This is my third pad in my quest for a comfortable pad as a man who side sleeps, and I've finally found a keeper. I've never been able to sleep on my side on a pad without waking up at night and/or in the morning with painful hips- the bony part of my hips sinks onto the hard ground. In a bid to avoid hips hitting the ground, I'd overinflate other pads and wake up from side-sleeping with a numb arm due to the harder pad.I'm 6'2" and went for the regular size to save slightly on weight and space. I fit comfortably on the pad. The material isn't slippery, so I don't wake up hanging off the edge at either end.With 4 inches of depth, this pad lets me stay soft enough to be comfortable yet still not hit the ground with my hips. I still have to make sure to fine-tune ... MoreThis is my third pad in my quest for a comfortable pad as a man who side sleeps, and I've finally found a keeper. I've never been able to sleep on my side on a pad without waking up at night and/or in the morning with painful hips- the bony part of my hips sinks onto the hard ground. In a bid to avoid hips hitting the ground, I'd overinflate other pads and wake up from side-sleeping with a numb arm due to the harder pad.I'm 6'2" and went for the regular size to save slightly on weight and space. I fit comfortably on the pad. The material isn't slippery, so I don't wake up hanging off the edge at either end.With 4 inches of depth, this pad lets me stay soft enough to be comfortable yet still not hit the ground with my hips. I still have to make sure to fine-tune the firmness of the pad to strike the best balance, but a balance was impossible with any other pad.The only time I don't use this pad is for winter camping- it's not remotely warm enough. I have to use a 2.5 pad for that with a closed-cell foam pad under that- quite heavy and less comfortable.The Sea to Summit pump sack is the fastest at inflating pads, and I've had pads from all the major players.This pad is also pretty quiet. Moving around at night still sounds like a balloon a bit, but it's more low-frequency balloon- no so much with the high-pitched squeaks and crinkling sounds of other pads.It took me about one night to get the hang of the double valve and to learn to make adjustments inflating or deflating while sleeping on the thing. It's very easy!I love this pad. I wish they had an 7+ R-value version for winter camping! Alas, it's hard to imagine anybody in Perth Australia thinks about winter camping much.I've put about 200 miles of hiking on this pad with 0 holes or issues. I have no complaints about this and struggle to even imagine potential improvements.I have a 2 inch pad from Sea to Summit that I bought before the Ether was released. That was similar but so much less comfortable due to being half the thickness. That pad did get 2 pin holes on the trail. I could fix one hole with the included patch kit and needed to submerge in a bath tub with water to find the second tiny hole. Since patching I've had zero issues with that- now my loaner pad for friends.

Being comfortable and a good nights rest, even on the trail, is paramount to me. Looking at this pad and all the good reviews I thought it would be extremely comfortable and was entirely prepared to pack its slightly larger size and additional few ounces in the name of comfort. Sadly, for me, it just isnt. Fully inflated you can feel the pattern in the form of uneven pressure. Deflating just a little does help but then I noticed if I roll to my side (side sleep) my hip can contact the ground unless the mat is kept essentially fully inflated. This was actually really surprising considering the roughly 4" of thickness. For me this design just didnt have the support. I compared it to a Nemo Tensor, and Thermarest Xlite and, honestly, the Thermarest was the most ... MoreBeing comfortable and a good nights rest, even on the trail, is paramount to me. Looking at this pad and all the good reviews I thought it would be extremely comfortable and was entirely prepared to pack its slightly larger size and additional few ounces in the name of comfort. Sadly, for me, it just isnt. Fully inflated you can feel the pattern in the form of uneven pressure. Deflating just a little does help but then I noticed if I roll to my side (side sleep) my hip can contact the ground unless the mat is kept essentially fully inflated. This was actually really surprising considering the roughly 4" of thickness. For me this design just didnt have the support. I compared it to a Nemo Tensor, and Thermarest Xlite and, honestly, the Thermarest was the most comfortable since the pressure is uniform and, partially deflated for comfort, the Thermarest also offered the best support on the hip when on my side. A little odd considering its the thinnest of the 3 but makes sense from a design standpoint since Thermarest is made up of many more small baffle chambers within the pad so it should resist air migration the best while the Ether XT is practically a 4" thick void which is why my hip went right to the ground.Everything else about the pad is good. The combination pump sack/stuff sack is a really good idea and inflates the pad very fast. The valve is one of the best designs you can find. The pad itself seemed of good quality. It felt warm, but not uncomfortably so. It didnt seem any more noisy than the Nemo either which is touted as a quiet pad. Really bummed about it not being better in the comfort department.

I have used this pad for probably over 100 nights at this point. I'm a Trail Worker, long distance hiker, and former Wilderness Ranger, and this pad has kept me extremely comfortable almost every night. It's thick, quiet, and plenty warm for most trips.After 40-50 nights or so, I was having to wake up every 2 hours to re-inflate because I was hitting the ground with my hips/shoulders while side sleeping. I had gotten used to it, but finally decided to throw some patches on one day. I found SEVEN holes on the pad, all on the top of the pad, which was very surprising to me. No holes on the bottom (great!), which has definitely seen pokey conditions; one hole in a crease near the seam, which makes sense with repeated use; SIX holes on the edges of the air cell ... MoreI have used this pad for probably over 100 nights at this point. I'm a Trail Worker, long distance hiker, and former Wilderness Ranger, and this pad has kept me extremely comfortable almost every night. It's thick, quiet, and plenty warm for most trips.After 40-50 nights or so, I was having to wake up every 2 hours to re-inflate because I was hitting the ground with my hips/shoulders while side sleeping. I had gotten used to it, but finally decided to throw some patches on one day. I found SEVEN holes on the pad, all on the top of the pad, which was very surprising to me. No holes on the bottom (great!), which has definitely seen pokey conditions; one hole in a crease near the seam, which makes sense with repeated use; SIX holes on the edges of the air cell dimples. Four of those were at chest level and two at knee level.Obviously, this is an issue because I now know exactly where every future hole will be. After patching, I took it back out on an 8-day trip and it was like new. The next 8-day trip, it was back to deflating. It would be almost flat by about 3 or 4 AM. I'm hesitant to even patch it again at this point, because I know it will continue to get holes in the same place. You can see pictures of some of the patches below.I've loved this pad, but I will be looking at other options going forward.