pads/mats vs bad backs

I have lumbar probs and have had quite an education in various pads/mats. For my back it seems the closed cell are best, S/I's second and air mats are the worst. I don't understand how folks with back probs rave about air mats.
ps.... My experience has settled me with the ridgerest deluxe. I sleep on them every night at home, also.

Just goes to show we are all different! I have an insulated air mattress and it's wonderful. The trick is that I pump it up only about halfway. Of course I also get excruciating pain in my hip and shoulder joints when I sleep on a closed-cell pad or even a Thermarest, so neither of these works for me anyway. But the air mattress also is far kinder to my lower back. Maybe because I'm a side sleeper?

I strongly suggest that those buying new pads spend a couple of nights with them on the floor at home!

Yep, personally I find closed cell or thermarest on the ground to be really not much different (except for like the huge-o-too heavy for backpacking type thermarests) I do find my BA aircore pretty decent, but again, I'm big and a side sleeper, and I find I do best in a hammock. But I think it really depends on you, and how your back is "bad" - and whatnot, the nice part is that there is enough variation out there that most people should be able to find something that works for them.

I like OM’s idea of spending a couple of nights on the floor when you buy a pad!
Our family has a hard time with backpacking air pads <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. But when my wife and I sleep on a deluxe full-size air mat, blown up hard, we sleep good.

I’ll have to try that deluxe-ridgerest idea. It will fit on our ‘box springs’ perfectly.

We’ve had trouble with beds. So we sleep on a combination of closed-cell and open-cell egg crate foam pads. It keeps our back nice and straight. I think our ‘box springs’ are unique:
1. We use one layer of shelving from http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2455974 as the stand
2. We put a layer of ¾” plywood on top of that; 4’x6’. This is smaller than a full-size bed but my wife likes it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />.
3. We cut our closed and open foam’s to fit on that.

Now it never bows in the middle! My wife and I are very sensitive to bowing even if it’s 1/2” inch. We have done this method for over a year. We are enjoying the extra storage capacity that is now underneath the bed; like 18” of free space.

-Barry

Heintooga.
You said you have lumbar problems:

The reason most people love THICK airmattresses is that it allows your hips to sink in while laying in your side OR your back which allows your spine to remain straight side to side but to retain its "S" curvature fore and aft. I'm not a medical doctor but I think maybe you do not have a natural "S" in your spine, rather that you may be "flat" spined and therefore like the flat hard mats. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Or you may have one of those sideways "s" spines.

Anyway thats why most people love airmatt.resses
Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />