ALPS Mountaineering Lightweight Series Self-Inflating Air Pad, Various Size

Took about five days of use to really start to expand to its full size and start becoming comfortable. After that it was one of the things I was truly looking forward to at the end of the day on a trail. In temperatures ranging between 11 (50F) to 28 (80F) this really worked well. At the lower temperatures it ensured the cold did not get to me in a 1S sleeping bag, while at the warmer temperatures it simply provided comfort while the sleeping bag was used as a blanket.As for the thickness/comfort that it really is more than enough. As soon as my tent was set I would just open the valve on this and unroll it in the tent while I made dinner. When I was ready to go into the tent I would close the valve and it would be ready to go - no secondary inflation necessary. Regarding secondary inflation: it did require it in the beginning when it was still in its birth throes from being unrolled for the first times. Also, if you are truly impatient you can help it along with a few breaths. In the end it does inflate to about an inch thick and it fairly comfortable. It can put pressure on your hip if you sleep on your side and can become uncomfortable, but hey it's an inch thick and not that expensive. On your back or stomach it doesn't cause pain on any location and really shines.Some people complain about rolling it up, but it really isn't hard. Start at the bottom, start rolling with your hands, and use your knees in the center to provide pressure - with your hands and knees - across the the width of the pad as you roll. Never once had to do the suggested second roll that other reviews talk about. It fits nicely and easily back in its bag once the elastic bands are put on and the bag clips/ties on to your pack very easily.All around it's a solid low cost alternative to a thicker thermarest. I will certainly get a better one in the future, but I do not think this was in any way wasted money.

The Air Pad is light weight and excellent in quality construction. It comes with two quality elastic bands, to hold your mat in place, once you roll it to desired size for storage or attaching it to your pack. It comes with a weather resistant "stuff sack", that also has a small carrying handle on the exterior side. Inside the stuff sack they have included a small pack with a couple of patches, and a tube of adhesive, in case you spring a leak, and need emergency damage control. There is a mini-pocket inside the stuff sack to store your patch kit. There is a small page of simple instructions, explaining how to "condition" the mat, the first time you use it. When you first receive the mat, make sure you condition the mat BEFORE you go out camping, as it may take 30 minutes the first time to completely fill the cells with air on its own. After that, it's a breeze, and really does self inflate after about 3 minutes. You can also blow additional air into the valve, to fill it up. Trust me, it's not like trying to blow up a vinyl water raft for a pool. Super easy. Just let it fill itself up, and if you want a little more air in the mat, give it two or three extra puffs, and you are done. You DO NOT need any air pumps to fill this thing. Compared to the old iso-mats we used to sleep on in the military, this thing is a dream. If you've ever slept on cold, hard, ground for weeks straight, with a sub-standard mat/pad, you'll understand. It may be a little pricier compared to some mats/pads, but you are definitely getting quality and comfort, that is lightweight, and super easy to use.

I bought this Alps pad because I read all of the reviews. Time will tell with the pad as construction quality needs to be tested on the trail. However, at first glance, it's comfy, priced insanely well and provides good insulation. For size comparison, I am 6 foot tall and weigh about 195. I wear a 42-L jacket. I'm not a huge guy, but not small either. The Alps Mountaineering Lite is a respectable piece of equipment. I was especially pleased with all of their instructional material on their website. I did as they said and when I got the pad out of the box, I inflated and left that way overnight. That made the loft of the pad come up the next day. In short, follow the directions out of the box, it'll make it more comfortable. More details from my initial tests.- This pad is fairly light.- I compared it to a more expensive brand "Therm" pad that my friend had and the quality of this pad seems every bit as good--even better when you consider cost.- Comes with a repair kit- Has compression straps, plus a carry sacks with it.- The pad is comfortable for my frame size.- Seems like a huge upgrade versus my closed-cell pad that I've used for quite sometime.I slept out on a cold evening and this pad added insulation to my sleep and improved my comfort by a lot versus my old closed cell pad. I won't call it a mattress, but I'll tell you that I'm nowhere near as creaky today as I have been in the past. I always tend to sleep pretty comfortably when outside. However, if you're like me, you know when you sleep outside sometimes you just don't feel as "refreshed" the next morning because you are not as comfortable as in your bed. This pad definitely improved my feeling of being refreshed the next day.Time will tell with the pad, but I take care of the equipment that I purchase and am expecting a great experience from the Alps organization.Will update as necessary as I use on the trail.-----updateI like this pad, but seldom pack it. It is more comfy than a closed cell pad for sure. However, it packs a bit large and heavy. I have a few pads now and this one is comfy, but I have one that has a bit more r value and a third of the weight- plus it packs smaller. The other pad was significantly more expensive and I still think this is a good value, but lighter and more packable options are out there. The construction is very good and I have spent many nights on it. If you are trying to get towards ultralight- I'd look elsewhere. Middle of the road, awesome price+construction and a bit more bulky, safe bet here.

