Sea to Summit UltraLight Sleeping Mat for Backpacking--Review

The sleeping mat inflated and on the ground

Intro and Specs:
     The Sea to Summit UltraLight Sleeping Mat is a inflatable sleeping mat made for backpacking. This mat is generally used in conjunction with a sleeping bag. A sleeping mat is used to insulate the person sleeping on it from the ground. This particular mat is made by the Australian company Sea to Summit. The company makes high quality products for hiking, backpacking, camping, and other outdoor activities. I got this sleeping mat because it's really compact and more compact than most of the other kinds of sleeping mats. The packed size of this sleeping pad is 3 by 8 inches or 7.5 by 20 centimeters. The sleeping pad has an R value (Amount of insulation) of only 0.7 This is fine during the summer but it may be better to use in conjunction with another, more insulating sleeping pad during the winter. On the other hand, If you are willing to spend more money for a better insulated sleeping mat, you can get the Sea to Summit Ultralight insulated or Comfort Plus Insulated. The Ultralight Insulated has almost the same amount of comfort but is better insulated.

Close-up on the inflation valve

Review:
     I used this sleeping mat multiple times. Most
recently, I have used this sleeping pad on a winter
hiking trip. I used this sleeping mat in conjunction with a different basic closed-cell foam mat to add
insulation. The sleeping pad was quite comfortable and gave a great night sleep both nights it was slept in. This sleeping pad is durable and well made. I would recommend this product to anyone who camps in the spring, summer, and fall, but I would recommend a more insulated sleeping pad for winter and cold-weather camping. All in all, this is a great sleeping pad that is worth the cost because of it's smaller size and comfort.

The sleeping pad packed up in the included
bag

Close-up on the deflation valve

A view of the entire valve system. The inflation
and deflation valves are actually one valve with
2 different caps that can be closed both at once
(when in use), just the inner valve (inflate), and
Not at all (deflate)

The included repair pack

The Sea to Summit pump/sack being used to inflate the
sleeping mat

The completely deflated sleeping mat. The pump/sack is in
the upper-left corner. The pump sack is the same size as
the packed sleeping mat and can be used to store the
packed sleeping mat, hence the sack part of pump/sack.