Sea To Summit - Ether Light XT Insulated Air Sleeping Pad
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Based on 1 year's data from Jan 28, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
276
93
"It’s is SO MUCH more quiet than the s7 it ramped up the suction power from 4000 to 19000 yet I can let it clean my office room while being in a call now."
"Extremely quiet compared to our last one to the point where we can have it running while my partner is in work meetings (besides emptying water and dust bin, but that is 10 seconds of loud x 2)."
"pads that lift on carpet so you can run it while the baby naps"
287
39
"it weighs under 350g"
"under 700 grams including stakes"
"It folds up and is super easy to bring on planes and for rentals"
6
1
"Another feature I love about the Sea to Summit is that their storage sack is also the pump sack. I’ve often forgotten to bring my Big Agnes pump sack when I’ve had my Rapide with, whereas that never happens with the S2S one."
"It uses an inflator bag and inflates easily/quickly."
"and has a bag system to inflate so you’re not hyper ventilating trying to blow the thing up at altitude."
270
92
"I just put up with the pinholes and patching them on trail because I can't sleep better on any other pad. ... There's a huge difference in comfort depending on your body between the dimpled baffling of the Etherlight/Tensor and the horizontal baffling of the Xlite. ... I can't sleep on horizontal baffling despite all the good features of the Xlite. ... I'm a side sleeper and my arms and shoulders ache and/or fall asleep or go numb on the Xlite. For whatver reason I can only sleep on dimpled baffles (tensor, etherlight)"
"I sleep all night and no body aches."
"This specific pad and its sibling, Ether Light XT Insulated, have been my primary pads the past four-ish years. ... They are 4" thick and the most comfortable pads I've used, probably tied with the NeoLoft. ... Never woken with my arm numb, and the only pad I've ever slept seven-plus hours straight-through."
83
26
"They are extremely lightweight for that kind of warmth."
"Not much else compares to the warmth and weight."
"they can’t hold a candle to the warmth... of the Tensor."
Disliked most:
59
87
"Dropped about 9ozs and kicked myself the rest of the way down the trail for being so gullible. ... I could really feel those 9ozs off my back."
"stupidly heavy mondo king pad"
"For pack-in or hiking its FAR too heavy."
12
16
"sounded like a loud squeaky balloon. ... Every time I shifted weight or switched sides it was loud. ... Even someone walking by looked at me and said “that’s really noisy”."
"it made horrible noise in tent and especially when sleeping in cabins ... My camping mates hated me ... The spund was more like a rubbery groan instead of crinkly chip bag sound, very annoying."
"my husband could hardly sleep with how noisy it was ... It annoyed it me too."
4
9
"had multiple get air leaks in all the seams so I gave up on using it."
"which started leaking after 3 nights"
"Avoid StS Etherlight XT at all costs, as I have had two getting pinctures where the dividers attach. ... Constant flats from just lying on them."
14
44
"I had to return my Etherlight XT since it was too cold to use even in summer."
"Klymit is known to completely bullshit their R-value ratings. ... They had an insulated pad rated at 4.4 that they later (had to?) revise to 1.9. ... I personally wouldn't trust them. ... just stay clear of the insulated claims."
"It was so cold with my 30F quilt and a Zoom UL pad that I honestly was concerned. ... I had to spend the night running in circles and doing jumping jacks in the shelter"
2
4
"I had to return the etherlite after waking up with a sore back every night."
"I find horizontal baffles very uncomfortable."
"Air pads feel more bouncy and I find it harder to roll over, etc, which is honestly hard enough later in pregnancy."
acartine 1.0I'm a side sleeper and I find the etherlight XT really comfortable. It creeks and croaks like crazy though so anyone you go with will hate you. And no, it doesn't go away. People say that but they are lying lol. I think they just got used to it.
Creative_Ad2938 1.0I have a previous back injury. I find the Womens S2S Etherlight to be the most comfortable, though the least warm. Next for comfort is the Nemo All Season, as well as the Nemo Tensor. In comfort, they are both just slightly less comfortable than the S2S. Both are warmer than the S2S. I have used the ExPed Hyperlight pad for about 40 nights. I believe this pad has been replaced with the newer version. Mine was a 2.8R value. For me, the warmth was equal to the S2S pad. It was not an uncomfortable pad. It just wasn't as comfortable as the S2S and Nemo pads. I tried the Thermarest NeoAir Xlite. My lower back ached when I used the pad. It just didn't have the support I needed. I wish I could use it as it has great warmth to weight ratios. I used the wide versio pads for each of these, though the Exped was a mummy MW version I would assume what is comfortable for me may not translate to you as your back injury may be different than mine. My injury involved the lower back. I have slept in a hammock a few nights and never experienced back pain.
Empty_Woodpecker8711 1.0I have the summit ether light wide, started using when 300 lbs 5’5. It was the 4th pad I tried and the one I have kept using and would recommend. Haven’t tried the others though.
hickory_smoked_tofu 1.0OT, the North American clearance price on the remaining XT mats is incredible. $59 for the women's XT.
HippocampeTordu 1.0I went with the S2S ether light XT wide. I think it is 4" / 10 cm thick whereas my previous thermarest prolite was 5cm... My hip needs 10cm. At the minimum.
ManyMixture826 1.0I’m 6’ 180 lbs, typically a side sleeper. My favorite pad is the Sea to Summit Women’s Ether Light XT. 6’ by 25 inches and 4 inches thick… great for side sleeping. Yup, I sleep on a womens pad - the men’s large/wide pads are unnecessarily long for me as a side sleeper. Why carry weight I don’t use?
planetary_funk_alert 1.0Side sleeper with a bad back here. Can highly recommend the sea 2 summit ether light xt large rectangular. Certain exped pads with vertical baffles sound promising also but I've not tried them
Side sleeper here. I have the ether light xt large wide. It's quite good for me. Id like to try out an exped mat with vertical baffles though
SciMom10 1.0Fellow side sleeper! I'm female so I have hips and I NEED good compression. My shoulder felt jammed up in the Nemo Tensor All Season. The REI Helix was the best once I was on my side, but I felt like I bottomed out when rolling over and also if it wasn't fully inflated but definitely check this one out. Currently I'm on an Sea to Summit Ether light XT (fem version) because I found it on sale and I love it! It's similar in comfort to the Big Agnes Rapide SL (my husband has the big agnes, but it's super expensive so I went with the S2S because I was getting desperate).
Twoof3 1.0Ok, so for me foam makes a world of difference in comfort. Air pads feel more bouncy and I find it harder to roll over, etc, which is honestly hard enough later in pregnancy. I also found the Ether somewhat plastic feeling and crinkly sounding. The stretchy fabric on the Comfort Plus SI is super comfy and quiet. I have found the 3” enough, but I’m a back sleeper. I’ve had both the women’s version and the men’s and the women’s seemed to have denser foam, therefore a bit heavier for its size and warmer. Hope you find the perfect one for you!
askvictor 0.6The sea to summit is 10cm thick, which is amazing for it's size and weight. But it's made of a noisy fabric
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