Recently, I was able to test the Alps Mountaineering Ultra-Lite sleeping pad in the long size, which they provided for my review. As you will see, I have been happily sleeping on this pad quite a bit since I received it.
The Ultra-Lite pad is a mummy shaped self-inflating pad with a foam core. In order to save weight, small sections of the foam are cut away. I never felt the cut outs while sleeping. The pad‘s valve is made of brass with a plastic cover, so durability should never be an issue there.
As with all self-inflating pads, all you need to do to inflate this Alps Mountaineering pad is open the valve. The Ultra-Lite inflates itself very quickly. Even right out of the packaging, inflation did not take long. I found that I preferred one or two extra puffs of air in the pad to provide the firmness I was looking for, but I weigh about 215 pounds, so I‘m sure that was a factor.
The only real issue I had with this pad is that it is pretty slick. I had a tough time staying on top of it. Drawing on the all-knowing resources of the internet, I found a solution. I bought a little tube of Seam Grip for around five bucks. Simply apply little dots of the seam grip to the top of the pad. When the stuff dries, it makes these little grippy spots like a bath tub mat. The traction was much improved after the fix and I haven’t had any more problems in that regard.
My Ultra-Lite pad came with a 5.5 X 25 inch stuff sack which has a webbing handle for carrying. I would suppose this is great for car camping, but I wanted something smaller for my backpack. With a little effort, this pad can be compressed to a 12 X 6.5 inch size. Two elastic straps are provided with the pad and work great to hold the pad in this shape. The weight of the long size pad is 2 pounds 2 ounces, and compressed to this size, I think it is a good choice for backpacking considering the comfort it provides while sleeping and its relatively low price. The Alps website says the weight of the regular size is only 1 pound 8 ounces and it should pack down smaller than the long version.
I slept on the Alps Mountaineering Ultra-Lite with the temperature as low as 24 degrees. Just a bit of a chill crept up through the pad, so I‘d say it might work in extreme cold, but may be best for 3 season use. I did use this pad in the hammock and thought it was really comfortable. The foam cupped around me in the hammock and gave a really cozy feel. With the Seam Grip sticky dots, it stayed in place really well.
The Alps Mountaineering Ultra-Lite comes with a repair kit, the stuff sack, and two elastic straps and offers great value at a retail price of $89.99 (long) $79.99 (regular). Please visit www.alpsmountaineering.com to see this and many other quality products from this great company.
– Mark