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BA vs Exped faceoff...

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BWPaddler

05/22/2012 08:47PM

have we done this yet?

Friend just picked up a BA sleeping pad vs Exped because it was significantly cheaper. I was thinking it couldn't possibly have the features of the Exped, but I think I was wrong.

Who's tried both and what are some pros and cons of each?

I've never tried BA, but always on the lookout to round out the kids pads by either upgrading the adults and handing down the Expeds, or getting kids something reasonably priced that is an upgrade from what they use today.

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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nojobro

05/22/2012 09:26PM

We have both. The BA insulmat and an exped downmat 7 and an exped downmat 9 DLX.

All are comfortable. But I greatly notice the difference in the insulation. The BA is not nearly as warm as the 7. However, my husband runs hot and the BA is perfect for him. I'll stick with my downmat 9. Daughter gets the 7. I wouod probably not have such an expensive pad for a kid except for her back issues; I need her to stay comfy on a trip. (the little daughter gets an old therma rest still)

I just used the 9 in hot weather. It was a bit warm, but not too warm. I'm sure I would have been equally comfy on the BA. But in cold weather, I greatly apprerciate the 9. So in hot weather it was okay, and in all other weather it's great....so I am very happy with it. And hubby is very happy with the BA, all the time.

I also appreciate the extra height of the downmat 9 as I get lower back pain easily and the extra seems to help. It's by far the most comfy pad I've ever used, and I need that. But hubby can sleep on bare ground if needed, so the BA is more than enough luxury for him.

So basically I say it depends on the user. Yes, I am happy to have cleared this up. LOL

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BWPaddler

05/22/2012 10:11PM

ha ha... plus you compared the downmat which is really above and beyond the ba I think. The synmat has similar R value (4.1 BA 4.9 Exped?)...

I'm not jumping to put kiddos in them any time soon, but I hadn't even realized there was a true "competitor" for the Exped, so now I wanna know what to keep my eyes out for :)

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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Ragged

05/22/2012 10:26PM

Nemo?

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nojobro

05/22/2012 10:28PM

quote BWPaddler: "ha ha... plus you compared the downmat which is really above and beyond the ba I think. The synmat has similar R value (4.1 BA 4.9 Exped?)...

I'm not jumping to put kiddos in them any time soon, but I hadn't even realized there was a true "competitor" for the Exped, so now I wanna know what to keep my eyes out for :)"

It's possible we have the synmat 7, not downmat 7... I'll have to check.

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TwoByGreenCanoe

05/22/2012 11:44PM

I started with the Thermorest Prolite 4 progressed to the BA insulated and then to Exped Synmat DLX 9.

The Exped is far more comfortable, I'm able to side sleep without shoulder pain in the morning vs BA. A lot warmer when the temp drops below 35 degrees. And the best plus is no head rush from blowing up the BA. The built in hand pump of the Exped is great.

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andym

05/23/2012 01:05AM

We have an BA insulated aircore and an Exped downmat (7, I think). The Exped is definitely warmer and we got it to give a little extra warmth to my wife. So we have them side by side in a BA tandem bag. I think the Exped is a bit more comfortable but they are both very good and the BA is a bit lighter and more compact in the pack. But if you want the extra warmth then the downmat is the way to go.

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Frenchy19

05/23/2012 10:51AM

I have both (synmat 9 & a basic BA), and I've used both. I do not notice a difference in comfort, although I tend to more easily roll off the BA (when not using a BA bag) than the Exped. The BA packs smaller, and I personally think the Exped pump is a hassle. For the difference in price, I would not purchase another Exped.

"He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious." Yogi Berra

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whiteh20

05/23/2012 12:16PM

I have both. The BA is lighter and packs smaller. The Exped is tougher and the built in pump is nice. I would not hesitate to trust either one, but I am sure the Exped will outlast the BA due to being a heaiver built product. For warmth the Exped DM7 is warmer than the BA synamatt. Both good stuff.

"With an ax, you can build a life. With a stove, you can boil water. That is if nothing breaks and you don't run out of fuel." -Samuel Hearne

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tyh

05/23/2012 02:30PM

Warmer…That’s funny

I bought my BA Insulated Air Core because it was noticeably cooler than the others, and it also fits nicely in the integrated BA sleeping mattress pocket.

But I’m hot all the time, I live in Minnesota and only wear a coat when I’m ice fishing or riding the snowmobile.

I wish someone would make a solar rechargeable air-conditioned packable pad

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keth0601

05/23/2012 07:38PM

I can't say I have extensive experience with Exped but I've used the BA a bit. I now use a NeoAir as it is significantly lighter than anything else out there and I have yet to have a problem with the durability (though I am somewhat careful with it). Also haven't yet found it to be lacking in warmth but I generally do not camp in temps below freezing. I am now switching to a down quilt so this will be a true test of the warmth rating since there will be nothing but the NeoAir between myself and the ground. This will be covered in detail when I give a review of the Enlightened Revalation X after this camping season.

