Sleeping Pads for Backpacking Giants.

[Greekster]

Hi all, 

Am just getting into backpacking and am looking at getting a sleeping pad. The problem is that I am 6 foot 7 inches tall and am having trouble finding a sleeping pad that meets my length. Anyone have any suggestions?

Should I just suck it up and let my feet dangle off?

Does someone know of a place (or person) who does custom made to order sleeping pads for backpacking?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Gary M]

Hi all, 

Am just getting into backpacking and am looking at getting a sleeping pad. The problem is that I am 6 foot 7 inches tall and am having trouble finding a sleeping pad that meets my length. Anyone have any suggestions?

Should I just suck it up and let my feet dangle off?

Does someone know of a place (or person) who does custom made to order sleeping pads for backpacking?

Thanks for the help!

 

 

Interesting question!

I'm not familiar with nor could I find an extra-long (more than 78 inch) sleeping pad.  I always want my feet and head both off the ground so as to help keep warm and sleep better.

How about a using a little ingenuity; start with two foam pads and cutting them down to make one long pad?  Of course, you'd have to buy two pads, and this would leave out the (heavier!) air pad and self inflatable options.  I used to know a "heavy" guy that carried two foam pads as the extra-wide versions were not quite wide enough for him.  Foam pads are really light! 

Just a thought.

 

Gary M

[Greekster]

 

 

Interesting question!

I'm not familiar with nor could I find an extra-long (more than 78 inch) sleeping pad.  I always want my feet and head both off the ground so as to help keep warm and sleep better.

How about a using a little ingenuity; start with two foam pads and cutting them down to make one long pad?  Of course, you'd have to buy two pads, and this would leave out the (heavier!) air pad and self inflatable options.  I used to know a "heavy" guy that carried two foam pads as the extra-wide versions were not quite wide enough for him.  Foam pads are really light! 

Just a thought.

 

Gary M

Hey Gary, 

yeah, the longest pad I could find was the Nemo Cosmo I believe, which is 80in. That's not too bad I guess. My toes would be off of it, but I don't know if that's important or not.

Hmm, that is an interesting thought. So buying two of the foam pads they sell and combining them? 

[Gary M]

 

Hey Gary, 

yeah, the longest pad I could find was the Nemo Cosmo I believe, which is 80in. That's not too bad I guess. My toes would be off of it, but I don't know if that's important or not.

Hmm, that is an interesting thought. So buying two of the foam pads they sell and combining them? 

Yes, and I'm suggesting you cut them to fit so you wind up putting them together "end to end" to make one pad that fits you completely.

Like I said, it was just a thought.  The person I knew put two standard size pads together "side by side" to make one extra-wide pad.  

By the way. I love the trail name "Greekster".  Maybe I should show a little ingenuity and come up with something for myself with a little more flair!  

Gary M

[Greekster]

I will definitely look into that. Do you know how your friend connected them? First thing that came to mind was Velcro straps of some sort.

Thanks! It's a fun name:) Definitely unique. I'm sure you'll think of something! 

[Gary M]

I will definitely look into that. Do you know how your friend connected them? First thing that came to mind was Velcro straps of some sort.

Thanks! It's a fun name:) Definitely unique. I'm sure you'll think of something! 

As I recall he made cut outs that fit into each other like a ball and socket, but velcro sounds like a good idea.  When he put his sleeping bag on the pads, it stayed together as one piece, which is the whole idea.  Perhaps someone else here at TrailGroove has another suggestion.

As for changing to a trail name with some flair; I guess my problem is I just don't have much in the way of flair going for me!  Such is life, I can't win them all!

Gary M 

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

The interlocking foam pad idea sounds pretty interesting. Personally, if I were you @Greekster I'd probably just go with a 6'6" pad. At 6'2" I'm able to sleep on 6' pads comfortably - while sleeping I don't take up as much space and that's with a pillow on the pad, although admittedly when I use my longer and wider pad it's a nice luxury. (All Exped Synmat UL 7's) You can also use a pillow and/or pile gear off of the pad for more room or do the same thing at the foot end as well if needed. 

[Greekster]

The interlocking foam pad idea sounds pretty interesting. Personally, if I were you @Greekster I'd probably just go with a 6'6" pad. At 6'2" I'm able to sleep on 6' pads comfortably - while sleeping I don't take up as much space and that's with a pillow on the pad, although admittedly when I use my longer and wider pad it's a nice luxury. (All Exped Synmat UL 7's) You can also use a pillow and/or pile gear off of the pad for more room or do the same thing at the foot end as well if needed. 

Hey Aaron, 

Thanks for the insight. Would you recommend the Expend Synmat UL 7? Do they make a long length pad? 

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

I can recommend it - it's been my go-to sleeping pad for a while...I prefer a rectangular / non-tapered sleeping pad and the Synmat is pretty comfortable and warm at a reasonable weight. They do make the LW version that's 78x26 which is what I've been using recently. You can check out our full review of the UL 7 back in Issue 4 as well: 

http://www.trailgroove.com/issue4.html?autoflip=45

[Hardenb43]

I have a XL neoair trekker (old model) that measures 83" x 26" that I'd sell if your interested?