Which of these wally world pads would be best?

[Bama Man]

Hi gang, I have a WBBB dl 1.7. I went to look at the CCF pads at WW. They had two different ones. One was the blue pad that is around 1/2" thick and is only 20" wide and 72" long. It was around 8 bucks. They also had one that is grey and about 1" thick. It is an egg-crate type pad. It is 24" wide and 72" long. It is around 13 bucks. Both are ccf material.

I don't know which one to get. I am guessing the thicker egg-crate type would maybe provide a little more insulation than the thinner pad and would be easier to stay on since it is wider. I am thinking that if I get it I would put it between the layers of the hammock with the egg-crate side down and the flat side up toward me. One reason I say that is in my thinking the knobby egg-crate side may hold it in position better than if I placed the smooth side down.

Any ideas on this? It may be a while before I get quilts so I thought I would look into pads since summer is on the way. Thanks for your input.

[injun51]

Dont really think it would matter which side you lay on. Your body weight will smash it down either way. I have used pads in my hammock and they work fine. I would go with the thicker, wider one myself. Just my 2¢.

[Downhill Trucker]

I prefer the narrower wal mart pad. I buy two, cut up the second, and glue wings to the original pad.

A speers SPE used to be a popular use of the 20" pad. Basically a sleeve that held a full length pad with attached "wings".

Width is the key, followed by pad material. The 20" pad for $7.88 might be one of the most cost effective insulators avaliable. I also use this pad as my pack frame in my frameless pack. Pads aren't all that bad!

[nothermark]

Are you sure the gray one is a CCF pad? I have seen laminated egg crate open cell over CCF.

CCF does not compress well. That is why it works well as an insulator but poorly as a cushion. Open cell - OCF - compresses well, holds water, and is cushiony but cold as it does squish flat. I've been known to use a short air pad over a long CCF on the ground or a wide short CCF in the hammock. Part of the problem with a pad in a hammock is the sides are also cold. That is why a wide pad or SPE is a better option than a standard pad.

[RePete]

I have the egg crate type of pad and it works fine. Width would be my only concern when picking. I dont think the thickness will matter much unless you are hanging in real cold weather. I have hung down to 11 deg and stayed warm. I have abandoned the blue pad all together thought. I am now using the foam you put under laminate flooring. Currently it is 5 layers thick which rolls up to about the same size roll as my blue wally pad. I cut it the same width which fits perfectly in my bridge. I have not tested this in real cold weather but it kept me warm down to freezing. I am planning a trip next month where I am considering cutting it back to 3 layers. The nice thing is it is extremely flexible so it is actually a bit easier to pack than the more ridged wally pads. Not sure how well it would hold in place in a single layered hammock though. Of course it is not cost effective to go out and buy a roll of laminate floor padding for this purpose but if you have access to a used roll or left overs from your own project then it is well worth experimenting with. I used double stick tape to hold the layers together but have been trying to think of a better system.

Just noticed you have a double layered hammock. I would imagine about any pad should hold in place fairly well for you.

[MAD777]

For a full length pad I don't think it matters much.

However, I use a small pad under my lower legs & feet with a partial underquilt. I greatly prefer the egg crate style of pad in that application. The reason is that I can feel the pad even when wearing winter socks due to the texture of the surface and make sure that I'm my feet are on the pad. Without the dimples, I have a hard time distinguishing the pad from the stretched nylon.

[Bama Man]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I appreciate your thoughts as always. I will eventually go with a UQ and TQ but I just ordered a superfly to go with my bird. So I thought that warmer weather getting here I would just get a pad for now. I had read on here that a pad may not be necessary in warm weather but I put up the bird last week under some shade trees and noticed with a 5-10 mph breeze blowing it was pretty cool on my back and the temp was 70-72. It felt good then but I came to the conclusion that I think I do need a pad because it will certainly be colder at night. Currently I think most of my hanging will be from about this time off year up until early autumn. But who knows.

Nothermark, I am going back to look at those again. I may be wrong but I thought they were both CCF. They were both pretty firm, not squishy at all.

Again, Thanks for all of your input.

[nothermark]

Volarafoam is widely used under flooring and in packaging. It is also one of the better CCF pad materials. Walmart pads used to be volarafoam but the current crop I see are some kind of polyethylene foam.

[nothermark]

Probably worth pointing out Walmart has sold several different materials in their pads. I have a rather coarse cell material that feels like polyethylene. I also have some very fine cell structure pads that I think are volarafoam. One version of those is ripple topped sort of like egg crate but not very deep peak to valley. The cell structure is visible on the cut edges.

If one is looking at pads it's worth a pass by the weightlifting section to check the yoga mats. Sometimes they are much heavier for the same thickness. Sometimes they look interesting. As I said, they seem to buy from several suppliers who use different materials.

[Bama Man]

I think the brand name on the two pads I was looking at was "Ozark Trails". A lot of WW camping stuff is from that company. I am going to look again at the composition. Thanks for your help.