Therm-a-Rest ProLite Apex SLEEPING PAD Review (English)

[@VajraSky]

I love it too: great pad. To add an R for colder weather you can cut a footprint for your tent from insulating foil bubble wrap roll (from Wickes in UK elsewhere any decent Home Depot style hardware store should do) it's light and affordable.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Thank you for the tip!

[@Newt211]

2 mins and 30 seconds in... I subbed. I can tell that you are intelligent, well spoken, and know how to communicate information. Thank you. You deserve 100k subs.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Hi.... this sounds positive but I also read 2 min 30 sec "I subbed'... sounds like you fell asleep and it is boring. Is it? Or what does it mean? I am not a native English speaker :-). Cheers, Gijs

[@jacobsmessaert6182]

@@OutdoorguruGearReviews It was a positive comment. He or she was just saying they subscribed to your channel when they saw how well you produced your video and spoke. :)

[@HikeRx]

I love your accent. It reminds me of my deceased father's accent. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and immigrated to the U.S.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Hi HikeRX, Well... I take that as a compliment ;-) I hope he was a nice guy. Cheers, Gijs

[@Nabagabo22]

Great review - thanks! Deflating tips and tricks - release the valve in the morning after you wake up and your body weight on the sleeping mat helps make for faster deflation - close valve when no more air comes out. When rolling up the sleeping mat put your knees and weight onto the rolled up portion to really squeeze the air out... Happy camping!

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

U2! Enjoy the Outdoors! Cheers, Gijs

[@Przemo-c]

Personally i don't use much force i first roll it up without folding in half close the valve then fold in half and start rolling with valve closed. once the top end starts puffing up i open the valve and finish rolling it. Takes a bit more time but requires way less force.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

@@Przemo-c Dear Przemo-c, CLEVER! Thanks for charing your method. Enjoy the Outdoors! Gijs

[@cryst2lorien]

I had a Therm-a-rest Evolight pad for years that just recently started to delaminate between the shell and the inner foam core. Since that model is no longer available, Cascade Designs offered to replace my pad with this Prolite Apex (another example of Cascade Design’s superior customer service.) I watched your video to get an idea of what I’m receiving and found it extremely helpful. Thank you for such a well done review! Subscribed!

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Many thanks!!! Enjoy the outdoors! Gijs

[@MH-mf9ei]

Dear Gijs, thank you for the honest review! I have a question about the surface of the mat: I have a problem with slippery materials on sleeping pads - how is the top of the Thermarest ProLite Apex? Thank you!

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Hi MH, You are welcome! I do understand the question but I can't check it anymore. After the review the mat was send back to Thermarest... Does it end here? No because I might have a mat here from the same fabric. Key question: slippery but where? Between de pad and the sleepingbag or the tent? Let me know! Cheers, Gijs

[@MH-mf9ei]

@OutdoorguruGearReviews Thank you for considering my question! I mean slippery between the pad and the sleeping bag! I tend to slide around and even down from a mat with my sleeping bag. I am also considering the Thermarest Trail Pro as an alternative, but it is heavier of course. In general I am looking for the most comfortable pad that is still somewhat packable, that I can still carry on my back, even if it is a heavier mat.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

For sure! I love questions. The Trail Pro is def less slippery. Did you ever consider Exped? What sleepingbag and tent? Just curious.

[@MH-mf9ei]

@@OutdoorguruGearReviews Okay, then the Trail Pro is a definitely a candidate. And yes, I would consider the thick air pads by Exped like the MegaMat Lite or the Ultra 7R. My tent and sleeping bad are both by Nordisk, the Svalbard 1 SI and the Tension Mummy 500. Thank you for staying in touch!

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

I need to go to a outdoorshop today. I'll check the structure of the Apex

[@scotthunter4]

I’d recommend checking out the new Trail Pro with the WingLock valve if you want a warmer and more comfortable SI mat

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

I requested it for test but is not available at the moment.

[@j.carlosmurrr]

I have the feeling that there are way more air sleeping pads vs self-inflating light sleeping pads out in the market. Is it because they are bulkier and heavier? I have just ordered the newer "Therm-a-Rest Trail Pro" and the "Women's Trail Lite" for me and my girlfriend. Therm-a-Rest seem to be improving by the year. The pain deflating that you mention at the end of this video seems to be addressed by the new valve for instance.

