I’ve a keenness for my Exped Schnozzel, a big 42L dry-bag model stuff sack (2.1 oz) that may serve double responsibility as a pack liner and an inflation bag for an inflatable sleeping pad. (I’ve truly been utilizing it since 2015!) While the Schnozzel is appropriate with Exped sleeping pads, it additionally works with my favourite sleeping pad, the 4″ thick Sea-to-Summit Etherlight XT Insulated pad which I’ve been utilizing since earlier than Covid. I’m fairly certain it additionally works with NEMO inflatable sleeping pads as properly as a result of all of them have flat valves. I appear to recollect attempting this with the NEMO Tensor…possibly a reader can affirm.
I not too long ago got here throughout a Schnozzel/WingLock adapter on Etsy ($12.19 w/ free transport) that additionally makes that Schnozzel appropriate with any inflatable Therm-a-Rest sleeping pad that has a Winglock valve, which is the stick valve alternative Therm-a-Rest launched just a few years in the past in 2021. This consists of the entire new NXT Therm-a-Rest sleeping pad fashions just like the XLite NXT and the XTherm NXT, in addition to pre-NXT variations of the pads which even have the Winglock valve.
This adapter, made by a Swedish Etsy vendor named Verkstan is useless easy to make use of. It’s only a plastic cuff that matches tightly over the top of the Schnozzel and matches over a Winglock Valve. Once on the Schnozzel, it additionally stays put, so you possibly can’t lose it though it’s additionally straightforward to take away.
Verkstan additionally makes a Schnozzel adapter for Therm-a-rest’s previous stick valves (choose the previous valve as an alternative of the Winglock when ordering) if you happen to nonetheless have a kind of inflatable mats, though I haven’t tried it. I’ve fully converted to the Thermarest NXT mats with Winglock valves as a result of they’ve increased R-values than the older pads.
This isn’t a very profound backpacking gear product, however it’s a pleasant answer if you happen to want utilizing a high-volume pump bag just like the Exped Schnozzel that can be used as a pack liner for ultralight backpacking.
There are fairly just a few different ultralight backpacking merchandise made by “real” cottage producers on Etsy (see our itemizing) and it’s enjoyable to see the improvements coming from smaller corporations and people that bigger gear corporations don’t provide. Some are actually fairly intelligent!
Disclosure: The writer owns this product.
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