Tester Bio
I live outside a small town in northeast Alabama. I have access to a good hiking area right out my front door, a large tract of woods called Pall-Mill Hollow (pronounced holler). It has a creek flowing through it with several good swimming holes. Caves abound in the area. I spent my youth climbing around the bluffs, swimming in the creek and exploring the caves. I also enjoy hunting, fishing, canoeing, and most other outdoor activities.

Backpacking is my favorite pastime. I consider myself a knowledgeable backpacker but I am not an expert. I enjoy hiking with my friends and family or solo. I limit my hiking to areas fairly close to home, usually within a day’s drive of home. I hike throughout the year and actually hike the least in the hot humid months of summer. My style is slow and steady and my gear is light. However I will sacrifice weight for comfort and durability. A typical 3 season load for me is around 20 lb (9 kg) not counting food or water. I usually sleep in a hammock and cook with an alcohol stove. My backpacking trips are usually 2, 3 or 4 days in length.

Product Information

Manufacturer,	Big Agnes
Manufactured Date,	2004
Manufacturer URL,	http://www.bigagnes.com
Listed Weight,	4 lb 10 oz (2.1 kg)
Verified Weight,	5 lb 10 oz (2.55 kg)
Size,	25 in (64 cm) wide by 78 in (198 cm) long by 2.5 in (6.3 cm) thick
Rolled (transport) Size,	approximately 24 in (61 cm) circumference by 25 in (64 cm) long
MSRP,	$69.95 US

Product Description
Big Agnes calls all their pads REM pads. My first question was, what does REM mean? A quick search on the Big Agnes web-site revealed it means, Rest Easy Mama. That aside, the REM Hinman pads are the budget minded pads from Big Agnes. What this really means is, the Hinman Pads are built to the same high standards as all REM pads, but the materials used are not the cutting edge light-weight materials used in some of the lighter pads. For instance, the foam is a high density continuous foam while light-weight pads tend to have patterns of cutout areas (holes) to save weight. The Hinman Pads are said to be warmer and softer.

There are four sizes of Hinman Pads available. Three of the Hinman Pads come in the following dimensions: 20 in (51 cm) wide, 1.5 (3.8 cm) in thick and a choice of 48 in (122 cm), 72 in (183 cm) or 78 in (198 cm) in length. However, the pad in question, designed to be used with the Park Series bags is much wider and thicker. At 2.5 in (6.3 cm) thick, it is not a wimpy backpacking pad, barely adequate to help make a night on the ground survivable (think Yugo). It is much more opulent instead (think limousine). The pad is blue on top and black on the bottom. To inflate it, simply open the fill/deflate air valve located in the upper right hand corner. The valve has a plastic-like grip surface and is much larger than the valve on my older self-inflating pad. I can spin it an infinite number of turns in the open direction but only a few turns are required to return it to the closed position. I have provided additional information on the pad in my Initial Report.

Testing Locations and Conditions
Testing has been conducted in the woods near my home and a couple of times in my yard. Temperatures have been very mild mostly, with 40 F (4 C) being the coolest temperature experienced. Other nights have been downright warm with lows only down into the mid 70s F (around 24 C). Elevations have been mostly at around 1200 ft (366 m) minus about 400 ft (122 m) for trips down into the holler. Surfaces slept on include three different hammocks and inside my tent, both on grass in the yard and on the forest floor down in the holler. It rained on one occasion but this had no bearing on the test results.

Field Test Results
I have a lot of ground to cover so hang on. And speaking of covering a lot of ground, this pad does eat up a lot of real-estate both on the way to a campsite and once unrolled and inflated. So far I have used the pad in conjunction with the 20 F (-7 C) Hog Park of the Park series of sleeping bags it was designed for.

My first four nights spent on the Hinman Pad were not on the ground but rather in three different hammocks. I first used it in a Crazy Crib LEX which, I will state right up front, worked best with this pad. I spent two nights in this particular setup and experienced the coldest weather afforded at 40 F (4 C). I found absolutely no cold spots under me in the hammock at this fairly cool temperature. This is promising because a hammock will test a pads ability to keep my lower side warm quicker than any method I know of. A few weeks later I was back in the Crazy Crib LEX for another overnighter, this time experiencing some rain and warmer temperatures.

I next tried the Hinman Pad in a homemade hammock with no overhead bug covering. The night was cool at 50 F (10 C) and thankfully I didn't have to worry about bugs. The pad wanted to remain fairly flat and until I let out a little air it wanted to kick out of the hammock at one or more corners, depending on its mood at the time I reckon. However, once letting out some air then laying on it for a few minutes it sort of made peace with the hammock, remaining somewhat in place when I entered or exited the hammock.