[@mandrade5611]

Thank you foe the review Christoph Waltz.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

You are welcome! Enjoy the Outdoors and Stay Safe! Gijs

[@helmutwittmann5581]

Great info. Really helpful. I bought this mat and am really happy with it. - An info about what to consider when storing the mat at home for a long time would be helpful.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Hi Helmut, Good remark! How I do it: inflate the mattress and stop it flat or upright in the dark with the valve open. Keeps my mattresses healthy for years. I hope this helps. Enjoy the Outdoors and Stay Safe! Cheers, Gijs

[@leovanlierop4580]

When you're folding it, first lie down on it squeezing out the air. Close the valve. Fold it up half way. Open the valve and fold the rest. Much easier.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

I do agree and I would with the pad in the tent. In the grass for the video I am a bit to worried for punctures that way. Cheers Gijs

[@TheSchleisse]

Hello, I have a thermarest ProLite, which is a little thin for a side sleeper, and a Neo Summer all season. This one is good according the thickness and very light weight, but: noisy, the aluminiumfoil falls apart after a while, and the outer fabric is by far not as resistant as of the ProLite. So I am looking for a combination of both as the Neo has some little holse and slowly looses its air. I really like the resistancy of the ProLite. I slept outside several times without any protection between ground and matress and I never had issues with leakage. My Pro Lite is about 7 years old an din that time, the ProLites had a different bottom fabric, feeling a liitle rubber like. Is the fabric of the apex also so resistance? Or can you recommend another Thermarest, beeing comfy, resistant, 4 season, light weight and not as noisy as the Neos?

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

I did love the Apex and no, in my tents the bottom was not slippery but I don't think it is made specially that way. Since I send the product I test back to the ones who send it I can not check it anymore. But... I would buy one (if I didn't have some other mattresses already that work well). Hope this helps. Let me know. Cheers, Gijs

[@CCMrJones]

So, did you buy one?

[@mojaslovenija9903]

What is the R-value by new standards? I found that most of the sleeping pads are with the split R-value after the new standard revision.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Hi Moja, Take a peak here: www.thermarest.com/ie/sleeping-pads/fast-and-light/prolite-apex-sleeping-pad/prolite-apex.html Enjoy the Outdoors and Stay Safe! Cheers, Gijs

[@thomasf.9869]

Hi Gijs, thanks for the review. You commented that by itself this is not really suitable for winter conditions below -5C. Could this be used in winter conditions with a Thermarest RidgeRest Solite underneath, for say -5C to -10C ??

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Thomas, This will be an eye-opener: Yes, but not in this way. The ProLite go's underneath the RidgeRest. In this way you isolate the cold from the ground to the Ridge. You lay on this one. Yes, is sleeps less comfortabel but warmer and more energy efficient. If you sleep on the ProLite your body is going to warm the air inside the mattress and there is quite a lot volume to warm. Sleep on the Ridge and this does not happen. I also thought is was the other way around but I learned this trick from a Swedish ex-winter military guy and it has proven very useful. I slept at -35 on a Exped and a Ridge on top. And a very good winter sleeping bag of course. Hope this helps! Cheers, Gijs

[@thomasf.9869]

@@OutdoorguruGearReviews Thanks Gijs, If I may ask, which Exped was this? i.e. Synmat UL (R 3.3) Synmat 7 (R 4.9) Synmat 9 (R 6.0)

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

@@thomasf.9869 The 9 ;-)

[@scotthunter4]

Top for deflation: lie down face down on the mat with the valve open! Then close the valve before rolling it up and squeezing the last bit of air out

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Jup, I do this too Scott. Cheers, Gijs

[@emiliepeters5492]

Mooie nieuwe intro heb je! Is dit matje lichter dan de meeste andere self inflatables?

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Eh... nooit over nagedacht maar ik denk het bijna wel... En dank ;-) voor de opsteker.

[@couchcamperTM]

looking for this mat in several shops and it's on sale in two of them and sold out everywhere else, I was pretty sure this is an old model not made anymore, and here I learn it's the most recent TAR mat^^ very nice review.

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Hi CC ;-), Well it was when I made the review.... But did you get one? Cheers, Gijs

[@couchcamperTM]

@@OutdoorguruGearReviews not yet, I have just been looking around what's on the market.and since it is NOT an old model I am not in a hurry.

[@EDDfreewind]

A terrible experience with Therm-a-Rest ProLite Apex. Follow the link to watch the proof video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZ_Kp3ieZdWfibM I want to express my disappointment in Therm-a-Rest brand. Before a trip to the Caucasus, I bought ProLite Apex mats. And here’s what happened: This is such a «wonderful» mat that at some point I’ve got an extra "cushion" because the adhesive layers have peeled off inside the mat. That little "cushion" turned into a big bubble the next day! As a result, the mat turns into one big bubble. The funny thing is that when you lie down with your body on the mat, all the air moves into this bubble. The mat becomes thin under your body, and the compressed air in the bubble turns it into a «hard stone». So this bubble cannot serve as a pillow in any way - it is impossible to sleep. Two days later, the same problem occurred with the second mat. Now it looks like a pattern!

[@OutdoorguruGearReviews]

Hi EDD, Thank for your comment and sharing your experience that is different to what I had. But I admit that with this type of mattress a bit more problems are ad hand than with thew 'traditional' foam self inflatables.... Did get something else by now? Enjoy the Outdoors and Stay Safe! Cheers, Gijs