Pacific Outdoor Equipment
Max-Lite
Women’s Edition
 Insul Mat
Initial Report

Biography:

Name:	Ashlee Gunter
Age:	27
Gender:	Female
Height:	5’ 1” (1.52 m)
Weight:	110 lb (50 kg)
Email Address:	n8trlvr76(at)yahoo(dot)com
City, State:	Baton Rouge (Denham Springs), LA
Date:	December 22, 2003

Backpacking Background:

I have been backpacking and hiking in one form or another most of my life.  Actually, I was car camping before I was born.  Growing up, my Father was a Boy Scout Leader.  He would load my sister and me up with packs, just like the guys and take us along with him on their trips.  As I’ve grown, I’ve had the opportunity to hike and backpack in South Florida, Utah and Idaho, and now presently Louisiana and Mississippi.  I’ve hiked terrain from high desert to swamp.  I do not really have much experience or desire for winter mountaineering. I spent the majority of the past four years either pregnant or caring for a young child.  As a result, I have been limited to primarily day hiking for the past few years.  My son is now 2 ½ and I have the opportunity to begin backpacking again. It is really fun getting back into it and I wonder how I was satisfied with just day hiking the past few years.  Because of a busy life, my trips are still limited mostly to day or weekend trips.  My son joins us on most of our trips.  As a result of this, lightweight compact gear is essential for us, although I would not classify myself as strictly lightweight.  

Product Information:

Manufacturer:	Pacific Outdoor Equipment
Website:	http://www.pacoutdoor.com/
Model Year:	2004
Listed Weight:	26 oz (737g)
Actual Weight:	24 oz (680 g)
MSRP:	$54
Sleeping Pad Size:	Petite

 Product Arrival:

The POE Max-Lite (petite) arrived via UPS in a brown box.  It was compressed in a stuff sack and wrapped in plastic.  There was an instruction pamphlet and repair kit in a pocket found inside of the stuff sack.

Initial Inspection:

Listed Features:
Anti Fungal Treatment
Solid Brass Valve
DWR Finish
Stuff Sack

According to Pacific Outdoors’ website, the sleeping pad is filled with Die Cut Matrix foam under the body, high R-Value Basix foam under the feet and body supporting Dot foam under the hips.  In addition it is covered with Griptec, proprietary non-slip shell fabric, 150D air-textured poly that is supposed to keep the pad and sleeping bag in place.

The first thing I noticed about the Max-Lite is the compressed size of the pad.  Prior to this test, I was only familiar with Pacific Outdoor’s Traditional Series sleeping pads.  These are larger pads probably better for camping.  I was unsure what to expect in this sleeping pad.  When I saw the small size of the sleeping pad, I was immediately impressed.  This is definitely a sleeping pad that can be put inside my pack instead of strapped to it.

I also notice that a stuff sack comes with this sleeping pad.  This is not the case in other sleeping pads I am familiar with.  Most are sold separately.  I like that this one comes with one.
Something else I notice different about this sleeping pad is the pattern of the foam support.  The different levels of support are visually apparent in the different sections of the sleeping pad. 
 
Initial Use:

I removed the POE Max-Lite from the stuff sack and opened the valve to self inflate.  The sticker on the front said it may take up to 30 minutes for the first inflation, so I waited a few minutes.  I decided to read the instructions while I was waiting.  The instructions said to blow into the air valve during the first inflation until it was at its full capacity.  Besides making me a little light headed, this was easy to do.  Once the Max-Lite was fully inflated, I laid down on it in my living room.  I was surprised to find it was extremely comfortable.  I could actually feel the support in the shoulders and hips.  It did seem a little thin though.  I am not sure yet if this will cause discomfort when sleeping on it.  After leaving it inflated for about an hour, I deflated it and rolled it up.  To do this, I opened the air valve and began rolling it from the toe end.  When I got to the top, I closed the air valve and unrolled the sleeping pad.  Then with the valve closed, I rolled the pad again to push the air to the top of the pad.  Once the sleeping pad was just about rolled to the top, I opened the valve and let the rest of the air out. 

The instructions said that inflation time would decrease with each use, so I inflated the pad a second time.  This time I did not blow air into the valve, I just let it self inflate.  The sleeping pad was fully inflated in about 5 minutes.  I followed the same procedure as before for deflating the sleeping pad, but this time I folded the sleeping pad in half length wise before rolling.  This is how it folds to fit into the stuff sack.  While I was rolling the sleeping pad up, it slipped and made it difficult to roll. 
 
Testing Strategy:

I plan to use this sleeping pad on a series of weekend backpacking trips in the National Forests and other areas of Mississippi and Louisiana. I also plan to do a longer trip in North Louisiana in the spring. I plan to use this sleeping pad for any car camping trips as well.  I will be sleeping in a tent and my 20 degree sleeping bag.   Later in the test period when it warms a little, I will probably be sleeping in my bag liner as opposed to a full bag.  The terrain will be mostly flat with minimal variations in elevation at times.

Concerns:

There are a few things I will be looking at in this test.  Since this is a women’s specific pad, I will be looking at the support this pad gives me.  The manufacturer says there is additional padding in certain areas where women need more support.  Will I be able to feel this extra padding and will it make a difference for me?  Will the extra padding help with warmth in those specific areas?  Will my sleeping bag slide around on the sleeping pad?

Since I live in a humid climate, I am very interested in the Max Lite’s response to moisture.  Will it absorb moisture?  If it gets wet, will it dry quickly?  How effective is the DWR?  How well does the Anti Fungal treatment work?  In South Louisiana mildew will grow on anything.  Will this treatment prevent it?  Will the moisture and temperature variances affect the brass valve?
 
Things I Like:

*  Compact
*  Lightweight
*  Comes with a stuff sack

Things I Don’t Like:

*  Seems it may be a little thin
*  Slips when rolling up if folded in half