My other hammocking was in my Hennessy Expedition Hammock. It was raining when I set up camp and I put the pad inside the hammock to let it inflate. Next I attempted to insert the pad into its respective sleeve of the Hog Park while standing in the entry slit of the hammock. There was not enough room inside for me and the pad/bag. Since it was not raining hard I decided to attempt the maneuver back outside the hammock. I found out it is not all that easy to get the pad in the sleeve of the Hog Park while trying to keep everything off the ground. Once I managed to get the pad in its sleeve I shoved it inside the Hennessy Hammock. Getting in was not that difficult but I did have to fold the pad and bag back over itself quite a ways. I got in and worked the lower half of the bag and pad back out straight where it promptly covered most of the entry slit. I had the pad in on a slight diagonal but it still rode over the bug netting at two places, left of my left shoulder and right of my right foot. However this seemed to place no undue stress on the hammock or netting and I spent a comfortable, though slightly warm, night sleeping like a baby. In using the Hinman Pad with my hammocks I found one serious drawback. It is not easy to roll the pad back up and get all the air out of the pad while it is dancing around in a hammock. The surface (hammock bed) is not flat and the pad is much easier to roll up on a hard flat surface (like the ground). With a heavy dew on the ground I was reluctant to go that route so I ended up packing the pad away at a slightly larger circumference than when I left the house.

I seriously doubt (but can't know for sure) the Hinman Pad was designed for hammocking use. In fact I imagine most folks interested in this pad have every intention of using it in a tent or on the ground somehow. My advice is, since this pad will seldom be used for backpacking (by sane backpackers), try it in a hammock. Just because I'm hauling my gear by vehicle, canoe or other means of transportation does not mean I will automatically take a big tent. In fact when practical I will use a hammock. The Hinman Pad works very well in a hammock and is an easy way to provide under-insulation hammockers are always searching for.

Now that I have preached on "The Joys of Hammocking" why not introduce the tent I will be testing the Hinman Pad in for the next few months. That would be the Zeus 2EXO. I have spent two nights thus far in this tent (plus a short nap one day) on the Hinman Pad. It has been awhile since I slept (last summer) on the ground and I am not "trail tough" by any means. I am pleased to report that I was able to get a good nights rest on both occasions. Much better than last summer when I was using another ground shelter but relying on foam pads. In fact I took to doubling the pads even in warm weather and still found the ground harder than I liked. This is no problem with the Hinman Pad.

My first test on the ground on the Hinman Pad was on the day I received The Zeus 2EXO tent to test. I had just worked off a long shift and set up the tent to try it out. It was around 75 F (24 C), with a slight breeze blowing, and the sun peeping out occasionally from the few breaks in the clouds. I found it a little easier to get the Hinman Pad in the sleeve on the Hog Park bag from inside the tent but the close quarters made it a little difficult. I saw that the pad and bag were almost touching both ends of the tent. By crowding the door end (protected by a vestibule) I could avoid touching the single wall of the tent at the foot end. As I lay on top of the Hog Park admiring the new tent, I ended up going to sleep for about two hours unintentionally.

A few days later I took a hike to the holler behind my house late one evening and set up camp just as dusk was descending. Despite not having much of a pillow (I didn't have room for extra clothes) I slept about five hours straight and got a few more hours sleep after a bathroom break at 3 AM. I slept on top of the sleeping bag because it only got down to 73 F (23 C) and was much warmer than that when I first turned in. I was actually a little cool the next morning when I woke up but it was still too warm to enjoy snuggling back in the bag for long. After a light breakfast of oatmeal and hot cocoa I smashed out most of the air from the pad and got everything ready for the hike home. Of course I bemoaned the heavy pad and bag as I hiked back uphill to the house.

I next slept in the tent in my backyard when some rain was forecasted. I did not set the tent up until 11 PM and only went to sleep about an hour later. It did not rain but that is another story. It did thunder off in the distance a few times before I went to sleep and I nervously went to sleep wondering about lightning and the aluminum poles supporting the tent. It was a hot muggy night and stayed in the low 80s F (upper 20s C) but I expected the coming rain to cool things down a little. I awoke at 4 AM and saw that it had not rained and could see stars in every direction. I decided to return back to the house and slept a few more hours in the AC. I took all my gear and the tent inside without properly packing. Later that morning I put the tent back up in full sun to dry completely and the pad/bag was put back under the bed where it lives between outings.

Future Testing Plans
I will continue to use the Hinman Pad with a tent mostly. I may be tempted to revert back to my hammocking ways occasionally but will use the pad here as well. Future testing will focus mostly on the durability of the pad. Will any leaks develop? I will also attempt to use the Hinman pad under another sleeping bag. With the weather as hot as it is right now I can definitely use a cooler bag than the 20 (-7 C) Hog Park I am testing in conjunction with the pad. Even though I am reluctant to use another sleeping bag while testing the Hog Park I will use my Mountainsmith Wisp when it is extreemly hot. Not only will this cut exactly (the differanc in weight between sleeping bags) 5 lb (2.3 kg) from my pack weight, it will give me an idea how the pad performs with other bags without a sleeve pocket for the pad.

Stay tuned for the Long Term Report which will be forthcoming in about four months.

Read more reviews of Big Agnes gear
Read more gear reviews by Coy Ray Starnes

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