Just wasted $80 on a sleeping pad I’ll never use again

I bought one of those self-inflating pads from Big Agnes last month thinking it'd be way better than my old foam pad. Turns out it's super bulky and takes forever to actually self-inflate, plus I woke up flat on the ground both nights I used it at Shenandoah. I'm back to my old Therm-a-Rest Z Lite now and just feel dumb for spending the cash. Anyone else have a camping gear purchase they totally regretted?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaronclark9h ago

Dude yes! I fell for the exact same trap with a Sea to Summit pad last year. It was like sleeping on a half-deflated pool float and the thing took 20 minutes to unroll and air up. I finally just chucked it in my garage and went back to my old worn out foam pad that weighs nothing and never fails.

dianal948h ago

The gravel bar in the Smokies sounds absolutely brutal, I would have been so mad. I tried the foam on top trick once with my old Therm-a-Rest and it actually made a huge difference for warmth but the pad slid around all night and I ended up in a pretzel shape by morning. Sometimes the old school gear really does just work better and you gotta respect that.

cooper.phoenix11h ago

Oh man I feel this so hard. I did the exact same thing with a Nemo pad a couple years back, thought I was upgrading from my old foam pad but ended up freezing my butt off on a gravel bar in the Smokies. I actually went back to my Z Lite too but then I figured out that if I put the foam pad on top of the inflatable one it gives me way more warmth and I don't wake up on the ground. Still bulky but at least I'm not sleeping on rocks anymore.