Joe_Schmeaux wrote on Nov 1^st, 2012 at 8:16pm:


Not saying it couldn't happen if I was careless, but I double bag my food and that goes into 2 Rubbermaid type clear boxes with the latching lids.
I also made homemade silicon sealer gaskets for the lids. I don't prep food on them so I'm not too worried , but then you do never know.
I try and stay at the less used campsites because you never know who did what at the 4-5 star sites and whether or not the local bears see it as a possible food source.

I 0ften thought that folks using pieces of ciothing as pot cozies were inviting that sort of trouble. I don't think that putting a pad outside of a sealed food container,yet inside the carrying pack, could be that bad.

solotripper wrote on Nov 1^st, 2012 at 12:16pm:

Not sure this is a good idea. I have seen a bear flatten a tent to get at (and then try to eat) a foam pad that it thought smelled like food. The tent occupants (outside the tent at the time) had more or less the same idea you did.

There is another way to go if your looking for a little versatility in camp.
I have a Thermarest. Don't recall the exact model, but I believe it's a NEO style with the contour shape and inner core with the perforated foam for weight savings.
Inflated it's about 1 1/2" thick or so.
I don't bring a chair and usually find a natural backrest and sit on a piece of a old Thermarest closed cell foam pad to ward off the cold/wet ground.
I ended up buying a 4' version of this pad. I don't roll it and attach to pack, I stand it on edge in my Granite Gear food pack and put my food containers inside of it. Quiets the pack/insulates and if I go over I know it will float.

At night I lay that under the top portion of my NEO and get another layer of padding.
Serves multiple purposes and I don't think the combine weight would what your looking at?

Thanks guys. Right now when I go car camping I use an outdoor lounger/lawnchair pad and sleep better than at home.( And we have a "good" mattress)  Obviously I can't trip with that. I do pile stuff up under my knees to straighten my spine and that does wonders. Someone told me K.Callen has a gear review on YouTube that goas on about the Exped stuff   (Thanks for turning me on to that,DD). Right now I'm thinking the ThermoRest large 2inch Trek+travel or thier 4season NeoAir might be what I need to stay in the game. I appologize if I seem whiney.  Thanks for the help.

knafelc wrote on Oct 31^st, 2012 at 12:55am:


Check out Therm-a-rest website for "R" values. The Neo Air is mostly just air??, the Trek/Travel is more a solid foam core and more square footprint. The Pro-light & 40th anv. models have a foam core with holes punched into it to save weight, pack smaller, and a mummy footprint.

Also you can call Campmor and ask to talk to someone "on the floor" that has the different produces in front of them while they answer your questions. I did that with REI, but was left with some wrong impressions. So good luck.

Insulation might be a bigger deal for those with Big Agnes bags since they don't insulate the bottom of the bags.

knafelc struck a cord for me. I've been using the same 3/4 1 inch Thermarest for, gosh, maybe 20 years. The chair that surrounds it is one year younger.

I get to camp, set up the tent, throw tent stuff inside, open the valve on the Trest and throw it inside. If I want a chair later I get it out of the tent and use as is or maybe a breath or two before closing the valve.

Once I call it a night, I position it in the tent under the bag. Here's my secret. I put  the sleeping bag bag filled with stuff under where my knees will go. Once I'm in the bag on my back my knees are bent and my heels barely hit the ground. I then let out enough air to make my butt touch bottom when trying. 5 minutes later I'm asleep.

I'll wake up numerous times during the night but actually getting up because I'm uncomfortable usually only happens at home. No heel discomfort there either as they often stick out beyond the mattress there too.

thanks for the imput. How do the NeoAir and the Trek+Travel by Therm-A-Rest differ? Seems like the Trek+Travel model may consist of more foam,since (according to my Campmor catalog) the NeoAir rolls up tighter and is lighter. My trips are usually in May. I wonder if the much pricier pad( NeoAir )provides as much insulation. The 40th anniversaary model is interesting,too.  It seams that the Big Ag is loved by many,but a smaller pack size is pretty attractive. I'll  have to look on line to see what the last suggestion is like.    thanks.

I used the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core mattress for 5 years and then switched to the Thermarest Neo Air, which I've been using for the last two seasons.  In either case I was using the same sized mattress (the longest and widest available.)  In terms of comfort, I found both models virtually identical, which is to say very comfortable.  However, if weight and volume are a concern then the Neo Air wins hands down.  Rolled up , it is at least half the size and more than half the weight of the BA.  That being said, you pay for that reduction so if that isn't that big an issue for you, you'll find the BA just as comfortable.

After seeing most of the different models in a store. I'd lean to the Exped Syn or Downmat 7cm or 9cm if you're going to try a mostly air pad. Check out Exped website for internal pump video.

I've been on trips were people had leaks with the Big Agnes pads. Big Agnes replaced them OK, but that doesn't help when you're on your trip.

Thermarest has a 40th anniversary model pro-light that's 2" thick. They cut the mummy shape down some from the 1.5" pro-light plus to save weight. It packs smaller than the Expeds if bulk is an issue. Smaller footprint though than the Expeds, but you have the same old foam core left to sleep on if it gets a leak during a trip.

Lots of winners to choose from.