mastertangler wrote on Oct 22^nd, 2010 at 12:05pm:

If you leave the valve open during your second cycle, your thermarest will actually suck in air for a couple of turns in your roll.

I actually roll twice ... open the valve, do a "loose roll," tighten the valve, (fold the thermarest in half length-wise ... I have a guide lite 1" pad), then make my second roll, opening the valve again about 3/4ths through and tightening again at the end.  (My mattress is about the size of a football when I'm finished.)

And another tip for those that are changing altitude between roll-ups ... if your are using a snug fitting "stuff sack" for your air mattress, make sure your valve is on the outside/exposed end of the bag.  Its amazing how much the residual air will expand as you gain 2-3000 feet.  I made the mistake of putting the valve on the "wrong" end once and was nearly unable to get the thermarest out of the stuff sack the next night.

dd

It seems that I've heard of more problems with BA air mattresses failing than any other piece of camping gear ever. I would think that when you're rolling one up and putting all your weight on it the PSI would go way way up as area decreased.

To me, you guys are over thinking the rolling bit. I have a nearly 30 yr old thermarest if it matters. Although, I did replace the metal valves with the new plastic when they were introduced cause the metal ones were a pain. Anyway, I just fold mine in half (making a ~square) and roll it up squeezing out air with both hands and knees before the next revolution. A minute seems far longer than it probably takes total time. I then unroll it for packing as it gives the pack some shape and provides padding between any poky things and my back. Any air left in it finds it's way to the voids anyway so even if there's some air left inside it's not noticeable.

As long as I'm thinking about it. FWIW - I have two 3/4" x 3/4 length thermarests. When I first started soloing, I'd bring them both thinking I'd be twice as comfy. What I found was twice the weight and effort to be AS comfy. Even with the one I let out some air once I get situated.

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I just wear pretty much what I've been wearing all day every day being sure to rinse most the mud out of my pant legs when needed. If they don't dry before I hit the sac they will have by morning and I have yet to wash a sleeping bag and my last 7 trips were in August.

mastertangler wrote on Oct 24^th, 2010 at 12:13pm:

I've been wearing Terramar ThermaSilks to slide into my sleeping bag for more years than I want to count.  Adds a layer of warmth and keeps the bag from picking up body oils and smells.

dd

Anyone have experience with Cabelas XPG inflatable sleeping pads?

Don't get me wrong. I believe over thinking things is very good practice, up to a point. Been there and still do that. I took a major leap/risk on coffee this year with great results that I hope will be reproducible.

Commercial photography, architecture ... along with I'm sure many other professions have a saying about 90% of the job takes 10% of the time and the last 10% takes 90% of the time and/or budget. Over thinking, at some point lets you understand when it's time to cut your losses at good enough. After all, we're talking vacation time where efficiency, functionality and in this particular case, shortcuts to comfort, really matter to the end user.

I've not tried silk but other slippery things knotted me up or slid me to places where I was not comfortable. I find it much easier to 'wear the bag' as in let the bag turn with me TO the pad rather than me try to turn within the bag and stay on the pad. When trying to turn within the bag I'd always wake up cold, sore or both off the pad.