Big Agnes Air Core Ultra Sleeping Pad, Insulated, 25x72 (Wide Regular)

Product Information

Not only does using a second sleeping pad give you extra padding, it is also the best way to increase how insulated you are from the ground, helping you to stay warmer throughout the night. 4. Use a pad between your knees Mortified, I put it in storage and this was seven years ago in 2011. Cut and fast-forward to 2018 and as I'm going through excess stuff I come across it. I called CS at BA and now find they have this new model replacing the flop. Explaining the sequence to the CS rep, he sends me the warranty replacement form and requiring me to attach a pic of the old mattress with claim number written in marker near the BA company logo. No sending it in; just fill out the form and attach the picture to the form, voila! Because we haven't tested the Air Core Ultra just yet, the rest of this review continues to reflect its predecessor, the Air Core. Hands-On Review of the Air Core It has an R-value of 10.6 which is a full 2 units more than its closest rival. This will keep you warm down to extreme temperatures of -54 degrees F thanks to the insulation inside which is an open-cell polyurethane foam that won’t let you down. The top surface is a50D stretch tricot nylon which is super soft and comfortable while the sides and bottom are made from a tougher 75D polyester for durability. Because this sleeping pad is so warm and well insulated, it is the perfect mat to combine with a quilt or wool blanket because you don’t need any extra warmth beneath you. One problem with down sleeping bags is that when you lay on them the down compresses and loses some of its performance – a sleeping pad like this solves that problem. With it having down feathers inside, we highly recommend using a pump instead of your breath to inflate it and avoid any condensation spoiling the down.

Before I get into what I learned, I will share a short video I made that if you view it first, my discussion below will make a lot more sense. The video is of one of the smaller diameter center tubes next to the larger diameter side tubes. I don't expect I'll take it much below 40°F and will generally be well above that. Will the insulated pad be too warm in the summer? I don't see a denier listed for either but presumably the heavier, uninsulated pad uses a slightly heavier fabric and is more durable. I use a sleeping bag, not a quilt. At 6 inches deep and with a flat surface on top, this is as close as you can get to your mattress at home while you are camping. I am a side sleeper and you can let around 25% of the air out of it and still sleep like a log. I like to do this with all deep sleeping pads as I just tend to sleep better.

Types of Sleeping Pad Insulation

The KLYMIT STATIC V LUXE Sleeping Pad took the camping community by storm over a decade ago and this was one of the products that helped them do it. The Static V Luxe has a very unique baffle system with deep chambers running up either side and then a v-shaped system running down the main section. This makes it feel like more of a cot than a mat and even though it is only 2.5 inches deep in the middle the v-shape baffles support sideways sleepers like no other.

The Insulated Air Core Ultra overall design is a basic tube style of construction that is comprised of six tubes total and where the two outer most tubes are larger in diameter then the four inner tubes. I measured the outer tubes and found them to be approximately 3.5 inches in diameter and the inner tubes I found to be about 3.00 inches in diameter. In use, I did find that the larger diameter outer tubes were effective in helping me stay on the mattress through the night.One of the advertized features of the Insulated Air Core Ultra is that it is made from more durable lightweight nylon rip-stop fabric that has a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material laminated to the rip-stop to provide for ultimate durability. The double rip-stop fabric being used is supposed to have 25% greater tear strength and durability. I didn’t do any physical tests to try and verify these claims, but from a subjective perspective the material does feel robust and appropriate for this application. In general, I have always found that products from Big Agnes are well designed and are of good quality. The Insulated Air Core Ultra is no different and my overall impression is that the design is well thought out and the build quality is very good. Some people think that it is sleeping bags that keep you warm in a tent, but without a sleeping pad, your sleeping bag will only keep you warm from the top. Sleeping pads are what keep your underside warm, and they serve a very important role in resisting heat loss through the ground. If you can’t prevent losing heat through the frosty ground, you won’t last very long in winter. Is R-Value 2.5 Good for A Sleeping Pad? Your pad is covered by our warranty against manufacturing and material defect. Your pad is not covered against punctures made by exposing it to the elements. Cowboy camping is phenomenal, but put some protection (like a footprint) under your pad first. Your pad is intended for many warm, comfortable siestas. Your pad is not intended for glissading, Jet-Boiling, or rafting.