Sea To Summit XR Series Sleeping Mats

While it’s unremarkable to observe that outdoors gear has been evolving for the better over the last decade, few areas have seen change as quite as rapid as have sleeping mats. A decade ago, a mat a few centimetres thick yet bulky and having an R-value of 3 or less was pretty close to the norm. But with the widespread shift to air mattresses (as opposed to self-inflating mats), there’s been a Moore’s Law-style revolution in sleeping mat technology—for the non-techy types, in 1965, Gordon Moore predicted computer processing power would double roughly every two years—with pad thickness and R-values going up, all while weight and bulk are coming down.

Sea to Summit’s new XR series pads are the latest salvos in that revolution. Superseding the popular Ether Light XT line of pads—which were widely acclaimed as being super-comfy although perhaps a little bulky—the Ether Light XR Insulated Air Sleeping Mat, and its sibling the Ether Light XR Pro Insulated Air Sleeping Mat, have seen weights trimmed along with legitimately sizable reductions in bulk. The Ether Light XR mat now packs down to a volume roughly 15% smaller, while the XR Pro packs down to literally less than half the XT Extreme’s old volume. Meanwhile, R-values have increased from 3.2 to 4.1, and from 6.2 to 7.4 respectively. This has been achieved by what Sea To Summit calls ThermalCore Insulation, where they use layers of TRM material to reflect the sleeper’s warmth. The TRM also reduce internal air movement within the mat. The improvements are substantial, and make the XR a genuine 3-season mat, and take the XR Pro into extreme winter conditions territory.

Meanwhile, it’s worth noting what hasn’t changed with these mats: their comfort. I took both with me on a recent four-day trip to the Snowies, and I can say without hesitation that, even for side sleepers, they are plush. (Yes, plush deserves the italics.) As were their predecessors, both mats are 10cm thick; even my wife, who is a bit princess-and-the-pea-like when it comes to sleeping outdoors, has laid on one and said she’s happy with the comfort. Seriously, that’s impressive. The mats are quiet, too; the crinkly sounds that plague some mats are non-existent.

Here’s something else I like about the duo: While reviews of most mats focus on the inflation (which in this case, thanks to the Airstream pumpsack that’s integrated into the stuff sack, is super easy; one full breath into the sack three or so times, and the mats are good to go), personally I find the deflation of sleeping mats, and the subsequent packing them away, to be more of an issue. Who hasn’t struggled with trying to get all of the air out of a mat, only to have to roll it and squeeze it multiple times to get all deflated enough so you can fit it in its stuff sack? But with Ether Light XRs, this is a breeze. They deflate completely in seconds, roll up easily, and go straight into their stuff sacks with ease. One hit and you’re done, every time.

Something else that sets Sea To Summit’s mats apart are its pillow-lock system. I fully expected this to be a gimmick. It wasn’t. Pillows—whether be actual pillows or scrunched up clothes—tend to roll off most pads during the night; thanks to four little (optional) Velcro patches, my Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight Pillow (for 60g, it provides a load of comfort) stayed in place all night, every night. One other thing about comfort during the night; the mats have an express valve for super simple pressure micro-adjustment, in case you lay down on the mat and then after a few minutes decide you’ve made it a little too firm.

One last thing: The mats come in five shapes and sizes to fit all body types: small; regular; large; regular rectangular wide; and large rectangular.

Lighter. Warmer. Less bulky. Sea To Summit’s new Ether Light XR mats have delivered on all three counts.