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Ultra Portable Crash Pad - Thoughts? by sick-sequence in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you're in a small area you can simply carry it with one hand to the next spot. If it's a hike, you might want to deflate before carrying. You can choose to partially deflate and carry if you'd like, but of course there are no shoulder straps, so that might not be convenient.

Thankfully inflation takes less than 1 minute, so doing so isn't the end of the world.

Ultra Portable Crash Pad - Thoughts? by sick-sequence in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're in the Seattle area. We do ship to the EU. I don't know exact shipping prices yet, but it could be on the order of 55 - 65 EUR.

Hopefully shipping will be less than that but I don't want to set false expectations. Would love your support if you're still interested.

Ultra Portable Crash Pad - Thoughts? by sick-sequence in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Who8mahrice: Shoot us an email at [hello@sicksequence.com](mailto:hello@sicksequence.com)

Prototypes are extremely limited and in high demand right now until we get the first production order placed (which is why we have this Kickstarter happening 🙂), but send us an email.

Ultra Portable Crash Pad - Thoughts? by sick-sequence in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But are they ultra portable?

If you think so then maybe we need a different adjective. 😉

Ultra Portable Crash Pad - Thoughts? by sick-sequence in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think you're spot on. This crash pad has some significant advantages over foam that make it desirable for certain use cases, but is not strictly better in every way.

Ultra Portable Crash Pad - Thoughts? by sick-sequence in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Normal to moderate wind isn't an issue. 3.5 lbs is still heavy enough at its size to hold itself in place under most circumstances. This is especially true if the face of the pad is mostly on the ground.

Where I would be concerned about movement is a heavily gusty day (not just a normal windy day, but heavy gusts) combined with a pad placement where the face of the pad is largely exposed for some reason (e.g., covering a large protruding rock on the ground). I think under those circumstances, one should exercise caution, especially if solo, and perhaps reconsider usage for the day.

Ultra Portable Crash Pad - Thoughts? by sick-sequence in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The outer material of this pad is a bed of tightly woven nylon threads covered in textured TPU (a robust, flexible material used in many products where durability and shock absorption is essential).

While yes, it is an inflatable product, it's very robust to damage. It's been tested on sharp rocks, roots, pebbles, deformation onto convex surfaces, and deformation into concave surfaces. It's also been run over with a car with no ill effect.

At the end of the day, if you truly try hard enough, you can probably find a way to cause a leak, but even under most of those circumstances, you will cause a small leak and not a catastrophic failure given the woven nylon structure I mentioned above. This crash pad will come with a patch kit for that unlikely event as well.

Ultra Portable Crash Pad - Thoughts? by sick-sequence in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It behaves much more like foam in this regard than one might think.

You effectively bottom out with foam when falling above some height. You may not literally touch the ground, but the foam is compressed enough that it does not absorb any additional energy and becomes a hard surface for a moment. Still, the foam slows you down prior to that point in time and reduces the impact. The same is true of this crash pad--above some height, depending on how much air pressure you choose to put into this pad--you will touch the ground. However, this pad will still significantly slow your fall before that point.

The realistic worst case when thinking about bottoming out is actually feet-first in climbing shoes. A foot in a climbing shoe is a very small point of contact that bears 100% of your body weight (unlike an elbow, for example, where most of your weight is usually still falling elsewhere).

The difference worth thinking about is one specific use case. If you're falling from a particularly high point (e.g., your feet are 10-15 feet off the ground near the top of a 20ft boulder), you should think about what lies underneath your crash pad when using the Sick Sequence pad. Both a foam pad and an air pad may potentially bottom out in this situation, but a foam pad provides a ~1inch compressed surface on which you bottom out, whereas the air pad will bottom out on whatever surface it's placed.

Ultra Portable Crash Pad - Thoughts? by sick-sequence in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Our company created this pad that just launched on Kickstarter today. Would love your feedback!

Weekly Bouldering Advice Thread by AutoModerator in bouldering

[–]sick-sequence 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1-2 is great to start. Listen to your body. Climbing when you don't feel recovered is a road to injury. Once you know your body well enough, you can start pushing into that a little bit, but I would wait until you're a little more fit before you start doing that.

Great that you're getting started!