After we received this request from Takuya, a hardcore mountain runner, we sent him several prototypes until he was happy with the Minimalist Pad, so we think it’s best that he explains what he thinks of the pad.

Impressions from Takuya Kitano of Sky High Mountain Works, co-developer of the Minimalist Pad

My favorite style of mountaineering at the moment is fastpacking, which combines trail running and trekking, with a focus on speed and distance that’s quite different from regular hiking. When you’re fastpacking, if you need to sleep you stop running and hiking and recover for a little from the fatigue.

Unlike with normal hiking, when you’re trail running or fastpacking you’re heading out into the mountains with the intention of running, so your camping gear needs to be super lightweight. The more I run, the more I start competing against myself, which means I end up reducing the amount I sleep until it’s little more than occasional naps. Since a sleeping pad spends so much time in my bag, not in use, every gram counts.

When it does come to camping you might think that you have to find a balance between comfort and weight, but when you’re fastpacking you really have to focus on making all the gear as light as possible. The three most important points when considering a sleeping pad for fastpacking are “compactness,” “lightweight,” and “comfortable enough (which obviously differs depending on the person).”

Air mats and inflatable mats might be more compact, but I’d be scared to set up one of those in an area with loose stones for fear of getting a puncture. Then there are closed-cell mats, which are very lightweight and have no risk of punctures, but they’re not as compact as I would like.

When Yamatomichi released their UL Pad, I was blown away by how lightweight it was. However, even after cutting out everything unnecessary I found that it was still too big, far from the compact ideal for fastpacking, and I think it was too focused on comfort. That’s when I had a eureka moment. I realized, “this Yamatomichi mat would probably be comfortable enough even if it was half the thickness.”

They were kind enough to send me a sample, and though obviously, your personal preference may vary, I found it comfortable enough, even though I tend to get cold easily. What’s more, with the new thinner design not only would it be rollable, but with some scoring you could even fold it up into four and fit it inside your bag!　Until now mats have to be attached on the outside of the pack, which can be annoying when running trails that require more technical skills, but now it’s no problem at all.
　
The first mat they sent me was a normal sleeping pad, so I naturally had no problem with its thermal insulation, but the mat surface seemed to get damaged easily, which worried me. Yamatomichi applied their technical wizardry and pressed the surface of the mat to make it more durable and less susceptible to scratches, and they even managed to increase its insulating properties.

We didn’t settle on the size of the final product until the very final moment. With a focus on reducing the weight and keeping it compact, I thought a size of 80×45 cm with a weight of 44 g would be ideal, but when I started thinking about how other people might want to use it I realized that my ideal might be a bit too small, and so decided on 100×50 cm, which is big enough to cut down to any size you need.

If you’re the type who wants a lightweight and compact pad then you have to work out for yourself what temperature will be comfortable and what kind of clothing you’ll need for when you sleep when using the Minimalist Pad. You need to know what you want out of it, and if necessary use it in conjunction with an air mattress, or use an air mattress as your main mat and use the Minimalist Pad as a booster if you really can’t stand the cold.

This mat was designed for fastpackers and trail runners, but it’s also useful for regular and UL hikers who need a booster to top up their usual sleeping pads, or who want a luxury seating pad for when they take a break.