Continuamente tengo que dormir en el piso, debido a mi ocupación, y el tener que hacerlo, me genera sueños no reparadores debido a las posiciones que tengo que adoptar, con el fin de alcanzar cierto tipo de comodidad.Cuánto me enteré de la existencia de este tipo de "colchones", me llamó la atención su manera en la que funcionan. Nunca pensé que algo tan sencillo pudiera brindarte lo que promete.El primer día que tuve en mis manos el ALPS mountaineering, y lo saque de su envoltorio, me sorprendió lo simple que se veía.Lo primero que hice fue leer el instructivo 4 veces, porque no podía creer que funcionara de una manera tan sencilla. Posterior a esto, seguí los pasos de inflado por primera vez. El instructivo explica que la primera vez, tardará aproximadamente 30 min en inflarse; por lo que abrí la válvula de inflado y comencé a preparar una ensalada mientras esperaba. Cuando termine mi ensalada, acudí a ver en que estado estaba el ALPS; cuando vi la manera en la que se encontraba, no cabía en mi pensar, como era posible que ya estuviera listo para soportar, y además brindarle comodidad, a un cuerpo humano de 70 kilos. Para mi sorpresa, cuando repose mi cuerpo en el ALPS, sentí como la distribución de mi cuerpo se acomodo en el "colchón", generando una presión perfecta sobre mis dimensiones, en mi opinión capaz de evitar la aparición de una úlcera sacra en una persona de 95 años. Además de la comodidad que brinda, su estética es impresionante, ya que su color azul, me hace ver más varonil. La tecnología antiderrapante con la que cuenta el ALPS, me permite dormir en superficies con hasta 30 grados de inclinación, que en una persona mayor ocasionaría dificultad en su retorno venoso, resultando en edema de sus extremidades (con esto hago énfasis en su poder antiderrapante).A resumen de lo anterior, consideró este producto en 10/10.

I bought this with some trepidation. All the reviews were good, a few not so much so I went out on a limb. Knowing if it didn't meet my expectations, I could easily return it to Amazon.What I recieved:- Air mattress- Carry bag- No Repair kit as some mentioned they receivedSUMMARY:So...about the pad, it came quite quickly and It was a cold day in Calgary, about -12 so it was pretty tight. Un boxed it (nice to see it comes in its own carry sack (not stuff sack really), you just have to roll it up, it won't fold very well as I did try afterwards).I let it warm up to the room's ambient air temp of 22-degrees, once it warmed up it inflated on it's own. It was a bit narrower than some air pads i've used in the past, I'm 5'8", 170 lbs, standard shoulder width and the outermost part of my shoulders are off the pad, not a deal breaker for a much better sleep while motorcyle adventure camping, I assure you.Within approx/ 10-min it was inflated to it's designed amount, I screwed in the valve and put my knees on it, it was not as thick as many have described it was (perhaps they were used to a camp pad tho?), so I blew in a 1/2 dozen breaths to fill it up, MUCH better, so if you like a bigger pad or thicker pad, I suggest you will want to inflate it more), and then it was much more comfortable.It's January 30 in Calgary, Canada, winter has been milder than most years, however I have left the air pad inflated now for 5-days to see, you know sometimes you buy something and while it looks like it holds air, over time they leak down. Not this one. It has held the air I put in it and as I work from home, I will lay on it at noon just to flop around on it to make sure it's not going to leak and perhaps sneak in the odd 15-min snooze if I am able to :)Pros:Easy, simple set upInflates reasonably quick (don't set it up right before you want to retire)Reasonably light (if you are hiking for extended periods, may want to pare down to lighter version)Minimizes the effect of sleeping bag sliding off the pad with a nice textured skinCons:Is not the smallest air pad on the market, (the ones that are are also 2-3X the price of this)Does not pack down to a smaller size like some brandsSo...my recommendation, if you are mulling it about, don't, if you are thinking you are too tall, they have different lengths available, if you need to have a more plush sleep, either over inflate it as I did, or buy the much more spendy versions from MEC (in Canada) or REI, etc. You will pay 2-3X the price but hey, it's not my dollars.

Yo recomiendo ampliamente los productos de esta marca, ya que están realizados con materiales muy resistente de gran calidad, aún precio accesible. Es la primera vez que pruebo una de estas esterillas auto inflables y he de decir que el sistema es ingenioso pero un tanto deficiente por qué después de esperar unos 20 minutos a que infle le tengo que soplar un par de veces para que quede bien hinchado. Fuera de ese detalle la verdad es cómodo sino, muy ligero y con una gran calidad de fabricación.

Good product. Worth the money.

Excelente artículo hecho con materiales de primera calidad, súper ligero aunque si un poco voluminoso, se enrolla para guardar, trae una bolsa para guardar y transportar, muy útil para salidas a acampar o para ir a la playa, practico. Totalmente recomendable.