WalMart Blue Pad- not recommended

I just tried out my new $6 WalMart sleeping pad. It was hard as a rock! It may insulate, but provides no cushioning and is really bulky. I cut mine down to 3/4 length so it weighs 8 oz. Do you have to weigh 200 pounds before it cushions? My friend who also weighs under 120 pounds tried one and had the same problem. The thin more flexible blue pads I got at REI are actually more comfortable and the same weight.

The cheap flat pads are insulation, not cushion. The blue eggcrate pads are better at cushioning. A Big Agnes insulated air core is even better at the cushioning part. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I hardly ever use mine on the ground for cushoining. It's normally in my hammock for insulation. When I go to ground with it I look for a soft spot. mind you, I've never found any blue pad that gave any appreciable amount of cushioning for me - my BA insulated aircore, yes, some, but below that level of cushiness, to me it doesn't much matter - yes a thermarest is a little softer, but doesn't appreciably change my sleep.

Having said that I *have* slept on the ground more than once on my walmart pad, and it was "ok". I I picked a softer spot and did allright. Course, mine's the 27" wide variety for hammock use, so I don't know if it's even the same as the pad you're talking about. The stuff there changes a lot.

Blue foam pads are for young straplings with strong bones who don't need much cushioning for sleeping. I highly recommend them because they are:

1. cheap as heck
2. light as heck
3. indestructible
4. great for insulation against the cold ground
5. relatively compact

So they are not terribly comfy, but five out of six ain't bad at all.

Folks can roll up a blue foam pad and strap the bulk onto the outside -- or fold flat and slip it right into your backpack: fold the pad in half lengthwise, then in thirds to match the size of the backpack. Weigh the pad down with books (dictionaries, encyclopedias) for 1-2 days. The pad will "remember" this position, making future foldings a snap. Folded flat, just slip the pad into your backpack -- works great as a virtual frame for frameless packs -- or additional cushioning for internals. Either way, once folded flat, it is very space efficient.

And yes, the REI pads are softer than the Wal Mart ones.

I like mine. I have used it to make a holder for my freezer bag cooking. You can use it to make a nice "envelope" type of holder that a zip lock bag will fit in. The envelope keeps the food nice and warm so it cooks fast. It also works for a quick seat for a break. As a pad to sleep on, not so great.
K

Oh, man! I still have one rolled up in the garage. I keep thinking I will find a use for it. Sleeping on it is out of the question! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

a small piece does make a good snow seat

Well I guess this proves that no two people are the same.

I quit using my REI pads when I "discovered" the Wal Mart pad. Works great for me.

I'm actually not convinced a "wal-mart pad" is all the same. I bet we're all talking
about different pads :

Is this the story of the princess and the pea. Whats all this talk about comfort. A real hiker sleeps buck naked under stars on sharp gravel or hot coals. Just kidding. But I do hear a lot of complaints about how 'the ground is not like my bed at home'. I even hear some folks talk about taking more than one pad to go with their SUL sleeping system. I never have understood all this. A pad is for insulation and maybe a little cushion - but just a little. If the pad is too comfy you should leave it at home and take the cardboard that it came in. I saw an interview of an NFL player that broke his neck and his positive attitude to try to get out of the wheelchair was that he did what ever he could to stay out if his comfort zone. Staying out of your comfort zone is a good way to toughen up. Only use your comfort zone during emergencies - don't live in it.
Here's what you do - sleep on the ground - no pad- for a week. Do it at home or wherever. At the end of the week you should have broken yourself from pad dependency, if not, rinse and repeat.
That advice is guaranteed to put a smile on your face (after an adjustment period).

Hooty, that's all well and good if yer' a youngin'; us older farts with higher mileage need better cushioning <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />...now if ya' bring along your own, ahem, cushioning, that's yer' business <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

On the ground I use whatever mat I have at hand, usuaslly a therma rest type. if in the hammock i just use the furntiure packing foam sheet for insulation under me...or the GG folding in thirds bumpy pad <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Nahhh... We're just talking different factors of 'comfort', here. There's the comfort of padding and there's the comfort of staying warmer by having some insulation. There's also the comfort of carrying a lightweight pad vs. carrying a heavy pad. And there's a comfort of convenience when (multi) using a pad for a cozy insulator, a sit pad, and part of a sleep system. Many factors/benefits and it's probably not a good decision to totally sacrifice one in favor of another; rather one should try to get the best/most of each. It's a multi-variable mini-max problem! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> But my blue pad piece is just a sit pad and an emergency add-on in case my hammock insulation proves to be not enough...

