Because of reading the advice on the boards, I decided to pitch my old styrofoam pad and invest the money in a TR Self Inflatable sleeping pad! I don’t think I have ever been so amazed by gear. I slept like a baby. It really is amazing and thanks for all the advice. My muscles thank you.
We love ours
Cheers, and pleasant dreams!
JackL
They can also be used for inflation.
Roll one up and put it in a dry bag, then let it unravel / self inflate.
I use it in my folder. It’s not as good as a float bag, but it works.
Just keep it away from the fire.
I didn’t use a tent on one trip with a TR and a spark got it. Make sure you carry a repair kit. I didn’t and slept on a flat TR for the next 26 days.
Which model …
did you purchase?
Not sure
Thin, waffle looking burgundy on one side brown on the other and is about 1" thick when inflated. Tried to patch it when I got hame but it kept leaking so I bought another one just like the old one, about 2 1/2 years ago. I don’t use it because I take a tent now and no room for both. Sleeping on the ground is OK with me.
If size is an issue
have you seen their pro-light series? Those things pack tiny, but are still mighty comfy.
At the opposite extreme, my wife and I
tried the thickest and next-thickest of REI’s self-inflaters. No matter how heavy and boney you are, I don’t think you will need the thickest, which as I recall are about 2.25". They also are too hard to roll up. We settled for the second thickest, which are plenty soft enough, and cushion decently even if leaky.
I personally do not like the ultralight self-inflaters. If I need to go really light, I take a couple of waffled foam roll-ups.
Wish I had room
but my next kayak trip is 30 days and I just don’t have room for one in a 12’ kayak. I have the dry storage crammed full and a deck bag on the stern. Inside the bow I have a tent, 10L Seal Line dry bag and 2 gals of fluid. On the bow I have a Seal Line 25L dry bag and a pr of running shoes. In the cockpit I have a 10L bag with camera, phone, journal, snacks and maps. After paddling all day I don’t even notice the hard ground.
Yeah, my wife and I are just spoiled
old people. We throw it all in the canoe and stumble downwind or downstream, whichever is closer.
The worst thing I’ve done in a kayak
Went to a 3 day 115 mile self-sufficient trip with 6 guys, 4 kayaks and 2 guys in a canoe. Didn’t mind them (in the canoe) having a stove, pots, pans big tent, sleeping bags, and air mattresses…but when they pulled a gallon of milk out of their cooler and had cereal and bananas for breakfast…that was too much.
My rule: No canoes allowed on kayak trips!
eight years ago
my thermorest developed a bunch of holes. I think it was from getting bug dope on the mattress while fumigating a tent against black flys. I bought a patching kit and the matress is good as new. no more problems . (pretty amaxing as I have had no luck repairing any of my coleman matressess)
Best innovation in camping gear
in the past 50 years - maybe 100.
AAM
Makes A Great Great Seat, Too
We use the 3/4 Standard Thermorest as seats in our VOLSKAYAKs. Just fold it double beneath you, single up the back, let it inflate, sit in, open the valve, and allow air to escape until you barely contact the bottom of the boat. Very cozy seat - warm and soft, and the air displaced by your bottom goes forward to give good support beneath the thighs. You can also get a strap arrangement that also converts the Thermorest into a camp chair.
Of course…
there is the flip side where there are gasp kayakers on a canoe trip! You have to get a little smirk going when they ask if you can carry just a little gear for them because it won’t fit in the kayak. Seems like trips where water is best carried instead of filtered are especially problematic.
quote from below…
“We use the 3/4 Standard Thermorest as seats in our VOLSKAYAKs. Just fold it double beneath you, single up the back, let it inflate, sit in, open the valve, and allow air to escape until you barely contact the bottom of the boat. Very cozy seat - warm and soft, and the air displaced by your bottom goes forward to give good support beneath the thighs. You can also get a strap arrangement that also converts the Thermorest into a camp chair.”
might try it…if yu sit on it as a chair…you have room.
Trail Lite
I bought a Trail Lite regular size. It is green. I think I am in love with it. I even like just looking at it. 
I seriously slept better on this than I do in those expensive hotel beds in downtown Chi.
COOL!
I also
have the second to thickest of the REI “basecamp” model, which is 2.5". The thickest is 3.5". I love my REI pad, light, super comfortable, and easy to control how firm or soft it is. On a recent camping trip my father insisted on buying himself an air mattress instead of one of these. He was cold all night in the 35 degree weather because he was sleeping on a big cold balloon of air, and wound up with a sore back because the air mattress lost air due to the cold and he was on top of some roots.
The thermarests are great too, I just like the REI’s just as much, and got mine on a great sale, so was much cheaper then TR.
Enjoy it!
Kayak trips and heaven
On a kayak a cool drink is a spoiler. I can’t stand the torture so I drink everything warm. Put a sticker on your canoe that says “If it is your…put it in your boat” and maybe they won’t ask. Being the entertainer / trouble maker I’d puta rubber fishing worm in their container and play dumb when they found it.
Because I love to paddle, see and watch everything and want those in the group to experience the trip I have a shirt that says “Shut Up and Paddle”. When someone starts bending my ear I ask them to read the shirt.
It’s all in fun but very effective.
A cold water
paddling essential too! I have two and love them as well for camping. I was told to put one in the cockpit of my kayak for insulation for my February paddle (it was 23 degrees on Clinton Lake) - so I did so - it kept me nicely warm and, an added benefit, quite comfortable.