Mt Washington Pad - Report #3

I managed to get out for two short backpacking trips over Memorial
Day Weekend.  I tried the Mt Washington Pad out over 2 nights and
have some comments/feedback. 

Night of May 25
Temps: around 40F
Shelter: Tarp
Groundcloth: nylon poncho
Sleeping Bag: Western Mountaineering Iroquois
Pad: Mt Washington 
Wind: basically none
Ground surface: nice soft dirt with a soft layer of pine needles
Backpack: LW Gear One Pound Pack

After a short hike in (about 3 miles) we found a nice tarp site.
The pad worked very well for me this night.  I was comfortable and
warm.  I tried the pad with the bumps up and down, and decided to
go with the bumps down.  I slept mostly on my back.  The additional
length of the pad means that basically everything except my heels
is on the pad.  I also used the pad as my pack frame and it gave my 
pack a nice comfortable ride.  The curl that was in the pad as
delivered has disappeared.  In the conditions I encountered this
night, the pad seems like a good lightweight alternative to my 3/4 
UL Thermarest.  



Night of May 27
Temps: low 30s
Shelter: Tarp
Groundcloth: tyvek
Sleeping Bag: Western Mountaineering Iroquois
Pad: Mt Washington
Wind: very light breeze
Ground surface: light layer of dirt/needles over hardpack ground
Backpack: Lw Gear One Pound Pack

My wife and I decided to go for a 24 mile hike through the Lost 
Creek Wilderness.  Again, I used the pad for sleeping and as a 
pack frame.  Curled up and inserted into my backpack as a tube,
the pad works very well as a pack frame.  The pad provides a fairly
stiff tube for holding equipment, but feels very comfortable 
against my back.  As a sleeping pad this night, I really noticed
the thinness of the pad.  Sleeping on my side was fairly uncomfortable.
I would wake up a short while later with a sore shoulder
and hip.  I resorted to sleeping on my back again, which was 
comfortable but left my heels on the cold ground (I didn't supplement
the pad length with my pack or anything).  I froze my butt off
in the very early a.m. (most likely due to the cold temps and my use 
of a 38F sleeping bag in 30 degree temps).  I'm not sure if the pad
contributed to my coldness or not.  I'd like to find out what the
R-value rating for this pad is.  In hindsight, I should have 
flipped the pad over and tried it with the bumps up.  This may have
made a difference in comfort.  I'll have to try it this way next
time around.

Preliminary thoughts:  The pad works well in ideal conditions (soft 
ground, warm temps).  Under less ideal conditions (hard ground, cold 
temps) I really was wishing for my 3/4 UL Thermarest.  The pad 
actually felt less comfortable than my thermarests, my ridgerest,
and my z-rest.  But, the weight is so appealing.  Additionally,
I REALLY like how sticky Mt Washington pad is.  The pad is much
stickier than the rest of my pads.  It does not slip around on the
groundcloth and my bag does not slide around on the pad.  This is
a big advantage on a campsite that is not level.  I'll continue
testing the pad and give some longer term feedback as it develops.

Brad Baker