K63,

You can't put a price on a good night's sleep.  Especially in the back country.  My go to is a Big Agnes Q Core Insulated 25x72x4.25.  Still packs down to about the size of a 1L bottle and pretty light.  BA has a rep for great gear for a good reason.  Check out their pads at   (You need to Login or Register and you'll see they have a LOT of options to get you what you need. They even make a pad now that's 40" wide! Talk about luxury.  I agree with Solus on the hips thing and as a side sleeper, nice to have that thick pad.  Bonus - all new pads come with an inflation bag to save a few breaths and keep moisture out of your pad. 

I z-fold my pad like it comes from the manufacturer.  They do that for a reason.  I lent one out once and the person folded it in thirds length-wise then rolled it bottom to top...ended up forcing all the insulation to the top of the pad and ruining it.  For trips, I have a 13L dry bag for my sleep kit.  I drop the folded and rolled pad inside, then 'reverse roll' the pad to open the center and now the pad is on the wall of the dry bag.  I stuff my down sleeping bag into the center of it and smoosh it down so there is room for the BA AXL air pillow, inflation bag, and my sleep clothes.  This puts all sleep gear in one spot, waterproofs it and you loose the bag and pad stuff sacks for even less gear. 

pd