If you use a Therm-a-Rest long enough, you invariably wake up one night on a deflated mat. If it’s a slow leak, you’ll re-inflate it every two hours when your violent shivers wake you up. Then you’ll probably forget to patch it when you get back home making your next trip just as much fun.
But now Therm-a-Rest is selling ToughSkin mats with a layer of foam between the air pocket and face fabric that blocks thorns and broken beer bottles from poking through. What took so long?
Backcountry.com: The Goat » Puncture-Resistant Sleeping Mats – Rocky Thompson
On the same topic, I heard an excellent audiocast interview with Greg Garrigues, GM of award winning Pacific Outdoor Equipment. (Who knew mat technology was so sophisticated!)
Greg is quite knowledgeable about the materials and technology that goes into making comfortable sleeping mats. And he explains the season, gender, size, and genre-of-user specific features that are available in the Pacific Outdoor Equipment line of sleeping mats.
I’m still using the ExPed 7.
besthike.com 