For the great majority of my years of hiking, I never carried a dedicated sit pad. It is probably only the last fifteen years that I have been slipping a thin foam pad or some sort of small inflatable pad, into my pack.

Prior to including a sit pad in my pack I usually got a wet, cold and dirty arse, or sat on my map case. Then the epithany– why aren’t I carrying something to sit on at breaks on trail? Or to kneel on in the vestibule of the tent, to use as a windscreen for the stove? Everything that’s obvious, doesn’t necessarily start out that way… Those were pre-Reddit days you know.

A windscreen is usually achieved these days by a small metal screen, or simply propping my pack on it’s side. I used a couple of terrific inflatable pads for a few years, really comfy but a tad heavy. After the second of these punctured I concentrated on simple folding bits of closed-cell foam. Dirt cheap, l even used one that was given away on the cover of a magazine one month. Then I followed the crowd and purchased a Z Seat. Beyond their cost and bulk, it is difficult to fault these pads. But at 59g, they are not the lightest of affairs.

For longer hikes Three Points of the Compass uses one of the Gossamer Gear packs. These have a removable pad in sleeves that can then be used as a sit pad at breaks. I looked at these here. So I have no need to carry an additional sit pad, consequently I only now carry a sit pad on day hikes, and much appreciated it is too. Messing about with bits of 3mm thick Evazote to tuck under my inflatable pad at night, I eventually got round to also cutting a piece as an alternative for the Z-Seat for use on day hikes. A return to the simple bit of foam used a decade ago.

There really isn’t anything fancy about this pad. 3mm thick and measuring 520mm x 315mm, with some curved corners. It weighs 11g, so 48g lighter than the Z-Seat. I could easily have cut it smaller but never felt the need. Admittedly it only has an R-Value of around 0.5, but that is fine for most of the year. I might swap out again for the Z-Seat in the colder months, but for the very great majority of my day hikes, this’ll do for now.