There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
So been a lot of discussions about resizing the Massdrop x Klymit Static V Ultra Light, and as promised I have put together a video on how to do this.
I have decided to create a separate /talk/ about this so that the primary /talk/ for this sleeping pad can not be distracted by all this modification talk.
The video shoot, unfortunately, turned into about 3.5 hours of total video, as I talked my way through every little step as I was recording. It spanned three days of modifying the pad (and thus shooting video) with a one day delay due to my archaic iron not working and having to purchase a new one.
For the sake of everybody, I got the main video shortened down to about 40 minutes.
I realize that is still a very long video and I will not feel bad if anybody skips ahead to the good part, towards the end. But hopefully there will be something in the first 30 or so minutes that will interest some folks.
Background:
So a bit of background here... I have cut/resized and resealed over a dozen Klymit sleeping pads over the years. Klymit brought to market the "Inertia X Wave" after I bought and resized an "Inertia XL" and posted about it years ago. I have also cut and resized a few dozen different TaR NeoAir Xlite and XTherm pads. At one point I was buying XTherm's and cutting them into pads+pillows for people on expeditions. I could get five or so rectangle pillows from each pad, or one pad and two pillows. They were a bit tricky because of the extra layers and trying to get the air valve sealed, but it was fun while I did it.
Suffice to say, the entire process is a very simple task, that requires very little time or effort. The biggest thing it involves is getting over the fear of damaging your sleeping pad - and for some of them, a very expensive sleeping pad. Based on the video and tracking time, you can cut and reseal your sleeping pad in under 30 seconds - when it came down to it, it took me 24 seconds. Really, it is a simple and fast process.
But thankfully the price tag is not an issue with this Massdrop x Klymit Static V Ultra Light - and the price point is exactly what makes it such a unique sleeping pad on the market - besides of course the fact it is a 20d fabric, making it less weight than the standard 75d sleeping pads from Klymit.
Video Insights:
I have two videos that I have uploaded.
The first is a 40 minute video and the second is a 40 second video (yeah, I couldn't help it lol.)
Watch the second/short one if you just want specs and to quickly see the process.
Watch the first one all the way through if you really want to know some of the thought process and gibberish talking as I go through all the different steps/process.
Within the first/longer video, I actually discover what I think is a really sweet cut pattern and length, at least for me. I do end up cutting it down to the 48" mark, because that is the length everybody seems to want, but I really did like the first length/design pattern I came up with. It might be worth watching that if you do not want a straight-cut pad.
If you are interested in a 48" only pad, watch the first/longer video and fast forward to the 32:00 mark.
Specs:
The specs on the 48" straight cut sleeping pad ended up being:
The full length pad: 352 grams / 12.42
The 48" length pad: 208 grams / 7.3 ounces
So that makes a savings of 144 grams (5.08 ounces) by cutting the length from 72 inches down to 48 inches, a reduction of 24 inches, which works out to 6 grams per inch of cut fabric.
Videos:
Here is the full length video (1080p available):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svk1xD6wc3s
Here is the very short video(1080p available):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW5MtF02POI
I hope some of you find this to be useful.
Sleeping Pad Review:
You can read my full review of this sleeping pad at:
https://hikelighter.com/2016/07/27/massdrop-klymit-static-v-ultra-light/
Thanks everybody.