Relief for Ageing Butts??

I have to admit that the older I get, the more "creature" comforts are no longer desirable, but actually mandatory.

Sitting on hard ground, rocks, even a pile of scooped up leaves just won't cut it for me anymore, so I spied a Therm-A-Rest "butt-pad". It weighs 3oz., 11" X 15" X 1.75" and appears to "deflate" to nearly nothing. It's a small copy of their Therma-Rest Pad, and self inflatabile, but the ad say's it can be inflated with 2 breaths. Retails a little over 20 bucks, and claims not only to keep yer butt from bruising, but also dry, and can double as a pillow.

Those are the "claims", I just wondered if anyone has tried one of these, before I fork over the cash for one.

Thanks,

J.

LOL, I'm afraid I fit that category...I have sciatica and can hike all day but sitting kills me! I recently bought a similar cushion, a NeoAir with the same dimensions but 2.5 deep and 2 oz. R factor 2.5, double the price, and not self-inflating. I've used it once, and can't say I was thrilled with it, but will give it another shot.

Run, don't walk, back to REI and spend the $20.

Or, if you're really into decadence, plunk down the money for a chair kit that turns your Thermarest into a chair without legs. (I've pretty much stopped carrying the chair kit in favor of the inflatable sit pad. Easier to use, doubles as a pillow, and there's always a rock or tree to lean against.)

Why shouldn't I have guessed you'd be on top of the list of replies, Glenn?
Yeah the size and space of the "chair" kit sort of threw me off of that. Guess I'll just try the pad by itself.

J.

One of my very favorite pieces of gear is my 'sit pad', which is just a piece I cut off an old RidgeRest closed-cell foam pad. It is approx 12" x 13".

When I am hiking it is in my pack and I wrap it around my 2 liter Platypus bottle to keep the water inside it a bit insulated from warming up as I walk.

When I am awake and not hiking, I use it to sit on and to cushion my tailbone from the hard ground. Often I lean against my pack, which is in turn leaning against a tree or a rock. This takes care of my butt and my back as I sit.

When I am sleeping, I slip it under my sleeping pad so it can provide a bit of extra cushion under my hipbone, because I am a side-sleeper and my hips like the tiny bit of extra cushioning. I sleep better this way.

It weighs a bit more than an ounce (36 grams).

Aimless, I like the fact that the Therm-A-Rest Lite pad will shrivel down to a small, foldable, almost ribbon like piece that will then roll up into about the size of a roll of quarters. Probably, besides the desired cushioning effect, the most appealing part of it.

Thanks,

J.

I have a thermorest polite sit pad. And absolutely love it. When I'm not hammocking. The underside has about six or seven duct tape patches and if you sit for more than an hour at a time it requires re inflation.

But after a long cold wet day nothing is quite like a soft warm seat!

So, duct tape patches?....maybe I need a "foot print" for my seat pad, or technically, that would be a "butt print"??

FT

Now days I actually do use a small peice of plastic under my sit pad and back rest. Not only does it help against puncture it helps keep every thing dry. Like others my back rest is usually my pack land Up against something!

I carry a 3/8 memory foam 12"x12" pad that works wonders as a seat and a great hip pad as a side sleeper. Funny seems most people over 20 are side sleepers, seems we should be more comercial than the rare back sleeper.

, Hey rockchucker. Yes, I could just cut a piece of the old "blue" foam, and that would work. But I like the fact that the ThermaRest will deflate and roll up into something about the size of a roll of quarters, and at 3oz., I'm willing to pack it. Am also a side sleeper, but gettin almost 3X 20 years old, and yes we should be equally represented by the industry, in fact we should write our congressional representative, and demand it..

J.

We use the blue closed cell foam for this. WE don't have to inflate it every time we use it....and we stick it into the bungie cord on the outside of our pack, so it is always available for a rest stop, lunch, or even taking off our shoes to ford a stream. They also serve as part of our pillow, and we've been know to use them to create a windshield for our stove, too.

Yeah, cause Congress has a proven track record of accomplishing great things in a timely manner. Oh, wait - did I say that out loud?

Unfortunately, we have the worst possible form of government, except for all the others that have been tried.

Funny, I still do fine sitting on the ground with my back against a log or my pack. Sleeping, though, is another story. Here's my sleeping pad history (those who have already seen it can skip this!). In each case, the change was motivated by hip/shoulder pain when sleeping on my side. It seemed as though my pads were getting thinner and thinner, but it was just me getting older and older!

Teen years--nothing or a blanket
20's, 30's, early 40's--blue foam pad or uninsulated air pad (latter when car-camping)
mid-40's to mid-50's--standard Thermarest (their earliest version)
mid-50's to mid-60's--Thermarest LE, 2 inches thick and almost 2 lbs.
Late 60's to 74--POE Insulmat Max Thermo, insulated air pad, 2.5" thick. 17 oz.
Current--custom insulated air pad from the late lamented Kooka Bay, 3.5" thick, 13 oz.

With the insulated air pad, I keep it really squishy, so my hip and shoulder are almost to but not quite touching the ground. This keeps my spine parallel to the ground when I'm on my side, increasingly important as I get older.

Between the last two I tried a Thermarest NeoAir and just couldn't get comfortable on the horizontal baffles. Every time I got near the edge I would roll off, and I couldn't get the perfect inflation described in the preceding paragraph. It appears that everyone who has tried this pad either loves it or hates it--no middle ground here!

Yeah, I don't know what in the world I was thinking.....

J.

“One of my very favorite pieces of gear is my 'sit pad', which is just a piece I cut off an old RidgeRest closed-cell foam pad. It is approx 12" x 13". ”

+1

But if you want an inflatable, I like Samoset’s advice “Now days I actually do use a small peice of plastic under my sit pad and back rest.”

I put my CCF sit pad rolled up on the outside of the pack. So what if it takes up room? And you can sit anytime and whip that pad out as you’re sitting down! This has been my favorite and most abused piece of gear. I’ve had to replace six CCFs already! That’s why I’d be worried about inflatables. I use my pad to:

1. Keep the bruises off the gluteal (of course) when sitting.
2. Keep the pant’s behind clean
3. Keep the gluteal warm when sitting.
4. Kneel on when going in tent; boy that saves the knees!
5. Keep the knees clean and or dry
6. Becomes a mat outside of my tent that I stand on when removing or putting on my sandals.
7. Put it under the foot part of my quilt (since I carry a short NeoAir).

When I get home, I usually have to pull a lot of embedded gunk out of that pad--- that could have damaged me.

-Barry
-The mountains were made for Tevas
-My 7th grandkid is on the way!