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BWPaddler

05/24/2012 12:37PM

quote tyh: "I wish someone would make a solar rechargeable air-conditioned packable pad"
There you go! New product! Will sell like hotcakes as spring and fall turn into more summer up there ;)

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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BWPaddler

06/11/2012 05:12PM

Well - we'll be a "mixed" family... 2 expeds and now 3 BAs.

I got the BAs on sale and for kids, can go with 66" (for whatever reason, significant price difference, or I would have taken 72"). Weight is maybe one OUNCE less than my Synmat 7 Basic Expeds.

I used the Exped adapter to pump up the BA with the Exped mini-pump. Yes, it was a PITA to get the adapter over the fittings, but worked well until the VERY end, since BA doesn't have the valve that stops air from coming back at you as you inflate. Had to finish it off by mouth.

HUGE improvements over the previous REI lite pads they were using. Hoping the BAs hold up as well and that their insulation is as good.

Thanks all!

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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BearBrown

06/14/2012 03:20AM

My exped synmat 9 has been worth every cent. Im a side sleeper and a 230 pound guy and this pad gives me great comfort. It a little on the heavy side, but for something i spend numerous hours on every trip it is worth the little extra. Seems durable and the pad isnt slippery which is a big plus for me. Spent probably 40 nights on it so far. Ive also been on this pad warm and toasty while others in my group felt chilled because the pad they had wasnt adequate.

Richard "Bear" Brown----- "I would rather give someone one photograph they can't live without than one hundred they can live with." anonymous

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BWPaddler

06/18/2012 12:34PM

Had to post a pet peeve... got all 3 BAs up for a slumber tent fest of kiddos this past weekend.

Forgot how sweet those Exped valves are. The BAs take much more time and effort to deflate... and getting them filled to the max was tough to do with the pump because of the air coming back out at you - forced to top off with air from my lungs.

Sigh - so if it weren't for price, I'd be firmly in the Exped camp on valve issues alone.

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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RTM

06/20/2012 09:16PM

Purchased a BA last year before first trip, wouldn't hold air overnight, returned, purchased neo-air trekker, 28x78x2.5 packs small, light weight but low r-value $140.00. no problems, next one will probably be a exped and hand down trekker to kids, I like the compact packed size versus cost ratio, less is more in my pack!

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IBFLY

06/20/2012 10:32PM

quote BWPaddler: "Well - we'll be a "mixed" family... 2 expeds and now 3 BAs.

I got the BAs on sale and for kids, can go with 66" (for whatever reason, significant price difference, or I would have taken 72"). Weight is maybe one OUNCE less than my Synmat 7 Basic Expeds.
Thanks all!"

Aren't you selling these now? Whassup?

You say that like it's a bad thing.

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IBFLY

06/20/2012 10:33PM

quote BWPaddler: " and getting them filled to the max was tough to do with the pump because of the air coming back out at you - forced to top off with air from my lungs.
Sigh - so if it weren't for price, I'd be firmly in the Exped camp on valve issues alone."
Every mat I own is filled with lung power. When we family camp - we're all passing out from filling them up. Cheaper than nitrous oxide and less fun.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

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BWPaddler

06/21/2012 12:51AM

quote IBFLY: "quote BWPaddler: "Well - we'll be a "mixed" family... 2 expeds and now 3 BAs.

I got the BAs on sale and for kids, can go with 66" (for whatever reason, significant price difference, or I would have taken 72"). Weight is maybe one OUNCE less than my Synmat 7 Basic Expeds.
Thanks all!"

Aren't you selling these now? Whassup?"
YEP. Found Synmat Basics for about 5$ more each, and decided it was worth the hassle to have entire fam on same valve and same pump/inflator. At the time of buying BA, I thought the price difference was about $40 each! Not worth that, but was worth $5 extra per pad to get everyone Expeds. Now can use pump and have the sweet valve that exhausts the air in no time.

Still think the BA is a good product, but I guess in our sleeping pads, we're back to being homogenous.

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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PortageKeeper

06/21/2012 04:48AM

So easily overlooked are the Stephenson's Warmlite Products. I've been using a Warmlite D.A.M. (down air mat) that I bought used about fifteen years ago, and it's still going strong.
Stephenson's were way ahead of their time when they first started coming out with high-end ultralight equipment way back in the fifties.
I won't replace my D.A.M. with anything but another D.A.M.

"– Creator of the DAM We created an air mattress filled with ultra-high quality down, held in place by baffled channels (DAM = “down-filled air-mattress”)…Our 20 oz. creation was inflated by use of a large stuff-sack, which kept damaging body moisture out of its interior. We had experimented with prototypes of it as early as 1958, but it was not officially added to theWarmlite product line until 1973-74. In very recent years, the new Ultralight backpacking movement has encouaged a new interest in this product."

