Owner Review by Camilla Burke

Owner Review-Therm-a-rest Classic Full Length Pad

Tester Bio:

Name: Camilla Burke
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Height: 5’3" (1.60 m)
Weight: 163 lb (71 kg)
Email Address: cami5432@yahoo.com
City/State/Country: Centerburg, Ohio (about 30 minutes from Columbus), USA
Date: December 29, 2003

Backpacking Background: I started backpacking when I was 15 years old. I started out with a weekend trip to a trail in southern Ohio. I loved it and went to the Appalachian Trail for 2 weeks with my father. In Ohio, we have very humid summers and dry winters. I like to learn about different areas and climates. I will be exploring central Florida in January. . I try and pack as light as possible, but consider myself only a semi-light packer. I usually hike hard, mid-mountainous environments 3-4 times a year about 2 weeks at a time.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Therm-a-rest
Year of Purchase: ~1998
URL: http://www.cascadedesigns.com
Listed Weight: 2 lb. 11oz. (1200 g)
Weight as Delivered: 2 lb. 14 oz. (1304 g)
Inflated Size: 75" x 26.5" x 1.5" (190.5 x 67.3 x 3.8 cm)
Rolled Size: 21" x 5" (53 x 12.7 cm)
Style: Classic style full size pad
MSRP: $65.00 US

Product Description:

This air mattress has a soft thermal foam on the inside and staytec fabric on both sides to prevent slipping. This pad is easy to use because it has a self-inflating valve on one corner. To inflate, all I had to do is unroll the mattress, open the valve, and when it was done inflating, I closed the valve.

Field Experience:

Although I have owned this air mattress for over four years, I will only mention a few of my experiences using it. One place I gained experience with this pad took place at Burr Oak Lake, Ohio. The Burr Oak Lake Trail is a short hike in Southern Ohio. The trail is relatively flat and has small hills that wind all the way around a lake, located in the center of the park. The weather included rain, high humidity, and sunny, clear conditions. The temperature stayed around 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit (18.33-21.11 degrees Celsius). I also used this pack at Front Royal, which is in West Virginia along the Appalachian Trail. The trail is all ups and downs and very mountainous terrain. The weather conditions were humid but no rain. The trail is mostly dirt and there is grass at times, but nothing treacherous.

My father bought me this sleeping pad for my first ever hike. The first night, my father and I were sleeping with just a rain fly from a tent at home. Of course, it suddenly started to rain. The fly kept us quite dry, and sleeping on the Therm-a-rest pad kept my bag and me completely dry. The bottom of the pad was wet, but by the next night’s sleep, it was completely dry and ready for use, to keep me from the still wet ground. I did not do anything else to aid or speed up the drying process, either.

Preparing my bed was probably the easiest thing I had done that night. I rolled out my pad, loosened the valve, and closed it when it was fully inflated. It takes about 10-15 minutes for my pad to fully inflate. The pad will look about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) thick when fully inflated (for this size of pad). Sometimes, after my pad is to the point where I would consider it fully inflated, I blow a breath or two into the valve to ensure full inflation. This is not something I had to do, but it is easier to do this than guesstimate.    That was it!! The fact that it self-inflates is wonderful. Just open and close. Putting the mattress away was a breeze, too. Just open the valve, roll out the air, close the valve, and voilà!

I have used this on the Appalachian Trail also, and that’s when the no-slip fabric came in handy. The very mountainous terrain seems to have no flat areas, but plenty of hills. Many nights, having to sleep on slight inclines, this no-slip fabric kept me on my pad all night.

Packing up this pad is pretty easy. All I had to do is open the valve and roll the pad as tight as I can get it from the opposite end of the valve (to push the air out). As I reached the end of the roll, I closed the valve and left it closed as I re-rolled the pad the same way as the first time. Then, as I neared the end again I opened the valve to force out the excess air as I rolled. This process makes the pad as compact as possible. The pad came with a bag that includes a patch kit on the inside of the bag. Just slip the compressed pad into the bag and tighten the drawstring. That is all there is to it.

I have had this pad for almost five years now, and the pad has never had a hole, scratch, or any type of damage. The pad comes with a bag and a small patch repair kit on the inside. When I am not using the air mattress, the instructions say to unroll the pad and leave the valve open and the pad flat out so the air can circulate through the pad. The pad "remembers" the way I leave it, so if I leave it in the open-valve position, then the pad will inflate faster after being rolled up than if I did not leave the pad open-valved and flat. Also, after use I always wipe my pad off with a damp cloth to remove any dirt that might be on the outside.

Summary:

Overall, I am very happy about my Therm-a-rest air mattress. It is slip resistant, puncture resistant, and fills and empties quickly so as to save time. I am a semi-light packer and this pad is ideal for lightweight packers. If I want a more comfortable pad, Therm-a-rest also makes thicker pads for total sleeping comfort. The standard 1.75" (4 cm) thick pad is not as bulky, which is important for many backpackers. It depends on one's preference.

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Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > Therm-a-Rest Classic > Owner Review by Camilla Burke

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