Therm-A-Rest Prolite 4

Therm-a-Rest Prolite 4
The Therm-a-Rest Prolite 4 is the latest lightweight offering in a long line of self inflating sleeping pads from Cascade Designs.  Designed for four season backpacking and trekking and features a tapered design to reduce weight and rolled size.  Weighing in at just under a pound and a half, while not exactly ultra light, the Prolite 4 is quite light compared to other pads.  Another benefit is the pad will roll down to about the size of a football.  The pad is coated on the underside with a non-slip coating that works marginally well at best especially on silicon coated nylon commonly found in most tents.  The top is coated nylon that allows your sleeping bag to slide at will.  Adding a few dots of silicon can help to fix this.  Being 1.5" thick, the Prolite 4 is quite warm providing a manufacturer claimed R-factor of 3.2 (if you are concerned with such things).  Also available are the Prolite 3 for warmer weather camping and womens version of each.  All pads are available in short (3/4), regular, and long.  The price of the Prolite 4 is a little tough to swallow but factoring in the many years of service it will provide it makes a worth investment. [UPDATE: Feb-2009]: Therm-a-Rest seems to be changing the lineup. Beginning in March of 2009 the Prolite 3 will be know as the Prolite and the Prolite 4 will be known as the Prolite Plus.

Quick Review:

Design: Light weight sleeping pad Weight: 1lb 7.875oz. Retail: $99.95 (Prolite Plus, Regular) (Buy) Why it's hot:
  • Durability
  • Warm
  • Packs relatively small
Why it's not:
  • Pad slides during the night
http://cascadedesigns.com/