sleeping pad for large man

I've been researching all sorts of different sleeping pads trying to find the right fit for me, but with no luck. I'm hoping someone here has some suggestions to help me find what I need/want

About me:
I'm a newbie that has aspirations of building up to week long trips in the Big Horns of Wyoming and possibly even Wind River area in Wyoming during summer months. I'm wanting to stay relatively light, but ultralight isn't neccessary as I'm more of a "hike to camp" type guy as opposed to "camp to hike" type. I forsee myself covering 5-7 miles per day. I really like the idea of the neolite, but tried out the large (25 inch), and I found that it's just a little too small. I'm 6'4" with very broad shoulders. I wear a size 54 coat. I've tried a 30 inch pad, and thought it was a nice size, but it wasn't nearly as light as I'm wanting to find. I want to say it was in the 5.5 pound range! Are there any qulity, light weight 30 inch pads? If not, are there any creative alternatives out there?

In 30" I would think that the NeoAir Camper XL is the lightest of the inflatable type.
30x77, 2lbs 4 oz

One thing to pay attention to is the "cut" of the pad. Many of Thermarest's pads were recently changed from rectangular shaped to having rounded corners. I found that the rounding at the head end meant that my shoulders didn't comfortably fit the pad since they hit at its narrowest spot. (I sleep with my head completely off the pad, using clothing on top of my shoes or pack as a pillow placed at the head of the pad.)

A pad that is rectangular, at least at the head, might let you use a 25-inch wide pad. The Big Agnes Q-Core or the NeoAir All Season are two examples of rectangular pads that might work in a 25 inch width. I've used both in 20 inch widths and found them adequately wide. The QCore SL is a newer, lighter version of the QCore that is advertised as having the same R-value; the gear junky side of me says that I may have to try it one of these days.

Another option is the Exped Synmat UL7 LW or the Downmat UL7LW. Both are 26" wide, 77.5" long and 2.8" thick.

The synmat UL7 LW is 21.1 oz, 3.1R, rated to 25 degrees F
The downmat UL7 LW is 26.5 oz, 5.9R, rated to -11 degrees F

I have the Synmat UL7 LW and like it very much. Exped also makes a Schnozzle Pump Bag that you can easily use to air up either mat. The bag is large enough to use as drybag style pack liner and weighs in at about 3 ounces. If you get the synmat, you have to buy the pump bag separately. If you buy the downmat, the pump bag is included with it.

Compared to the neo air xlites, the synmat doesn't sound like a bag of potato chips when you are trying to sleep on it.

I've also briefly used the regular width downmat, with the built-in pump. It was warm and reasonably comfortable. I'm not entirely sure why I ended up passing it along - overkill for my needs, perhaps.

Not all 25" pads are the same and different people find different styles more or less comfortable. The Neo-air has horizontal baffles... other pads have vertical baffles.

I am a big guy and I found the REI Stratus large to be pretty nice. It has vertical baffles and the outer baffle on each side is slightly larger. My shoulders span the entire 25" but the slightly larger baffles make it feel like I am solidly on the pad. Other 25" pads I always felt like I was about to fall off. Another manufacturer out there uses oversized baffles on the outside, but I can't remember who at the moment.

Of course a custom kookabay pad would have been perfect for you but alas they are no longer in existence.

BTW, the 30"x 77" 2lbs 4 oz TM looks like this :

[quote=Franco]BTW, the 30"x 77" 2lbs 4 oz TM looks like this :

Thanks Franco. That's exactly what I'm looking for. I've looked and looked, and had passed that particular pad up numerous times because I had conceded the idea that thermarest didn't make a 30 inch pad.

To all of those that suggested others, I appreciate it. The particular 25 inch neoair that I tried was indeed rectangular. I do fit on them (barely), but I am a bit of a tosser and turner, and just don't think that a 25 inch or 26 inch for that matter would make me happy.

Again, being a newb, I'm not terribly familiar with r-values. Will an R value of 2.2 cut it insulation-wise in the Rocky Mts. of Wyoming in the summer months?

Exped rate R2.1 to 35f (ground temperature)
If that is not enough, you could add one of the Gossamer Gear mats for 2-5 oz more and boost the R value to 2.5 to 4
http://gossamergear.com/sleeping.html
R3 is about 24f
( mat a R2 plus mat B R1 =R3)
TM also has another couple of 30" mats, the BaseCamp at 3Lbs 7oz is rated at R5

TM stands for?

Sorry, I meant Thermarest not TM at all..
(TR or TaR...)

Heath-

I'm surprised that no one has suggested some form of an SPE (Segmented Pad Extender). The original is no longer being made, but ENO has come up with a similar product. <http://www.rei.com/product/830279/eno-hotspot-hammock-sleeping-pad-wings>

I usually sleep in a hammock, but if I HAVE to sleep on the ground, I need something to make my pad wider to at least support my arms. Camp shoes (Crocs, especially) stuffed just at the pad near the elbows help me, as does clothing or an inflated object stuffed into an SPE's sleeves. I've been experimenting with long balloons, "cheer sticks," or swim floaties cut between sections. I haven't yet tried just running a couple of pieces of shock around the mattress and inflated object to hold it close.

You might not need to have the whole pad be wider, just an area. Less pad can mean a significant weight saving as well as lower intial cost. Not all of us expect to sleep as soundly on the ground as at home, so some readjustment of bedding isn't unheard of.

CM

looking at the specific requirements for the OP (ground sleeping , broader than 25" support required, some concern about thermal resistance and indirectly I would imagine a preference for a 2.5" thick mat..),I would think that the 9oz 1/4" thin wings plus 20" mat will not be much lighter , will be bulkier and most likely not as comfortable as a 30" mat.
The R value of 1/4" solid foam is about R1 (half of R2)

I'm using Big Agnes's Insulated Air Core in the Blue Ridge, and like it, but mine is 25 inches wide... but it's another manufacturer to look at... and maybe call. Their tubes run head to foot, so it may be more possible to special order.

Heath, do try the 25 inch width in a pad with vertical baffles (not the horizontal baffles like the NeoAir) to see if it will work for you. I found with the NeoAir that every time I got within a couple inches of the edge, I inevitably rolled off (actually, every time I turned over, which I do frequently). This won't be true with horizontal baffles, especially on those pads that have the outside baffles slightly larger than the inner. Your mileage, of course, may vary. IMHO, it's worth a try!

Since overnight temps can easily get down to 20*F in the high elevations of the Rockies, I want a pad with an R value of close to 5 for places like the Wind Rivers. Of course all of us differ in how warm or cold we sleep, so this is a YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) thing. I'm a cold sleeper, myself, so I need more insulation than most.