Therm-a-Rest ProLite Plus
Get the comfort you deserve with horizontal and vertical tubes that add both support and cushion.
Brand: Therm-a-Rest
Model: ProLite Plus (Womens)
[most comfortable]
“I have not slept on anything more comfortable in 40 years of backcountry travel.” That was the conclusion of one of our most experienced testers after he packed this 3.5-inch-thick pad on a three-week Himalayan climb. The secret: welded horizontal and vertical tubes, which give the pad its quiltlike appearance and a more uniform and supportive feel than pads with either horizontal or vertical baffles alone.
“It’s as close as you can get to carrying your own bed,” reports another tester. Warmth comes from the polyester insulation that’s woven with heat-reflective silver filament; we tested it well below freezing on snow. It packs down to water bottle size, but there is a downside: All that cushion takes about eight minutes to inflate with your lungs; get help from the Pumphouse ($20, 1.5 oz.), which also serves as a pillow. $140; 1 lb. 11 oz.; 72” x 20” x 3.5”; bigagnes.com
The ProLite Plus is an ultralight four-season self-inflating mattress that is now almost 10% lighter than before, thanks to a new tapered shape. A patent-pending diagonal die-cut foam reduces convective heat loss while maintaining comfort, making it the ideal choice for ski touring, cold weather expeditions and winter camping. A new soft-grip bottom fabric prevents slipping on the tent floor. The Womens version of the ProLite Plus mattress features extra insulation in the foot and torso areas, and a tone-on-tone fabric print design. R-Value: 4.6