Gossamer Gear – NightLight Sleeping Pad
Gossamer Gear is a real leader in the ultralight hiking community. They specialize in ultralight backpacks, but they also sell other accessories which can save you a lot of weight. The NightLight sleeping pad, in the 3/4 size, only costs $18 and weighs under 4 oz. That's over 6 oz less than a Therm-a-rest Z-lite 3/4.
The NightLight has an egg shell-like surface and is 3/4 inches in depth with an R value of 2.27. It's good for 3-season use if you're not a cold sleeper and it is more comfortable for people who sleep on their backs than side sleepers. I normally use this pad when hiking through heavily wooded areas like the Catskills where I can heap together a lot of leaves under my tent to augment the pad's insulating properties and overall comfort. If you have to sleep on a platform or hard ground, think about bringing a thicker sleeping pad instead.
The NightLite is meant for hikers who have ultralight frameless hiking packs. These packs have an external pocket between the pack's shoulder straps where you add a sleeping pad. The sleeping pad acts like a internal frame, stiffening the pack. I use the NightLight like this in my Starlite pack from Six Moon Designs. If you have a regular pack with a built-in internal or external frame, you'll find that it's very awkward to get the NightLight to fit into the main compartment.
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