>>1044261>muh science1) Let's see your sources.
2) Even assuming this is accurate, the pad would lose 20% of its R-value after only four years of use, which is significant.
3) Storage doesn't seem like it would factor into the equation at all, since these pads don't compress.
>Considering a CCF pad has an R-value of between 6 and 9 Where are you getting this information????? The Thermarest Ridgerest, which is pretty standard, has an R-value of 2.6, as per the manufacturer's own specs.
https://www.thermarest.com/mattresses/ridgerest-classic-1The Ridgerest Solar, which Thermarest says is their warmest CCF pad, has an R-value of only 3.5.
https://www.thermarest.com/mattresses/ridge-rest-solar-1By comparison, an Exped Downmat 7 has an R-value of 5.9, and weighs more, but you do get a lot higher R-value per unit weight.
http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/mats/downmat-7-m>b-but muh catastrophic failureNow you're changing the goalposts (you earlier mentioned "popping," specifically). Catastrophic failure is very rare, and I don't know what you're reading about mold, but that's not an issue either. Your CCF pad can experience catastrophic failure too, you know, from many of the same sources that would damage an inflatable pad.
>So you have what, maybe 20 nights on an inflatable? I got my oldest inflatable pad when I was around 12 and I'm 31 right now. If I'm realistic, my average number of nights camping out per year over my entire life is probably around 25/yr, since some years I have had less free time due to work and other stuff, and I do have other hobbies. I'm not using the same pad as I got back then, since advances have been made to this gear to make it lighter and warmer now, but I still have that pad and I've never had a leakage in it.
The fact is that inflatable pads are always going to be more comfortable, and the more comfortable I am at night, the better I feel the next day. To me, there is no reason to ever use anything else.
