Fills a niche - Big Agnes AXL Air Sleeping Pad

Big Agnes AXL precisely fills a niche: very light weight, minimal packing space, durable enough, thick enough for adequate comfort on reasonably flat surfaces. It has become my go-to pad when I need to stow the pad inside the pack which happens when the pack is being sent ahead by UPS or any of the shipping services. For canoeing with once-through portages carrying both the canoe and the pack all weights need to be minimized and the Big Agnes AXL fills the bill. Developed and much-used trail tenting sites usually have flat/smooth enough surfaces for Big Agnes AXL; if not I spread a jacket or sweater over the tent footprint or floor of an old and tired back-country shelter and I sleep just fine. Adds no extra r-factor insulation but that's just one of the compromises to fill this niche. So the Big Agnes AXL is one of the three sleeping pads that have earned space in my closet of backpacking gear.