The usual disclaimers apply...

“The more you know, the less you carry” Mors Kochanski

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BWPaddler

06/21/2012 08:35AM

PK - their R&D department was leading the pack, but their marketing department was asleep I guess!

Could be a description for the "newfangled" Exped and BA pads.

Too funny.

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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PortageKeeper

06/22/2012 12:50AM

quote BWPaddler: "PK - their R&D department was leading the pack, but their marketing department was asleep I guess!

Could be a description for the "newfangled" Exped and BA pads.

Too funny."
Agreed. Not sure what that was all about. I know that Jack Stephenson was a climber, or such, that designed much of his own gear. Probably didn't give much thought to marketing some of it 'til later on.
What does amaze me though, is that Stephenson made much of the same ultra light equipment that you see on the market now, decades earlier than the others. I have to give him credit for that. He was the first to try pushing vapor barrier products, as he knew that peoples perspiration was hindering the ability of insulation's such as down, from doing its job after after the wearer worked up a sweat.
I believe though, that the Stephenson family missed their window on going public when they should have, as the others are just now finally catching up, and it is still a family business.

“The more you know, the less you carry” Mors Kochanski

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nojobro

06/22/2012 08:12AM

quote PortageKeeper: "So easily overlooked are the Stephenson's Warmlite Products. I've been using a Warmlite D.A.M. (down air mat) that I bought used about fifteen years ago, and it's still going strong.
Stephenson's were way ahead of their time when they first started coming out with high-end ultralight equipment way back in the fifties.
I won't replace my D.A.M. with anything but another D.A.M."

OK, I went to their website and requested a PDF copy of their catalog. Definitely the strangest outdoor gear catalog I've ever seen!

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nojobro

06/22/2012 08:16AM

quote BWPaddler: "PK - their R&D department was leading the pack, but their marketing department was asleep I guess!"

Maybe not completely asleep, but definitely strange. They ask whether you are 18 before they send you a catalog....

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timatkn

06/22/2012 08:52AM

quote nojobro: "quote BWPaddler: "."

Maybe not completely asleep, but definitely strange. They ask whether you are 18 before they send you a catalog...."

I got their PDF catalog a few years ago. The owners don't believe in clothes on their catalog models :) not sure what that is about..... Just remember being surprised... Well okay then :) just be thankful the owners are clothed in their bio pics ( at least they were) no one needs to see that, might cause blindness :)

T

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LuvMyBell

06/23/2012 08:35PM

The older I get (and sadly heavier) I find that most of the self-inflating sleeping pads that I'm willing to pack (size and weight) just don't do the job for me. While tenting, sleeping on a pad, I always wake up sore somewhere.

I tried a hammock several years ago and will never again sleep in a tent unless I can drive right to the campsite and use a cot or quality air bed.

Paddle Faster....I hear banjo music

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BWPaddler

06/25/2012 02:04PM

@LuvMyBell... let us know when you try an Exped pad. NOT self-inflating, VERY comfy and light for what you get.

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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Frenchy19

07/05/2012 11:27AM

I just returned from a week long trip with a BA mattress. The previous week I used an Exped. Previously I stated that I would select the BA over the Exped because it packs smaller and is nowhere near the cost. I now recant that statement! The Exped is wider, much more comfortable, and the BA popped on the 6th night in. I will not ever use a BA pad again.

"He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious." Yogi Berra

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HowardSprague

07/05/2012 12:43PM

Funny, I kinda scratch my head when people complain about it taking up so much time to pump a water filter, but then I usually opt to bring my Thermarest over my Exped DLX down because it takes so much longer to prepare it/inflate it for sleeping.

"Enjoy every sandwich"

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yellowcanoe

07/05/2012 02:30PM

quote HowardSprague: "Funny, I kinda scratch my head when people complain about it taking up so much time to pump a water filter, but then I usually opt to bring my Thermarest over my Exped DLX down because it takes so much longer to prepare it/inflate it for sleeping."

According to the Exped video the pad ought to partially self inflate if you lay it out and leave it alone. I have never done this with mine for fear of forgetting its not inflated and crawling into the tent in a pouring rain and not wanting to wrestle with it when I find the ground harder than I like.

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Maverick

07/05/2012 09:18PM

Started with two different BA pads, they both failed on me during trips - wouldn't hold air - it really sucks sleeping on a half filled pad for half the trip. I was ready to go back to my Prolite 4, but tried a exped 9 and am on year 4 or 5 with it. Comfort wise it is better too. As you would guess I am not a big BA pad fan. I love some of their other gear though. I do hate pumping them up the exped though, but overall, it is worth it for the quality sleep you get.

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