Ridgerest or the famous cheap 10.00 walmart pad?

[Carolinahammockhanger]

Has anyone used both and can tell which is better and why? I see alot of users here using the cheap wally world pad. I already have a thermarest ridgerest (20x72) but was wodering if I need to "downgrade" to the famous blue pad. I see its wider but don't know if I'm missing anything else. Is it warmer? Thanks.

[Take-a-knee]

Has anyone used both and can tell which is better and why? I see alot of users here using the cheap wally world pad. I already have a thermarest ridgerest (20x72) but was wodering if I need to "downgrade" to the famous blue pad. I see its wider but don't know if I'm missing anything else. Is it warmer? Thanks.

Just get an SPE from Speer. If you buy one I'll mail you some reflectix for the wings.

[Spogatz]

I just picked up a walmart pad today but have not used it yet. BTW they are up to 12 bucks now....I guess the price cut team went on vacation...

[FanaticFringer]

I just picked up a walmart pad today but have not used it yet. BTW they are up to 12 bucks now....I guess the price cut team went on vacation...

Welcome to the forum from a fellow Lawrenceviller.

[hangnout]

http://www.hammockcamping.com/Free%2...leFoamPads.htm

Here is an article written by youngblood that covers this.

[stretch]

I have the 20" and 25" pads that walmart carries. My experience has been that even though the 25" egg crate pad is thinner in the "valleys", it is much warmer than the cheaper option.

[froldt]

Has anyone used both and can tell which is better and why? I see alot of users here using the cheap wally world pad. I already have a thermarest ridgerest (20x72) but was wodering if I need to "downgrade" to the famous blue pad. I see its wider but don't know if I'm missing anything else. Is it warmer? Thanks.

I've got both. Actually, I've got two different kinds of wally world pads, the cheap blue one, and the slightly less-cheap egg shelled blue one. Worked my way up to the ridgerest.

For ground use, I definitely prefer the ridgerest. It's a bit more comfortable, and definitely warmer. The ridges do seem to create larger air pockets and help to further separate me from the ground. I got the largest I could find, and while I like that for the ground, it's kinda big to stick on the pack...

For the hammock, I generally use my ridgerest, but am going to switch back to my WW blue pad, so that I can cut it with no fear. I'm going to trim it down to torso-length and make some wings (one of which will double as a sit-pad) so that it takes up less room in the pack. My pack will be tucked under my feet/legs for padding.

So... for the ground, I definitely recommend a RR over the WW Blue, kept me warmer and a bit more comfortable. However, for the hammock I think I'd recommend a customized WW Blue. It would be just as functional but smaller and lighter.