To say that Klymit takes the design of sleeping pads outside the box is a bit like saying Italy and Germany produce some nice sports cars. I personally think those Europeans produce phenomenal sports cars. A friend of mine suggested the Static V for use in the hammock and told me how well it stayed in place. I was provided the insulated version of the pad for review and so I excitedly started my favorite part of the process: testing.
Klymit uses what they call body mapping technology to design their pads to work with the body and provide warmth and insulation where it is needed. They employ voids in their pads to allow the sleeping bag to expand underneath the sleeper and use that otherwise compressed insulation.
Klymit Insulated Static V sleeping padThe air chambers of the Insulated Static V are v-shaped. Klymit says the v-shaped pockets between the air chambers trap air and retain body heat. I have slept in the hammock using this pad with the temperatures in the upper 40‘s and had no problems staying warm. I won‘t be able to fully test how warm this pad sleeps in really cold temperatures until next winter, but I expect it to perform well.
For me, the Insulated Static V lies flat and comfortable. I don‘t have any problems bottoming out this pad even though I weigh around 215 pounds. I‘m 6‘ 2” tall and measure about 21 to 22 inches across the shoulders. Sleeping on the ground, I fit on the pad, but find that I want just a bit more room. I plan to carry the pad with me more to see if I am just used to the larger and heavier pad that I have been using, or if I really want some more room. In the hammock, I have no issues with the size of the pad. The v shaped chambers of the pad allow it to form to the shape of the hammock extremely well and it really stays in place. As you would expect, I tend to slightly under inflate the pad when using it in the hammock.
The Insulated Static V is made from a nice 75D polyester fabric and weighs in at 24.2 ounces or 685 grams. An R-Value of 4.4 is achieved using synthetic fiber insulation. The pad measures 72″ x 23″ x 2.5″ and inflated for me in ten big breaths. I also found it easy to deflate. When fully deflated, the top and bottom layers of the pad are nearly perfectly flat which allows the pad to be rolled up and stuffed extremely easily. It packs down to 5 inches by 8 inches, and comes with a stuff sack and patch kit. Klymit provides a limited lifetime warranty on the Insulated Static V.
I think the Klymit Insulated Static V offers superb value at an MSRP of $89.95. The warmth, packed size and lightness of this pad are impressive given the cost. Check out all of Klymit‘s products at klymit.com.
– Mark