Owner Review: Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Pad, Long

Raymond Estrella
November 28, 2005

Tester Information
Age: 44
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (187.5 cm)
Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Email address: rayestrella@hotmail.com
City: Huntington Beach
State: California
Country: USA 
Backpacking Background: I have been hiking for over 30 years, all over the state of California. I have also hiked in Washington, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, and Idaho. I hike year-round, mostly in the Sierra Nevada, and have put 535 miles (856 km) on my boots this year.  As I start my 4th decade of backpacking I am making the move to lightweight gear, and smaller packs.

The product

Manufacturer: Big Agnes
Web site: http://www.bigagnes.com
Product: Insulated Air Core Pad, Rectangular Long
Year manufactured: 2004.
MSRP: $74.95 (US).
Weight listed: 26 oz (728 g) Actual measured 25.1 oz (703 g)
Weight of stuff sack included above: 0.8 oz (22 g)
Measurements listed: 20” x 78” x 2.5” (50 cm x 195 cm x 6.25 cm)
Actual measurements: 20” x 77” x 2.5” (50 cm x 192.5 cm x 6.25 cm)
Packed size listed: 3.75” x 10” (9.37 cm x 25 cm)
The way that I pack it is 5” X 8” (12.5 cm x 20 cm)
Warranty: “REM Insulated Air Core Pads come with a 100% guarantee.”

Product description

The Insulated Air Core Pad (hereafter referred to as Air Core, or pad) is a black rectangular air mattress, intended for use as a backpack sleeping pad. It is made of 40 denier nylon fabric, with a Durable Water Repellant coating. It has the Big Agnes logo at the top of the pad in white lettering, along with the product name and size. Just below that is a Primaloft logo, also in white. Besides the DWR coating on the outside, the inner surface has been given a polyurethane coating.

The pad is made up of eight air chambers, running lengthwise. They are described as being I-beam construction. The manufacturer describes it as follows. “The I-beam construction technique is functionally superior to the typical welded-through construction of other air mats. Die cut holes in each I-beam allow air to flow freely between chambers giving constant support and comfort.”

This is the Insulated Air Core inflated.

In one corner of the pad at the top is a plastic screw-closed air valve. When turned clockwise it closes the valve. Turning it counter-clockwise opens the valve, releasing the air to empty the pad.

The pad has Primaloft insulation inside of it. The manufacturer says that it is “filled with Primaloft insulation”, but it is actually a layer of insulation attached to the top part of the pad. (This is important to remember.) The insulation has been treated with a “silicone treatment which serves as an anti-microbial within the pad.” Since one introduces moisture into the pad while inflating by mouth, this is probably a good thing.

A repair kit consisting of a fabric patch and a small tube of glue comes with the pad.

Field Conditions

I got this pad on April 8th of 2004. During the course of the past 2 years I have used this pad to log well over 500 miles backpacking. It has seen twenty-one nights in 2005 and about sixteen in 2004. (I lost my log, so I can not be exact for 2004.)

Temperatures encountered while using the pad have ranged from highs at bed-time of 102 F (39 C) in the Owens Valley, to lows of 17 F (-8 C) on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada. It has been used from -200’ (-60 m) elevation in Death Valley, to 12,000’ (3,600 m) feet near Mount Whitney. It has been used as far south as Cleveland National forest in Southern California, and as far north as Sierra high camp near Yosemite. The pad has always been used in a tent. It has never been exposed to rain.

Field Use

I had used air mattresses as a kid, car camping. The big 5”-6” (12-15 cm) thick ones. They were great for comfort, but were too heavy to use backpacking. Back in the late 70’s I tried some light-weight plastic air mattresses and concluded they were useless for backpacking. They popped much too easily. And you freeze on them. (Most of my hiking is in the Sierra where it can get cold at night any time of year.) After reading about the Air Core, I decided to give it a try.

I was very impressed. I am a side sleeper. Most pads can not handle all of your weight being distributed on pretty much just the point of your shoulder and hip. I would always wake up very sore, and did not get very good sleep. When I used to motorcycle tour, where you can take more weight and volume, I used a Cascade Designs Camp Rest. It was the only pad that I was comfortable on, but it weighed too much, and was too large to use backpacking.

After my first trip with the Air Core I was hooked. I own, or have owned around eleven sleeping pads, and this is more comfortable than all but one of them. It has spoiled me to other pads. It packs down very small, a boon to me as I have been trying to cut my pack volume along with my weight. I fold the pad in thirds, roll it up lengthwise, and slide it into it’s stuff sack. Here is a picture of it in the storage sack. It is 8” (20 cm) long.

It supports me very well. And even when on my side, I do not get pressure on my hip or shoulder. The 2 ½” of thickness keeps me off the ground even when I sit up, concentrating all of my weight to one area of the pad. But it does have its limitations.

It was first billed as a cold weather pad. It still is, to the 15 F (9.5 C) range. The web site actually recommends using a closed cell pad underneath it in sub-freezing weather now. This is very wise.

I had a run of very cold weather hit us on a 7 day hike. We had lows of 17, 18, and 19 F consecutively. (-7 to -8 C) I was using a Mountainsmith bag that has less down on the bottom to conserve weight. On two of the nights I got cold from the pad. The air does nothing to stop conduction until it hits the thin layer of Primaloft at the top surface. As far as I can tell the actual dead-air space (what gives insulation its R-value) is about 0.33” to 0.5” (8-13 mm) It works great for me (I am a very warm-blooded person) to about 20 F (6.6 C) Because the insulation is bonded to the top of the pad, it is very important in cooler temps to make sure that the top is “up”. One’s body heats the air pockets created by the insulation making a warm buffer between the cold ground and the top of the pad. Otherwise the insulation will be against the ground where it will insulate the cold ground, leaving one’s body against just air. And that is not going to be very warm.

In warm weather it was excellent. On a hike from Death Valley to Mount Whitney, we started hiking at 1:00 or 2:00 am to beat the extreme heat during the day. Which meant that we were setting up camp around 1:00 pm. The hottest time of the day. I used this pad on that trip (with one of Big Agnes’s bags too.) It was to hot to be in a bag, so I just lay on the pad. At about 10:00 pm I would pull the sleeping bag over me comforter style. The pad was very comfortable used this way. I did not feel the separate air chambers. (Something I was worried about from the air mattresses of old.) The I-beam construction seems to work as advertised.

I have never had a leak with this pad. In fact the tube of glue supplied with it dried up and was thrown away. So I hope to continue with my good luck with it. But in the sake of balance I should relate some experiences I had with another pad I purchased for my Brother-in-law.

After my initial impressions with this pad, I got Dave one in a mummy shape. (This is because I got him one of their bags that need a shaped pad.) On his fourth trip with it, it failed. It had a leak on the seam, which could not be repaired. I sent it back to Big Agnes. They sent me a new one with no hassle. Dave took it to Kings Canyon without ever inflating it first. The new one would not hold air. Fortunately for him I had brought another pad to use at the trailhead so as not to have to unload my pack. He was able to use it for the trip, but he is kind of soured on the air pads now.

Overall I am very happy with this pad. I will continue to use it as my primary 3-season pad.

Pros: Light weight, small packed size, very comfortable.

Cons: Cold in low temps, a major blow-out would be very bad on a multi-day trip.