Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated

Good feature set in a lightweight and comfortable pad.

I have been using a NeoAir mattress for over a decade (reviewed in 2009). Being a 5'9" male the women's length (66") fit me well. The old pad held up pretty well, but the valve system required some fiddling to inflate and more time to deflate and pack, and it was a bit narrower than preferred. It was noisy when new, but seemed to become less so with use over the years.

In a new pad, I sought one that was 66" long, preferably with bit more width to better accommodate my tossing and turning, a more efficient valve system, similar overall weight (pad, plus pump and stuff sacks), same or less noise, and good R-value.

After looking at available options the S2S Ether Light XT insulated women's (regular length) was my choice. I would have seriously considered Nemo (pretty quiet), but they didn't offer a 66" length. I used the S2S for the first time this week over three days in the high country of the Olympic Mtns in Washington State.

The shape of the women's pad is a bit wider in the mid section (21.5" vs 20" in my Neo Air) which offers more support for side sleepers and those more active like me. Valve systems on most pads have improved a lot since my earlier NeoAir. The valve on this pad is integrates a one-way inflation valve, with a larger pull-out that allows very rapid deflation.

Another nice innovation is the stuff sack that also becomes the pump sack. It only took about 3 bags of air for me to inflate the pad. The total weight of the pad plus sack is 17oz, about the same as the total weight of my old NeoAir (pad, stuff sack, and separate pump sack).

This pad is claimed to be 4" thick, but it seemed a bit less in use (3.5" maybe), perhaps due to my less than firm inflation preference. The R-value of 3.5 should be good for three-season use. I didn't have any noise issues with this pad.

It comes with a small repair kit, and four mini-velcro adhesive strips that can be affixed to the pillow area of the pad. S2S pillows or the like can be quickly attached/detached from the pad. This keeps pillows from sliding around in use. I found they held well.