The lightweight, compact Big Agnes Air Core inflatable sleeping pad is ideal for backpacking. Designed for summer or warm-weather use, the Air Core inflatable pad packs down small and takes up very little space in your backpack.
If you are looking for a light weight, versatile and affordable sleeping pad for warm weather backpacking, turn to the Big Agnes Air Core Sleeping Pad. This is extremely versatile. Here I have got the regular mummy style. This comes in an array of sizes and shapes, but I have just got the regular mummy which is 72 inches long, 20 inches wide and all sizes are three and a quarter inches thick. So you have got anywhere from a petite size up to a long, wide size. And they are definitely going to work with the Big Agnes sleep systems when you have those different size sleeping bags with different sleeves in them. So certainly look at the different sizes and the different weights that go with the sizes. But they are very lightweight. This particular size weighs in right around 18 ounces. So a packable option, definitely a back packable option. It packs down into its stuff sack, which is right here. This is a nice, lightweight stuff sack. It is mesh. It even comes with a repair kit. So you can see how small that packs down. And with that three and a quarter inches of thickness off the ground, this is definitely an option for side sleepers. I happen to sleep on my side and with a pad that inflates up to be this big, I can sleep on my side without my shoulders or my hips digging into the ground.
The stand out feature here definitely is the durable construction. So you have got nylon rip stop material here on the face fabric. It is lightweight, but also very durable. The seams here are durable. They are that very reliable construction that you can expect from Big Agnes.
You have got one inflation valve here at the top. And it is kind of a screw open, screw closed inflation valve and what I like about that is you can either inflate it by mouth or you can use a Big Agnes accessory to kind of inflate that. But once you have blown it up all the way and you are laying on the pad, you can just reach behind you and maybe let a little bit of air out just to get that adjustability. It lets you sink into the pad a little bit. So I really appreciate that kind of valve here and it is up out of your way. So when you are sleeping on it, it is definitely really comfortable there.
You have got I beam construction, so as you inflate the pad the air goes through the baffles here for a full inflation. And the beams on the outsides are a little bit thicker than the beams on the inside, so as you are laying on the pad, it kind of cradles your back so you don't feel like you are sliding on and off the pad. And even the material here on the top is a little bit sticky. You know, if you have got your sleeping bag on top of it or if you have got it into a sleeping bag sleeve, it is definitely going to, you know, stay where you want it to. You are not going to feel like you are sliding off of the pad. So all of those features together provide a really comfortable base.
You have an R value of about 1.5 so definitely a warm weather or a summer pad. If you need to bring that R value up a little bit more if you are camping in colder conditions, you could definitely pair it with, you know, a closed cell foam pad underneath of it or something like that, but this type of pad is meant for those warm weather backpacking excursions when you want to pack it down really small, throw it in your backpack and use it in the backcountry.
Overall it is a great pad for all those uses and with all the different sizes it comes in, you can definitely pick and choose either the rectangular style or the mummy style that we have got here that saves a little bit of weight. It is the Big Agnes Air Core Sleeping Pad.
