Spring System Pads? (ETHERLIGHT XT)

All lightweight sleeping pads have a heavy dose of negative reviews. It's inevitable- the things are inherently fragile to keep the weight down. And people are much more inclined to post about a negative experience than to post about the expected experience.

The insulated Etherlight XT is an excellent comfortable pad. The R value isn't amazing though, so not suitable for the very cold unless supplemented with a CCF pad underneath.

If you are going UL you are going to be more fragile.

On Exped's pads their UL pads are a 20 denier vs the 170 denier on the Dura series. The Dura will last much much longer than the Ultra but will weigh more and be bulkier.

If you want something very durable compared to the Etherlight XT (in the 3.3 R value range) get the Dura 3 or Dura 5. The 3 is 2lbs and the 5 37oz in a long/wide pad.

R values of 3 are fine for spring. Shoot for an R value of 5 if you want an overall pad that can work for all 4 seasons; extreme R value pads (such as the Exped Dura 8) are only needed for very low temperatures well below 32F / 0C