Compact Air-Filled Sleeping Pad (Review)

One of my last non-homeschool-related reviews had to do with road-trips to my daughter's college and sleeping in her dorm, and so does this next one... :)

When hiking up three flights of stairs it's nice to be able to carry as little as possible, and when sleeping on a dorm floor it's nice to have some extra padding... so I was very interested to try out the Ultralight Sleeping Pad by VENTURE 4TH on my last trip.

There were a couple of features that I was particularly pleased with~

• The size and weight~ it only added a pound to my load up the stairs, which really isn't much at all, and it packs down really small also~ 8"x5"x2"... so much more compact than a yoga mat or a traditional air mattress. For size perspective that is an iPad2 and a quarter... 
• The amount of time and "air" it took to inflate. Due to the unique cell channel design and the strong, but lightweight material, it really did take only 12-16 breaths of air to inflate the mattress. No air pump or natural breeze required! 

When I first opened the package at home, and tested it out on my living room rug I figured I would try to mimic some of the great outdoors by placing a LEGO figure or two under the pad to serve as "stones." Amazingly enough, I couldn't feel them AT ALL! Wow! My Middlest son is going to appreciate this when we go camping...
*Note, when I first inflated it there was an area that didn't fill up with air. However, the second time I inflated it it was fine, it just needed to be loosened up.

It isn't a "soft cushy" pad, but rather has firm support that will smooth out annoying bumps from small rocks and stones.

I only had a couple of suggestions that would make this a better product in my opinion.

• If the fabric could be "flocked" (which hopefully wouldn't add much weight) it would be just a smidge less slippery. It wasn't terrible by any means, but sippery sleeping bags, and a pad without any grippy texture at all meant a little more sliding around (and slippery sound) than is optimal. 
• For non-hammock/non-tent-with-minimal-floor-space sleeping, I found the pad to be not quite wide enough for my legs that like to sprawl. However, for campong/backpacking purposes it is actually probably just right, so take that suggestion with a grain of salt, maybe? 

All in all, I think this is a fabulous product for hiking/backpacking, camping, and even having a space free of stones and pebbles at a park or outdoor event. Convenient, compact, and easily inflated.

Blessings~

(Actually received at a discount, not free ;) )