Salt Lake City, UT – Every now and then a company launches a product so groundbreaking, so revolutionary, that you nonetheless scratch your head wondering why no one ever thought of it before. Such is the case with the new Inertia X Frame sleeping pad from Utah’s Klymit.
Company founder Nate Alder earlier made waves in the outdoor industry when Klymit introduced its first product, a vest that uses inert gases for insulation instead of fibers. Looking for other ways to leverage their technology, staffers brainstormed and came up with the Inertia X Frame, the world’s lightest and tiniest sleeping pad for backcountry camping. And they came up with a winner.
 
The Inertia X Frame sleeping pad from Klymit. |
The Inertia X Frame ($99.95) uses body mapping technology to place padding only where you need it. It saves weight by not putting it where you don’t. As a result, the Inertia X Frame barely makes its mark on the scales at a mere 9.1 oz.
It looks like nothing, but inflate the Inertia X Frame with a few quick breaths and a couple of extra pumps with the supplied inflator and lay down on it. We’re confident that you’ll be instant converts as we were. The 1.5 oz. inflator allows the Inertia X Frame to be filled to a full 5 p.s.i. for maximum comfort, far more supportive than the 2 p.s.i. achieved via mouth inflation.
While the Inertia X Frame is designed for three-season use, the pad includes a fitting for Klymit’s NobleTek system to fill the pad with inert argon gas rather than air for additional insulation. And the “loft pockets” between the air beams of the sleeping pad keep sleeping pad insulation from being compressed between your body and the pad.
We’re not the only ones duly impressed with the Inertia X Frame, either. The sleeping pad was recently chosen from among 1,000 applicants to win the coveted International Sports Business Network (ISPO) BrandNew Award, the world’s largest start-up competition in the sporting goods industry. The award is presented at the annual ISPO trade show in Munich, Germany.
“In our industry, there is no higher honor than being awarded an ISPO BrandNew Award,” says Alder. “It’s a dream come true for our team to be recognized on a global scale by other innovators. We’re looking forward to Munich in February.”
All packed up the Inertia X Frame is only about the size of a soda can, making it perfect to toss into your pack as part of an emergency overnight kit while backcountry ski touring.