaps I should also set up an experiment to test it for myself. Maybe put a thermometer between my body and the pad for xx minutes on the ground, remove the thermometer for xx minutes to reset, then repeat in the air - all at the same ambient temperature?
Agreed. That is the point of all this for me - to figure out what gear I need to enjoy sleeping in the outdoors, and record that information as a reference. Can I go lighter (ie less insulated) if backpacking? What if I don't need to go lighter and want to be extra warm?
I also figure that my personal stats (height, weight, age etc.) and experience are fairly average, if not leaning towards the more experienced end as far as cold weather goes. So while my experience of the performance of gear may differ from many others' experience of that same gear, there may be some for whom this data proves useful.
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