I finally had a run in with the 'sleep system or die' guy on the AT last month

Met this dude at a shelter near Davenport Gap who spent 20 minutes lecturing me about my foam pad. He said anything under an R-value of 5 is just a death wish in the Smokies. I told him I've used a Z Lite for 8 years and slept fine down to 30 degrees. He shook his head and said 'enjoy your back problems' like it was a fact. Made me wonder if I'm actually missing something or if people just get obsessed with gear specs. Has anyone else met someone so certain about one piece of gear being non-negotiable?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles94611d ago

Idk, the R-value thing gets a little overblown sometimes. 30 degrees is pretty mild for the Smokies and a Z Lite is totally fine for that if you're a warm sleeper. Back problems probably come more from carrying too much weight than from a foam pad.

iris57410d ago

Yeah, I swapped my inflatable for a Z Lite on a 3 day trip in the Smokies a few years back when temps dipped to 28 at night. I sleep warm and it was fine. The key is having a good groundsheet under it, a piece of Reflectix cut to size helps a lot if you're really worried. For back pain, the real trick is making sure your pack doesn't go over 25 pounds base weight. Pack weight will mess you up way worse than any pad will.