Camping with back problems - OR Mats?

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hikingfish said:
Actually, Exped and OR Gear are the same company. Or Exped is a line of more rugged (and expensive) gear. I believe my tent is made by OR, and the model is the Exped Andromeda.

Maybe someone can confirm?

Fish

Didn't realize that, but I'm not surprised with all the consolidation going on...
 
I swear by a hammock now. I started using a Hennessy last year, and let's face it folks, I cannot see lowering my standards to join my lower class ground-dwelling hikemates any longer. :D Hammocks are cool. I have used mine down to 25 with a blue foam pad and some reflectix.

This spring I had a cub scout campout and slept in a tent with my little one and I felt crippled the next day, even on 2 pads - an Ensolite and my old rust thermarest.
When I hang, I have a bounce in my step the next morning, rather than standing around bent over leaning on something!!!! :)
 
Here is a link to what is now my favorite pad. http://www.outdoorresearch.com/site/synmat.html
The Synmat 7 Pump Dlx. I have 7 Thermarest pads. The deluxe Ridgerest, Ridgerest, Zrest, and 4 various models of the self inflating ones from short to long. I only used the Ridgerest and Zrest as supplements on winter trips. Too old to sleep on just them alone. I've determined I don't like the 20" pads either. Too narrow for me. Nor do I care for the short pads. The Synmat 7 Deluxe is great. It has the length and width I want. It's thicker than any of my Thermarest pads and packs down smaller than any of them. The insulating synthetic material packs down much better than foam but still shows good insulation qualities. I thought the built in pump was kind of gimiky but it actually works very well and is simple to use. Just push down on it. It inflates very quickly. As I said, I love the size, thickness, comfort level and packability. The only negative to me is the weight. It's not the lightest out there. But for all the comfort I'm willing to carry the extra weight. The down version is probably better yet but much more expensive. Both have gotten excellent reviews.
 
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