Sea To Summit Comfort Light Insulated Mat: Packs Small Warms Big
It’s like air suspension for your body, keeping you off the ground and warm.
When making a packing list for an adventure camping trip, I tend to go back and cross things off with a “I don’t need to be that comfortable” sort of mentality. After just one trip without a sleeping pad, I added it back to my list of must haves. Sure there is a comfort factor, but there is also a warmth factor that I wasn’t thinking about.
Sea To Summit makes a wide variety of camp gear and has a large range of sleeping mats to choose from. Some are self inflating and have foam inside, yet don’t pack down as small even though they are more convenient and comfortable. I went with the Comfort Light Insulated Mat that packs down to about the size of a large water bottle, but still has an R-value of 4.2 (R- values are a way of measuring insulation and it ranges from 1 to 6+).
Setting It Up
With any inflatable gear item, you normally get a good lung work out, but not with this pad. Well, you can if you want to but the stuff sack also doubles as, what Sea To Summit calls, a pump sack. It is basically a large, airtight nylon sack that you unroll and let fill with ambient air. Then you attach it to the inflation valve and roll the pump sack up. As you roll, you push all the air in the sack into the pad.
On paper this is a great idea and I think the idea is that you only have to do this once. But in reality, the sack itself doesn’t automatically expand to it largest volume without help from you blowing into it or some wind. Using the partially inflated pump sack, I had to do the procedure about two and a half times to fully inflate the pad. Still, it’s a very minor thing to complain about since I didn’t have to use my lungs to fill it up.
On a side note, I was reading about the care of the Comfort Light Insulated Mat on Sea To Summit’s website and it warned about mold developing in sleeping pads because of people’s breath having so much moisture in it. Not only does the pump sack eliminate that, this sleeping pad also has an antimicrobial inner lining to help keep mold at bay if you do blow it up by mouth.
The last feature I dig when setting it up is the large one way valve. I did blow it up without the pump sack the first time I used it and the valve does a great job of letting you get a ton of air in the pad without having to slam the valve closed as fast as possible to not lose that high psi.
Nighty Night
There are five sizes to choose from (small, regular, large, regular rectangle, large rectangle). The non-rectangular pads are tapered smaller toward the end and I used the regular tapered size, which is 21.5 inches at its widest point. At 5 foot 8 inches, this was plenty big enough for me but you might want to think about the rectangular sizes if you change positions a lot or like to sleep with your legs bent.
With the Sea to Summit Pad fully inflated, it was nice and firm, so much so that I let some of the air out. The “air sprung” cells are a nice contact material for your body. As the cells compress, they have more surface area to cushion than a flat surface would. Also, in the torso area where more of your weight is, the air cells are smaller, closer together, and double layered. Even when sleeping on my side, my hip didn’t touch the ground and was supported.
Warmth wise, this was an excellent pad. I had some chilly nights where I needed to put my riding jacket over my sleeping bag to stave off the cold but I didn’t feel any heat loss going downward through the pad. Even with the Thermolite insulation (synthetic fiber fill in the air cells) and the Exkin Platinum internal reflective material, it didn’t have that crinkly sound other insulated materials can have.
Packing It Down
The air valve is nice and wide and opens fully to quickly let the air out of the pad. Once the air is out, you just make a few folds and roll it up. The insulation in each air cell isn’t even noticeable when rolling it up. Also, the stuff sack is generously sized so you don’t have to spend hours trying to get it as small as it was from the factory.
Who Is It For
This sleeping pad is for a rider who appreciates the value of a good, warm night sleep. Cheaper pads are cheaper for three reasons. One, they don’t have much insulation. Two, they don’t pack down very small and/or are heavy. Three, they don’t have enough cushion to keep you comfy. The Comfort Light Insulated mat packs small, it is warm enough for the coldest of nights, and the air cells do a great job of cushioning your tired body after a long day of riding. I would also say that this is the right pad for the dual-sport or light adventure rider that needs to save space because its packs size is on par with many non-insulated pads out there. And obviously, for any rider who has hard luggage, you’ll have plenty of room for this pad.
Our Verdict
At 674 grams (1.48 lbs) with bag and pump sack, the Comfort Light Insulated mat isn’t the lightest sleeping pad on the market. But for the amount of comfort and warmth you get, I’ll take that trade off of a half a pound or so. Knowing that I’m not going to be hemorrhaging body heat to the ground and that my joints aren’t going to be sore in the morning is a very nice feeling and helps me get to sleep that much quicker.
What We Liked
- Toasty warm
- Soft, comfortable support
- Non-breath inflation option
- Packs down small
What Could Be Improved
- Slides around a little on bottom of the tent
- It’s on the pricey side
Comfort Light Insulated Mat Specs
SIZE (packed): 4.5 in. 9 in.
THICKNESS: 2.5 in.
WEIGHT: 21.8 oz (1.4 lbs)
COMES WITH: Airstream Pumpsack / Stuff Sack and a mat repair kit
FABRIC: 40D Nylon Face Fabric
INSULATION: Exkin Platinum fabric and Thermolite
R-VALUE: 4.2
SEASON RATING: 3 Season
SPECIAL: Extrusion TPU Lamination to reduce delamination
MSRP: $169.95
Shopping Options:
Amazon | Sea to Summit | Backcountry |
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Really enjoy your reviews. Thank you very much!
Much appreciated Mark!
With just 3 small breaths from a distance you can fill the pump sack. This is the venturi effect. We think the mat sleeps very cold, when around freezing temperatures this mat fails. But it is the most comfortable mat between lightweight sleeping mats. But only for summer use. For spring I bring my Exped Winterlite, which has a R-rating of 7. That one keeps you toasty after 3 or 4 am.