Recently, I decided to start looking for ways to reduce my pack weight. I injured my back a few years ago, and it's coming back to haunt me. My back isn't as strong as it was when I was 21, so it's becom obvious that I need to start looking at going 'ultralight'.
So, my first step was to take a good look at some of my gear and see which pieces were unnecessarily heavy, then see what I could do about reducing that weight. When I looked at my Big Agnes Air-core pad, I was sad to see that it weighed a staggering 27 ounces. So, I decided to seriously downsize... to a closed cell foam pad. It wasn't something I was looking forward to, honestly. My BA pad was really comfy and the idea of giving it up wasn't sitting well with me. Still, I had to reduce weight, so I decided to give the Ridgerest SOLite a try.
The Ridgerest SOLite is one of the most popular foam sleeping pads in the history of the whole entire universe. Okay, there's no way to know if that's true, but I hear it's pretty popular, though.
Big S. Big O. Big L. I hope that SOL doesn't mean what I think it does. ("Slap" Outta Luck, maybe?_
The Ridgerest SOLite weighs in at 14.4 ounces. That's quite a weight reduction for me.
One thing I noticed right away is how bulky it is. I don't usually strap things to the outside of my pack, so I was concerned about durability. Sometimes, I brush up against stuff when I'm hiking. I didn't want to arrive at camp and find that my pad was now tattered down to about the size of a kitchen sponge.
I've read that this pad is nearly indestructible. I don't know about that, but it didn't rip or tear when I walked through thick brush and briars. You can cut down the size a bit to save bulk and weight, which is what I may do.
I chose the Regular size, which is 20 inches wide by 72 inches long. Same size as my BA pad.
I'm about 5 ft 9, and I had a couple extra inches that I could trim off. I think I may do what every other UL hiker does with their foam pad: Cut it down to either a 3/4 pad or torso length pad. I may also use the remaining piece as a padded camp seat. Also, I can use it in my Gossamer Gear G4 frameless pack to give it some form.
The thickness of this pad is 5/8 of an inch (0.625 inches). The Aircore was a hefty 3.25".
It's not really fair to compare the Big Agnes pad to the Ridgerest SOLite, so I'm just showing this so you'll know what I was used to sleeping on. Quite a difference. I was concerned that I would be miserable going from such thickness to such thin...ness.
I hope you appreciate this visual I used (the quarter). I had to go break a dollar to do this!
Better make sure there aren't any rocks or sticks underneath this pad when you lie on it, or you're gonna feel every one of them.
Because it's so thin, side sleepers will probably have a bad time on this. Very little support for your hips (read: Zero support for your hips). This pad is best for those that sleep on their backs, like me. That's the only way I could get comfortable on it. I have back pain often, so I have to be picky about what I sleep on. Strangely, I didn't find myself waking up a lot through the night, trying to get comfortable, which was nice. I'd give this maybe a 5 out of 10 on comfort, which surprises even myself.
One side of the pad is 'aluminized', with a reflective coating of some space-age miracle material. Somehow the sleeping pad scientists at Thermarest managed to add a thin sheet of reflective material to this pad without adding weight. This causes your body heat to be reflected back at you. This pad is supposed to be 20 percent warmer than the previous versions of the Ridgerest.
Also, those little valleys you see that are molded into the pad, are there to trap warm air, helping you to stay even warmer, while the ridges are there to provide a little extra softness. (Hence, the name.) The pad has an R-value of 2.8. Pretty nice. My Big Agnes pad has a R-value of 1, but B.A. says it should be comfy down to 35 degrees. I haven't had a chance to try the AirCore out in freezing temps, so I'm not sure if that is an accurate rating or not.
One thing I like about this, is that you can just throw this pad down and it's all set up. One thing I won't miss about my Big Agnes pad is all the work it takes to blow it up. A quick set up is nice when you're tired and just want to sleep. You can just about lose a lung trying to inflate the AirCore pad.
So to sum up, here's the Good, Bad and Ugly about the SOLite:
The Good: It's very lightweight, durable and you can cut the size down to suit. It's inexpensive and warm.
The Bad: it's bulky. It's not terribly uncomfortable, but if you have back problems, you may want to find yourself something softer.
The Ugly: The pad is thin, which makes it very uncomfortable to sleep on your side. If you're a back sleeper, you'll have better luck.
I'm gonna miss the thickness of my Big Agnes pad, but I'm saving 12 ounces and I can still get a decent amount of sleep with the Ridgerest SOLite. So, I think this is going to be my new 'go to' pad when I'm on a trip where weight is an issue. (At least, until I can get my hands on something better. )
