quote author=marmottungsten link=topic=36044.msg519641#msg519641 date=1526608527]
Alan, firstly I have to say that you are carrying way too much superfluous gear...Most of that kit won't be used and can be left at home, reducing both weight and the volume of the backpack you need to carry it all in, which in turn will save even more weight. Your Berghaus 65 litre rucksack is very heavy and bulky...If you really want a backpack of that size, then there are several backpacks out there, of similar capacity that are around half the weight. For instance, the 64 litre Zpacks Arc Haul Zip, which at 780g, is less than half the weight, but use ultralight gear, which can be packed smaller, allowing you to use a smaller backpack, like a 55 litre Zpacks Arc Blast which weighs just £595g, 1.105kg lighter than your Berghaus! Your sleeping bag is very heavy too...A Marmot Phase 30 Down sleeping bag, has the same comfort rating as your Vango but it's 3 times lighter! Self inflating mats like yours are very heavy too, offer little in the way of comfort and do not pack down small...A Kylmit Inertia X-Frame would be far more comfortable, packs down to the size of a Coke can and weighs just 241g, almost 750g lighter than your self inflating mat! By choosing these ultralight options you can easiily save several kilos. As you might suspect, some of these options are quite expensive, so if are serious about saving serious amounts of weight, i'm afraid it's going to cost you serious amounts of money!
Thank you for taking the time to reply but you seem to have missed my latest post (it was immediately before your post) where you will see I have replaced some gear (sleeping bag down by 50% and sleep mat down by 50%).
I have looked at the X-Frame but being a 'side sleeper' it is totally and utterly useless - being just a 'string of sausage balloons tied together at random points' give no support at all.
Having read various reviews of it your recommendation appears to be unique - are you a Marmot / Klymit employee ?
Even users reviews on the Klymit website use it with an extra foam pad (there goes any weight & bulk saving).
Being 6 foot, a 'side sleeper' fairly 'wide and heavy' (93kgs) I unfortunately fail to meet any of the criteria for use of the X-Frame.
Although the X Frame is impressively lightweight and compact, it has several drawbacks that restrict its use to a specific group of people.
1) The pad's air baffles are "body mapped" to fit someone about 5' 10" in height. Depending on how your body parts match up to it, the pad may not fit you. The pad is also the narrowest of the 20 we tested — it's 18" wide as opposed to the standard 20" width. Thus, wider people may not fit on it.
2) The pad is ideal for people who sleep on their backs and don't thrash about at night. You may not find the Inertia X Frame to be comfortable if you turn over frequently, sleep on your side, or curl excessively.
3) The pad's thin baffles and large open spaces do a poor job at insulating you from the ground below; the pad is best for summer use.
In sum, the Inertia X Frame could be a good choice for summer backpacking if you're around 5' 10" and sleep on your back.
Just so you know, I don't work for Marmot or Klymit, I just use their equipment which I chose carefully after much research into ultralight gear.
I am also a side sleeper, and I genuinely find the X-Frame very comfortable, so unless you have actually used one for yourself I wouldn't believe one negative review.
I should also mention that I use the X-Frame Recon, not the normal X-Frame. The Recon comes in a much lower visibility Coyote/Sand colour (much better for steath camping), and its far more durable because unlike the normal X-Frame, which is 75D material on the bottom and 45D material on the top, the Recon is 75D material on both sides...Effectively making it double sided, which is another bonus because if one side gets dirty, you still have a clean side to sleep on. It is a little heavier of course (about 292g) but that still makes it 48g lighter than a Neoair Xlite, and far more durable, because the Xlite is only 30D material top and bottom! And yet another bonus is it does not make a load of noise when you move on it, in fact, it's virtually silent, unlike the racket you get from a Neoair if you so much as twitch on it during the night!
I have to stress that the X-Frame must be used INSIDE your sleeping bag, not under it. This allows your sleeping bags down to loft up into the cut outs ("loft pockets", as Klymit calls them), which greatly increases the insulation below you. Lying on any other sleeping mat, like a Neoair, compresses the down under you, greatly reducing the insulation below you, so the X-Frame is far warmer to sleep on than it looks. Also, your body heat isn't constantly being lost to a cold sleeping mat underneath your sleeping bag...Inside your sleeping bag, the air inside the X-Frame heats up and is kept warm by the greater loft in the down below you, keeping you cosy and warm. It may look wierd, but it works!
I also use Klymits Pillow-X Recon. The clever self-centering action of it's design means your head has a better chance of staying on the pillow, even when you twist and turn in the night, and it gives handy clearance space for your ears when sleeping on your side, so your earplug has a better chance of staying in your ear overnight...Which can help you avoid being woken up by the damn dawn chorus!
Again, it a bit heavier than the normal Pillow-X because its 75D material both sides, instead of 75D material on the bottom and 30D material on the top. It weighs 63.8g and it packs down to something not much bigger than a Bic lighter. Conveniently, it packs down small enough to fit inside the X-Frame Recon storage pouch along with the X-Frame recon itself. And this pouch then fit's inside an ultralight Trekmates 5 litre compression bag, along with my Marmot Phase 30 sleeping bag, my Berghaus 75% Merino wool socks and my Technicals 50% Merino wool, long sleeved top and trousers, thermal underwear...Which is all I wear inside my Phase 30 at night. By the way, a little tip...I also place an ultralight space blanket on the floor of my tent, to reflect my body heat back upwards, and my sleeping bag goes directly on top of of that...It is about twice the width of my tents sleeping area so I can conveniently wrap the other half of the space blanket over my sleeping bag, keeping me even warmer.