Ahhhhhh. Thermarest is the Best!

Still a bit of a novice at backpacking. I've been at least partially outfitted by my friend Peter at http://www.peterhikes.blogspot.com/ , and just recently almost entirely outfitted by Peter. I'm still wearing boots he wore while completing the AT. With that said I'm extremely appreciative to have a friend put so much effort in educating me and my son on the finer points of backpacking.

One area I will change next time I go on a backpacking trip will be my sleeping pad. I've found that sleeping is my biggest issue when in the outback and I know that many other folks feel the same way. It seems to get overlooked by novices though, with the thought that it's only for a couple days to a week. Or that they'll be so tired that it won't matter that the ground is hard cold and lumpy. Which is the case sometimes especially if you are forced to set up camp quickly because of a storm. I actually slept OK on my last trip. But that's it...just OK. That means that I tossed and turned a bit and woke up about 4 times tossed and turned for 5 minutes each time then went back to sleep again.

The group of us had been up for about 20 minutes sitting and talking and Cliff started talking about how cool the Black Diamond 3 person tent is, because when you pull back the rain tarp there is a clear screen above the area where you place your head and you can look up at the stars at night. It's like sleeping outside without the bugs. So I took that opportunity to check it out to see what all the talk was about. When I laid down on the Thermarest Pad I said "Wow, this is reeeeaaaallllly nice" " This is reeeaaaalllly nice""Oh, man I need one of these". Then Peter said that Thermarest came up with an even better pad called the Neo Air, which is thicker and lighter. I was thinking, why did it take this long for me to figure this out! I've been tossing and turning, when I could be possible more comfortable on the Thermarest than my mattress at home.

A good night sleep is sooooooo important always, but even more so when backpacking. I'm sold, and if you are a beginner or novice take heed and get a nice sleeping pad. I priced the neo air and it runs from 115.00 to 169.00. Not bad if you go on a couple trips a year. I plan to up the number of times I backpack now that is to be had.