I will be honest: I don't care who says the air mattresses are lighter and therefore better for backpacking . . . I'm sticking with my tried-and-true Thermarest Pro-Lite Plus. After two times trying two different top-rated air mattresses that deflated (like on-the-ground-in-the-morning deflated) the second time I took them backpacking, I went back to Ol' Betsy and am not looking back! There have been upgrades to the last version I had. For one, the mat is all red, whereas the old one was grey on one side (not sure why? I always wondered if it had some sort of other quality I had forgotten about). The upgraded knob has a tightener in addition to the pop-out valve so when you're blowing up the mattress, it doesn't deflate while you're huffing and puffing. The stuff sack is also waaaaaaay better (i.e. larger) and has compression straps. The only thing I would add to this setup? A velcro strap so you can actually keep the pad compressed after you've rolled it up so it will fit inside said stuff sack and/or won't inflate when you're changing altitudes (contrary to what TaR says, the mat does inflate a little even when the latch is sealed). So, bottom line: Yes, it's slippery. Yes, it's also a little too narrow (Hello! Women have HIPS.) And, yes, it's heavier and bulkier than a fancy-pants air mattress... but my old one lasted 8 years before it started deflating when it wasn't supposed to, so I'm sticking with it.
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