Tester Bio
I live outside a small town in northeast Alabama. I also enjoy hunting, fishing, canoing, 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
Pad Rating	-30 F (-34 C)
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 and Deflated (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 4 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. My Field Report tells how the pad performed in various conditions.

Testing Locations and Conditions
My Testing was conducted in Northeast Alabama on several short overnight hikes in the woods around my home. This summer has overall been fairly cool (relative to previous summers on record) but still warm with overnight with lows around 80 F (27 C) during the hotter months.   It has recently cooled down to fairly normal fall-like weather. The summer also saw more rain than normal but inside my tent or hammocks this was not an issue. Elevation was around 1300 ft (400 m)

Long Term Test Results
In my Field Repost I documented the very comfy sleep I experienced on the Hinman Pad and also the difficulty I had in packing a pad of such bulk. Nothing has changed in either department. The Hinman Pad is still holding up very well with no leaks developing during the test period. Since the Hinman Pad is not designed for backpacking I only managed to use it when I did not have to hike very far to my camping locations. My one planned car-camping excursion got canceled due to a hurricane. To use the pad as much as possible I made several short hikes of only a couple of miles and set up my Zeus 2EXO for quick overnight campouts. I really liked sleeping on the Hinman Pad. In fact, if I had to sleep on the ground a lot I would be sorely tempted to take the Hinman Pad on longer multi-day hikes.

I found another very practical use for the Hinman Pad. As I test different sleeping bags I need to eliminate poor insulation under me, whether I'm sleeping on the ground or in a hammock. The Hinman Pad is thick enough and wide enough that it will make getting cold from the bottom side highly unlikely. I just recently checked my newest 20 F (-7 C) sleeping bag to get a feel for how it performed compared to another identically rated sleeping bag. I slept out on 2 consecutive nights under almost identical conditions (in my tent). The first night saw temperatures dip to 47 F (8 C) and I was very hot in the Hog Park sleeping bag. The next night was a little cooler at 44 F (7 C) and I stayed plenty warm but did not melt in the Slumberjack Ultimate +20 F (-7 C) sleeping bag. The Hinman Pad made testing both bags on the ground a pleasant experience. I used the pad with my Mountainsmith Wisp for most of the summer and even used blankets from the house a few times. All these different times using the pad just highlighted how comfortable the pad really is and how well it worked with different sleeping bags or cover.

I took advantage of the Hinman Pad's larger than life proportions twice down at the creek. After I let the pad inflate and closed the valve I used the pad as a float. It held my 230 lb (104 kg) very easily but not completely out of the water. The pad was completely dry by bedtime a few hours later both times. Unfortunately, if I ever need to make a river crossing on an actual backpacking trip it is doubtful I will have the Hinman Pad along.

As it turned out, the roughest treatment I gave the Hinman Pad was probably sitting on it while riding in the back of my truck. With the pad slightly under-inflated I had the pad bent at the cab where I could sit and lean on it instead of the protruding ridges of the truck bed and the ridge next to the cab just below the back window. I only had to do this a couple of times when my son, my dad and I needed to go somewhere in my truck which only holds 2 in the cab.

My only complaint (and it's not the pad) is the weight given on the Big Agnes website. As I documented in my Initial Report, the Hinman Pad I recieved weighs 1 lb (0.5 kg) over what is listed on the website online specifications. When I heard Big Agnes was going to fix this I waited to see what official weight they came up with compared to my post office weigh in. Unfortunately the weight of the Hinman Pad has remained unchanged on the website.   They did change the weight of the Big Agnes Hog Park bag to match what I found. If the pad were designed for backpacking this might be upsetting. As it is, I don't mind the weight of the pad but would prefer to see Big Agnes's official listed weights match what goes out the door. I guess there is a possibility my pad is heavier than normal (it does happen from time to time).

Conclusions
The Hinman Pad has not converted me back to a ground sleeper but it is about as close to luxury as I can get on the ground short of hauling my own bed out into the woods. As this is not likely to happen anytime soon, I will continue to use the Hinman Pad when conditions warrant, namely, in cold weather and in my hammock.

I did not get to test the pad in really cold weather but will use it more in winter weather. The 2.5 in (6.3 cm) thick pad rated to -30 F (-34 C) will definitely be more practical to carry in the winter. I documented my use of the pad in several of my hammocks in my Field Report. I will continue too use it in my Crazy Crib LEX and my homemade open hammocks because it is much easier to manage the pad in both these hammocks.   The pad is just too big (blocks the bottom entry) to scramble over and use it in my Hennessey Hammocks.

The Hinman Pad and Hog Park Bag make a great combination when space and weight are not paramount to a trip's success. The Hinman Pad works with other sleeping bags or even just blankets when I need a soft place to sleep. Just don't ask me to carry it very far.

It was certainly a pleasure to test the Hinman Pad. I will continue to use this pad and would love to have a matching pad for my wife. I would like to thank BackpackGearTest.org and Big Agnes for the opportunity to participate in this test.

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

Long Term Report

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