The Pad That Ended My Cold, Sore Mornings

The morning it finally clicked was at Red River Gorge in October, 41 degrees, and I woke up with my hip pressed against the ground and my back telling me all about it. I had spent two seasons telling myself that cold, sore mornings were just part of backpacking. Then I bought a Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol, and I stopped telling myself that.

I am Wes Harlan, a retired PE teacher from outside Louisville, and I have been camping for about 20 years, backpacking for roughly 8. My left knee complains on descents and my lower back lets me know when a pack is fitted wrong. So I judge gear by weight, comfort and fit, in that order. The old pad I used before this one came from a big-box store and did the job the way a folding chair does the job: it works, but you know you are sitting in it.

That October trip was a two-nighter on the Sheltowee Trace. The first night I slept on the old pad and woke up at 4 a.m. shivering, with my hip numb and my lower back stiff. The second night I laid out the Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol I had brought along at the last minute. Same campsite, same temperature, same sleeping bag. I woke up once to turn over, and that was it.

I have now used the Z Lite Sol for a full season, on the Sheltowee Trace, at Big South Fork, and for a week in the Smokies. It has been under me in the Naturehike Cloud-Up 2 on solo trips and in the family tent on car-camping weekends with Dana. It has not softened, flattened, or started letting the cold through. That is more than I can say for any pad I have owned.

This is not a review from someone who slept on a pad for one night in a gear shop. This is a retired PE teacher who packs his own pack, walks his own miles, and wakes up with the same cranky body you probably do. Here is what I learned.

Same campsite, same temperature, same sleeping bag. I woke up once to turn over, and that was it.

Weight is the first thing I check, because of my knee and my back. The Z Lite Sol is a foam pad, which means it does not need a pump, a valve, or a patch kit. It rolls up tight and straps to the outside of my TETON Sports Explorer 65L pack. I have carried it maybe 200 miles this season and I do not feel it on my back. That matters more to me than any R-value number on a box.

The reason I chose foam over inflatable is my lower back. Inflatable pads are comfortable until they are not, and I have spent too many nights on pads that went soft at 2 a.m. A foam pad cannot go soft. It does not puncture, it does not leak, and it does not need me to find the hole in the dark. I will trade a little plushness for that reliability every time.

Setup is about ten seconds. I unroll it, lay it in the tent, and lie down. On car-camping trips with Dana, I use it in the family tent too, because the ground is just as hard there and my back knows the difference the next morning. It also works as a sit pad around camp, which sounds like a small thing until you are kneeling on frozen ground to start a fire.

The tradeoff is honest. Foam is firmer than a good inflatable, and if you are a side sleeper who needs a thick cushion under your hip, this pad may not be enough for you. I am a back and stomach sleeper, so the firm surface actually helps my back. I also use my Black Diamond Trail trekking poles on the trail, and the pad fits the footprint of the Naturehike Cloud-Up 2 without curling at the edges.

I have not had a single cold, sore morning since I switched. The mornings I wake up stiff now are the ones after I sleep on a friend's inflatable, or on a camp cot, or on the ground because I was too lazy to unroll the pad. That is the real test. When I forget it, I notice. When I bring it, I do not think about it.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If we were sitting at my kitchen table with coffee, I would tell you this. Stop buying gear that makes you feel like a backpacker and start buying gear that lets you sleep like one. The Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol is not fancy. It is a folded slab of foam that does one job and does it every night. Your back, your knee, and your 4 a.m. self will thank you. I have used mine for a full season and I will use it again next season. That is the best thing I can say about any piece of gear.