Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > Therm-a-Rest ProLite Womens > Jamie J. DeBenedetto > Field Report

Therm-a-Rest Women's ProLite 4™ (Long)

Field Report - April 4th, 2006

Reviewer's Information

Background/Experience

I've pretty much been what my husband refers to as a "tree hugger" since birth but my backpacking life started in earnest about seventeen years ago. These days I spend about fifteen days a month in the outdoors either with the Canine Hiking Club of AZ or with my family. My backpacking style is lightweight but not ultralight. I sleep in a hammock most of the time and I keep my pack base weight (less food or water) below 15 lbs (7 kg) for three season outings of two to three days. I tend to gravitate toward gear that is multifunctional and enhances my comfort level for minimal weight.

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Product Information

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Product Description

The Therm-a-Rest Women's ProLite 4 is a self inflating air mattress designed for, as the name suggests, women. The one I received is the women's long and came in a red (top) and grey (underside) finish. The ProLite 4 is part of Therm-a-Rest's Fast and Light Series and is advertised as a 4-season pad. Please refer to my Initial Report for a more detailed description.

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Experiences Thus Far

Use #1 and #2 - The three hour naps

For safety reasons I used the Women's ProLite 4 on two occasions in the somewhat controlled environment of my backyard before taking it out into the wilderness. The elevation of my yard is around 1500 ft (460 m). Temperatures were between 40 and 45 F (4 and 7 C) on both occasions with clear, windless skies. I used the pad as the only insulation in a top entry style hammock along with a 45 F (7 C) sleeping bag. I was wearing cotton sweats, lightweight wool socks, a t-shirt and a light fleece pullover. My experiences during these two "nap" trials were positive. I was primarily testing for warmth during these trials but I also made notes regarding the inflation time, how well the pad worked as insulation in a hammock, and the deflation process.

Inflation and Deflation

Inflation was quick. No problem there. I like the option of adding a few breaths to increase pad firmness if needed. Deflation was a bit more difficult. Without a tent floor it's much more difficult to sit on the pad and squeeze the air out as Therm-a-Rest suggests as the best way to deflate the ProLite on the instructional sheet. I found I could stand with most of the pad rested in the hammock, fold it in half lengthwise, then roll it toward the valve using my body as a the rigid surface worked okay to push most of the air out. This method did take longer than using the floor but it was a workable solution.

In a Hammock

In my opinion, the svelte width of the Women't ProLite precludes it from being an ideal pad for a hammock as it leaves my shoulders unprotected from the cold sides of the hammock body. I knew this going in to this test, however, so I was not testing for how well it covered my shoulders. Instead I was looking for the three points listed in question format below.

Will the ProLite slip around on the hammock fabric? It did slip quite a lot up against the smooth nylon fabric of the hammock. I could easily sit down on the pad, but over a short time of lying on it, if I moved, it moved and needed readjustment just to keep it under my body. The section at my feet was the most troublesome.

How comfortable will it be to lie on? The mattress was marginally comfortable to lie on, once all adjustments had been made and I found a happy medium regarding the amount of air I had in the pad.

Down to what temperatures does it keep me warm as my only bottom insulation? Both naps were conducted late at night in 40 F (4 C) temperatures. As the only insulation it performed fine to this point. I didn't feel any coolness on my underside during the time I spent snoozing. I was warm when I entered the hammock on both occasions as I had come from the inside of my house and jumped right into the hammock.

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Use #3 - Backpacking in the Superstition Mtns

The first full night experience with the ProLite 4 was in the Superstition Mountains in south central Arizona. I again used it in a top entry hammock in an area that is primarily lower desert terrain. Overnight temperatures hit 30 F (-1 C) with no wind, moisture or otherwise interesting weather to speak of. I was expecting the temperature to reach freezing or below so I was using a 15 F (-9 C) Marmot down bag along with mid-weight long john style bottoms, wool socks, a t-shirt, a lightweight long sleeve base layer shirt, 200 weight fleece pullover, a watch cap, and a fleece neck gater. I also brought along my 45 F (7 C) summer weight bag just in case I needed an additional layer. This bag is large enough to be used as a shell around the outside of the hammock encapsulating the hammock body, the ProLite and me snuggled up in the Marmot bag. During this inaugural field test I was looking to see how well the Therm-a-Rest packed away in my backpack, how the material held up to the desert when used as my around the fire butt cushion, and how well the pad performed as the main insulation in my top entry hammock at below freezing temperatures.

Packability

The Women's ProLite looked pretty compact when it arrived. I have yet to be able to get it back to that same diameter, however, that aside it is pretty small. I had slightly different results regarding Therm-a-Rest's claim that once deflated and rolled it would stay in the rolled state without any kind of strap. I personally had a little unfolding but it was very minimal and more so when I rolled up the mattress without the lengthwise fold, which is how it was when it arrived.

