Thermorest pads are nice, but they are heavy. For the kind of climbing/mountaineering that I do, weight can be a major issue. I try to cut it as much as possible. I have a very good sleeping bag, but because its synthetic fil, it weighs a ton, and compresses poorly. So, I am going to look into a down fill to shed a few pounds and give more space. Probably a Marmot.
While true that my pads are bulky, they only weigh a few ounces for both of them, and are very inexpensive to replace.

 

wow nice! never thought an s2k trunk would be able to hold that much stuff. props

 

I think that bulk bothers me more than weight, but I'm not usually carrying climbing gear (: My bag is a down filled Yampa and my wife has a synthetic Kelty. We both like our bags but hers is good down to a much colder temperature. Also, mine requires a pad as it has no insulation on the bottom. It will probably be the first thing I replace ...

And again, the climbing aspect comes into play - but when I've reached my weight limit I just offload stuff to my dogs. Those bastards can carry 20 pounds a piece and only need 10 pounds of dog food for a WEEK! Muhhhahahhaaaaa ...

 

I put my hockey bag in the car all the time. Put 2 sticks in the passenger seat with a passenger with no inconvenience.

 

so i cant go?

 

Where? In my trunk? See if you can fit in yours, then I'll let you go in mine.

 

Impressive.. lol I had to do that for TX OU weekend. Date had way too much shit

 

I don't think dogs would do too well where I tred. Otherwise it'd be a good idea. My bag is a Siera Design zero degree mummy with sinthetic fill. It's old. Great for regular camping in the cold, but awful for its size and weight if you have to carry it for ten miles uphill. I'm getting a Marmot down fill bag next. Those are great bags.

You can get the same temperature rating as your wife's unless it's something crazy like a minus 20. I've seen down fill at zero degree ratings all the time. You really shouldn't need anything stronger unless you do winter climbing at high altitude.

About the bulk of the Thermarest, I've seen them compressed. My pad can get to about twice the size of the thin type if I roll it tightly. The thick ones are WAY too heavy and are about the same bulk as mine.

. . . pounds add up quickly when you're going uphill . . . and downhill.

 

Dang, that's a lot of stuff !!!

 

[QUOTE=Mountain-man,May 20 2008, 02:17 AM]I don't think dogs would do too well where I tred. Otherwise it'd be a good idea.