(1) A sleeping pad made by Therm-a-Rest, now sold under the name "Original Z Lite Sleeping Pad".
It is made of closed cell polyethylene foam, and is reasonably lightweight (14oz/410g).
It folds into a sort of long whippy brick, which makes it easy to pack, or to strap on the outside of one's pack, by some accounts, or results in an awkward accordion of non-compliant plastic foam that has one and only one shape.
Being closed cell foam, this pad cannot accidentally puncture and deflate on you, but then again you can't purposely deflate it and store it more compactly. And if you are a side sleeper, well good luck with that because there really isn't that much cushioning, being only .75 in/2 cm thick.
The R-value, a measure of how well it insulates, is 1.7, which is not a lot, but probably enough most of the time if you sleep on your back and have a decent layer of sleeping bag under you. Since the pad is 72"/183 cm long, there is enough of it to fold into a double thickness and still have your torso taken care of, using your pack or whatnot under your legs, and spare clothing under your head.
(2) Ze rest is what you get if you sleep on ze plastique sheet crinkled like ze corrugated egg crate. Otherwise, and speaking frankly now, this is yet another closed cell sleeping pad, except that this one has a unique surface, and is designed to fold into a long, narrow (but light) brick instead of rolling up.
OK. Sweet dreams then.
Have anything worth adding? Then try sosayseff@gmail.com
Me? Still asleep at the wheedle.
Etc...
so says eff: sporadic spurts of grade eff distraction
definitions: outdoor terms
fiyh: dave's little guide to ultralight backpacking stoves
boyb: dave's little guide to backpacks
snorpy bits: nibbling away at your sanity
last seen receding: missives from a certain mobile homer
noseyjoe: purposefully poking my proboscis into technicals