I entered the National Forest on June 02 from the South leaving my car in a safe place and prepared for a two day loop hike.  This forest is covered with trees, mostly pine and oak so natural beauty is limited to local fauna and animals as visibility is limited. I began my hike on a wet overcast day so I had to protect the pad from moisture. No problem as I do that anyway on my other pads. After hiking for about 9 hours I was ready to stop and make camp. Having slept on the pad once before I knew to put the convoluted side down for my comfort. I prepared a sleeping site by removing all rocks, sticks, ect. and used some pine needles to keep dirt away. Set my tent with ground cloth and luckily it wasn't raining so I didn't have to rush to get the pad and bag inside.

After hiking all day I didn't think I would have any trouble sleeping and I was right. The night passed uneventful and although I did toss and turn a little overall the comfort was adequate. I think this pad is definitely for me to use on long trips where weight is a consideration.  I like having plenty of room on hikes so I use a larger pack and don't use my pad for a support in the pack only for sleeping or as a temporary resting spot when taking a break. I did not have any trouble attaching it to my Kelty pack on the outside.

The return hike on the next day was uneventful but wonderful as it's always a pleasure to be out in nature. I'm glad I didn't wait for the following weekend as most of the areas are under water from the tropical storm we had.

 

Compared to my other one-half inch closed-cell pad the Mt. Washington provided enough comfort for me to use on week long hikes. I can't say at this time if it would be ok on very rocky terrain. For shorter ones I would use my Thermarest. I am not comparing it to the Thermarest as they are two different systems and can't be compared.

I would cut some more length off of the pad to save weight as I don't need anything below the knees for comfort. This makes it very attractive for light weight applications in my opinion. At least for me and my friends. Their initial impression is the possible ounces saved with this pad in a customized configuration. For very uneven or rocky areas I think the pad would be too thin to give a tired hiker very much comfort unless the ground is prepared with soft dirt or debri beforehand.

My final impression is different from my first one as I thought it was too thin for any comfort. I was wrong and I am glad I was able to test the pad as it has shown me that without trying something you may make a wrong or at least an uninformed decision concerning equipment and it's use.