Warning: a park ranger in Yosemite called my 'ultra-compact' sleeping pad a 'pool floatie for ants'

I swapped it for a thicker pad after that, but has anyone else gotten roasted by a ranger for their gear?

3 comments

3 Comments

My old Thermarest was maybe an inch thick. A ranger in Glacier last year just shook his head and said I'd be warmer on a pile of pine needles. I used to think all pads were basically the same. That comment made me finally feel how cold the ground really gets. Upgraded to a real pad and slept so much better.

colescott7d ago

Read somewhere that most heat loss sleeping outside goes straight down into the ground. Makes that ranger's comment hit different.

amy_coleman7d ago

So what's the R-value on a pile of pine needles anyway...