As a Camp Chair

As mentioned in my Initial Report, I was leery of using the ProLite as a camp chair for fear I would puncture it on the first night out and I'd be in deep doo doo since I had not yet purchased a patch kit. To keep it clean and hopefully offer a little exterior protection I wrapped the pad in a Neat Sheet I carry with me. Bless the Lord it worked fine and I did not end up with any holes. The mattress worked well as a cushion. When propped up against a large rock, it worked nicely to stave off cool drafts from hitting me on the back as I sat eating my dinner by our little campfire. It was plenty wide enough for my buns and although I was wearing a lightweight pair of nylon hiking pants, the top fabric was not as slippery as I had expected after my slippage in the hammock trials.

Hammock Insulation

My experiences with sleeping in hammocks over the last five years have taught me that I'm somewhat of a cold sleeper and I need a lower rated sleeping bag than the expected temperatures. Given this, and the knowledge that where we were planning to camp would likely hit below freezing temperatures, I brought both my 15 F (-9 C) Marmot sleeping bag and my 45 F (7 C) SnugPak sleeping bag on this trip. I put the ProLite in the hammock then got into the Marmot bag and zipped up so I was completely inside the bag directly on top of the air mattress. I kept the SnugPak in reserve. After a few hours of sleeping I began to feel a slight chill under me on my lower back and bottom. I checked my little thermometer and it read 40 F (4 C) degrees. There was very little wind if any on this trip so heat loss via convection should not have been an issue. It did not occur to me at the time but in the future I will try to blow a bit more air into the mattress. I was using it less inflated than I would have if it was on the ground because it didn't lie as well in the hammock fully inflated.

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Use #4 - Car camping at the base of the Superstition Mtns.

The second full night test was again in the Superstition Mountains of south central AZ. This time I was car camping with my oldest child. We used a Henry Shires Tarptent Rainbow as our shelter. The overnight low outside was just below 45 F (7 C) degrees. The temperature inside the shelter was consistently about 5 F (3 C) degrees warmer. The conditions were clear, dry and breezy. The ground below our shelter and ground cloth was very hard desert pavement with lots of little rocks and pebbles everywhere. This outing was my first opportunity to use the ProLite on the ground so beyond testing for comfort, I was also watching for how the width and length worked for me and how slippery the topside and underside of the pad were.

Overall Comfort

Much to my surprise the ProLite proved an acceptable night of sleep. I had really been dreading the ground portion of this test series because since I had my children I just have not been able to sleep using a pad on the ground for more than a few hours at a time without hip pain and knee discomfort. On this outing I slept for about six and half hours waking only once to take my son to the restroom. On my back was the most comfortable position but I could also sleep on my side without too much trouble. I did not feel the rocky ground beneath me nor did I feel any kind of chill on my underside.

The width and length of the Women's ProLite were also satisfactory. I'm a little longer than the pad so I chose to put my pillow at the head end and sleep with my head off the pad so my feet would be insulated. In the event I don't have this option, I plan to use either my pack or extra clothing down at my feet to compensate. I'll report on my findings in my final report if this situation comes up. The width of the air mattress has been a concern for me since my original inspection of the ProLite during my Initial Report. It just looks so slender I had my doubts about being able to stay on the pad and how practical it would be for my body type (I have fairly broad shoulders). Unexpectedly, my concerns were unfounded, at least during this experience. I think because I sleep on my side most of the night the width of the pad really didn't come into play, however, even when I was on my back there was enough room to keep me shielded from the hard ground.

Viscosity of the ProLite's Material

The top of the mattress is made of 100% polyester, which for this outing was tacky enough to keep me on the pad throughout the night. I was sleeping on an ever so slightly sloped surface but I did not slide down the pad at all while in my bag. The underside is 100% nylon with a 100% polyurethane coating, this also worked okay to keep the pad from slipping around on the floor of the Tarptent Rainbow. I did feel the pad slip a few times down slope as I wriggled around trying to get into my bag, but when I checked the pad location in the morning it was only a matter of maybe 2 or 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) overall that it had moved. Not really a big deal in my opinion.

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Proposed Test Plan for the Final Two Months of this Report Series

All subsequent use of the Women't ProLite will be on the ground inside the Tarptent Rainbow. I plan to continue to evaluate overall comfort and warmth in different terrain scenarios and weather conditions. I will also be watching for wear and tear on the pad as I use it more as a camp chair and as it travels with me on the inside and the outside of my pack. I have yet to have any problems with inflation or deflation but will be watching for these and how well the air valve, seams and fabric hold up to repeated use. Finally, I hope to have an opportunity to see how well the mattress fabric deals with moisture from either my body (in the form of sweat) or from humidity.

Jamie J. DeBenedetto
April 4th, 2006

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Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > Therm-a-Rest ProLite Womens > Jamie J. DeBenedetto > Field Report