My group in Scouts had a motto, "Any fool can be uncomfortable." That had many applications; hot, cold, hungry, fatiqued, blistered, and so forth.

Comfort is a many splendored thing... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

FB

My Wal Mart CCF pad was more than six bucks. You must have the thin not-eggcrate pad. I got the thickest one they had.

I have some of that blue pad stuff too. I only use it in the winter in snow. In summer I bring my mini-size 3/4 length thermorest in winter I add a layer of blue foam. Blue foam's purpose is to insulate not pad.

What ever happen to "ensolite" (SP?) pads. It was a kind of tan colored foam that I used as a kid. It was the best

I had the same opinion in my youth. You may think differently when you turn 60. The old bones just need more padding.

Yup- that's the pad!

Ensolite is a manufacturer brand name for foam sheeting. http://www.armacell.com/www/armacell/INETFAQ.nsf/vFrame1/00236144B8A722B68025713D0050EF99

We picked up some of the more traditional colored pads, tan, a couple years ago.

I suspect some manufacturer that makes the blue sheeting makes it less expensively than others and therefore it appears more often.

i'm guessing you're still under 50.

I could never lay on mine. I cut it up and use it for:
1. freezer bag cozy
2a kneel pad
2b. sit pad
2c. foot pad (complements my short torso pad)

nah, got to be under 40. Cause I can't even sleep on a pad, let alone on the ground, without turning into Gimpy the Limp.

I love my blue foam pad - but I use it over an inflatable mattress in Winter.

For that use, it provides a helpful layer of dense insulation, which eliminates issues with convective currents in air mattresses or Thermarests.

I also have a small sit pad made from blue foam - excellent and lightweight.

I think anyone who ever did any camping BT (before Thermo-Rest) probably had a blue pad at one point or another. Mine didn't come from Wal-Mart but they were pretty much found in any self-respecting outdoor store.

I bought one last year at Sport Chalet and cut it up to make a couple of sit pads and a couple of cozies for my insulated bottle and one of my pots for winter camping. It is also good for setting a stove and fuel bottle on if the stove has feet on it. I think it was about $10.

Walmart pads come in different flavors -- so the varying satisfaction expressed here may be the result of very different "blue foam" pads. Some of Walmarts pads are the same mini-microcell foam as Gossomer Gear sells. Others are the simple microcell poly most often called "blue foam". Still others are a large cell poly that is good for little except summer camp in the subtropics. Look at the cell size. If the cells are microscopic AND the pad is lightweight for its size, you have a winner. Otherwise, not. I have several of the Walmart "winners" in different thicknesses, distributed under the Ozark Trails.label.

I bought a blue pad from Meijer and tried it at home. It's ok. So then I folded my fleece blanket in half, turning it into 2 layers of fleece, and added it to the pad. Those together made a very nice pad so I used it on a camping trip. It was actually quite nice.

Who woulda thunk the fleece would make a significant difference?

A little piece makes a good sit pad and nice extension for a TR 3/4 length pad. It's also nice to "line" the pack with it. Makes the pack a big open cylinder so I can just throw all my stuff in there.

As far as sleeping I just got a POE Ether pad...gasp...I know it's heavy. Had the best sleep I have ever gotten out in the woods on my last trip. Looks like I'll be retiring the Thermarest/blue pad combo for 3 season use at least. And to all those wondering I am 35. I thrash when I sleep and spend most of my night on my side. The TR just didn't cut it, I used to wake up with my hip joints stinging and my arms asleep.

Funny. I am so dead against plastics these days.

But don't you be dissin' my cheap blue foam pad or nylon poncho/tarp. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I went from the Blue Pad, to a Thermarest Z-Lite, to both together too. Being a sidesleeper, I'd actually wake up in pain during the night. Now I'm using a BA Air Core, and no more problems, and I love the pack size. I'm 21. For colder weather, I'll stack the BA Air Core and blue pad together.