Very light and easy to use. However for very cold weather –0 and below it did not provide enough insulation from the ground. At sub zero temps you will need additional insulation. I had about three feet of snow under the pad and got a cold back. Live and learn. All and all a nice product for all but the most demanding conditions.

Awesome pad. Very light, and very comfortable. It's so much more convenient to have it fold down instead of roll up.

This has been one of my favorite pieces of camping equipment for the past 6 months I have taken it several places sometimes just to have somthing to sit on. It has recently developed a ripped. I understand there is a new black and blue model out this year that is suppose to be more durable and 1 oz lighter. All in all lightweight, convenient, comfortable, narrow (wish they had a 25 inch wide) and fragile

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Self inflators, doubled over fleece blanket.

my self inflater sprung a leak in mid trip, so i got the z rest. it is a big improvement..lighter, no inflating (self inflation a joke) and quite warm and comfortable.

Customer Service

not yet

Similar Products Used:

thermarest light

What can I say- $20, full length, lighter than almost anything else out there, and it's freakin' indestructible, to boot. Go buy one and forget about blowing up your pad or if you're going to puncture it, or rolling it up to get the air out, or any of that other Thermarest crap. Fold it up in 2 seconds, flip it unfolded in about 0.5, if it's wet, shake the water off and it's dry, and if it gets dirty, spray it with a hose and a little Dawn.


(subliminal message: go buy a Z-Rest, go buy a Z-Rest, send money to PO Box 79, Brimfield, MA, 01010, go buy a Z-Rest...)

Similar Products Used:

-Thermarest Guidelite 3/4
-Cheap inflatable (trust me, none of them are "self-inflating")
-Grey closed cell foam 3/4

I found this pad on a week long trip with my wife on the Appalachain Trail. I don't know how long the pad was used before me, but I have had it for about a year and plan to buy another one for my wife. The pad is comfortable and durable. I strap it to the outside of my pack, and it sometimes takes a beating there. One night in the Great Smokey Mountains we camped on snow (with a tarp). The temperature got down to about 15 deg, and water was present in the egg holes the next morning.

Similar Products Used:

None

Used this pad for over 1300 miles on the Appalachian Trail this past year, and will continue to use it this comming year. Couldn't beat the quality and cost for a pad. Loved the easy fold up and go design and only on a few occasions did I experience the small pools of water in the dimples. Just folded it and shaked it to get rid of the condensation.

Similar Products Used:

No other experience with such products

The Cascade Designs Zrest is a wonderful pad. It’s rather expensive for a closed-cell foam pad, but in my humble opinion, worth the extra cost (which is still half the cost of even a ¾ cheap thermarest). Any person who questions the durability of this pad has not used it very much. One Zrest pad has about 120 uses in it. After that, it has simply been too compacted to be of much warmth. I used one Zrest to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in 2000, and I still keep it in the trunk for ‘emergency picnics.’ After about 4 months of continuous use, I found that it had pretty much lost any resemblance to comfort, but continually forgot to replace it during town-stays. Thus, I used it for 167 straight days. Contrary to Backpacker Magazine, and several theorists who haven’t really put this pad to the test, the seams are bombproof. I was harder on this one piece of equipment than possibly anything else in my pack, and after more than 200 uses, it has yet to tear, rip, or puncture.

After hiking the Appalachian Trail, I temporarily switched to an Ultralight thermarest for backpacking use. I found that the minimal comfort increase was not worth the cons. What cons? It is heavier (albeit not really noticeably), takes longer to pack/unpack, will not inflate or stay inflated when punctured, and costs at least twice as much. Needless to say, I switched back to a Zrest for backpacking use. Don’t get me wrong, if I’m car camping, I’ll take a 2 inch thick thermarest every time. But when in the backcountry, and I don’t have 150 horses carrying my backpack…well…you just can’t beat the Zrest.

Customer Service

Cascade Designs has been extremely generous, helpful, and quick in their customer service. They've yet to let me down.

Similar Products Used:

I've tried everything: Leaves and sticks, Blue-foam pad, eggshell closed-cell foam, cheap blow-up (in both ways) mattress, ridgerest, Zrest, Ultralight thermarest, Guidelight thermarest, Luxury LE Thermarest...the list goes on.

-Hungry Howie & The New Sushi GA-mE 2000

Until I purchased my Thermarest, this was my pad of choice for several years. It is definently the most comfortable closed cell foam pad I've ever owned. I still use it sometimes if I'm really trying to save weight because it only weighs a pound. I do have a couple of concerns. First of all, the hinges have begun to tear at the edges after a few years of use. Also, it is not very warm as far as ground insulation is concerned. Best used on warmer weather trips.

Similar Products Used:

Thermarest Standard-my pad of choice these days.

Old cheap $10 blue ground pad-loaner of choice

The full length z rest gives great comfort and weighs next to nothing. Add the inexpensive cost and I have to give it 5 stars for value and an overall rating. I actually prefer to use this rather than my LE model that costs 4x the price! One negative....I usually find a little condensation in the oval shaped depressions by morning, creating dampness on the sleeping bag.

Similar Products Used:

therm a rest LE