[Danny]

I'm doing a good bit of bouldering alone these days, so I've been considering buying a proper meaty pad.

Thinking on about what kind of solo bouldering takes up most of my time, I've changed my mind from seeing thickness as the main selling point to ground cover. This is because I spend a good bit of time projecting things which are at most only moderately high, with ok landings, but that will often result in back splats from various contorted maximum effort positions. On paper the Edelrid Crux seems to be the winner in terms of absolute ground cover, though it isn't the thickest.

What I really want to know is: what is the build quality and foam durability like with Edelrid pads? If it's shit I'll be steering well clear. Anyone used these pads? Or perhaps there's a better option out there?   

[tomtom]

Ocun paddy dominator. Great.

[Danny]

I'm very tempted by it also, but it ain't anywhere near as big in terms of ground cover. Although it is light, and massive walk ins will be occasionally on the agenda.
 

[sxrxg]

I've got an edelrid deadpoint and the outer has been brilliant and the design is great (the sit start pad included adds lots of versatility when bouldering on my own). The poor quality of the original foam though earned it the nickname of the crisp packet though due to how flat it went. I have since replaced the foam with some new stuff from a furnishings place in stoke and it is now the pad it should have been covering a large area and bottoming out through it no longer being a problem.  Would I buy another... yes, and in your situation i would consider purchasing a deadpoint (with sit start pad) and another pad such as a grivel pad (full size yet lightweight so easy to carry as a second pad). The cost of this would be £250ish so only a tenner more than a crux however with much more versatility in covering problems with poor landings, having two cruxs, not having to carry a massive pad on longer walk ins.

[Danny]

That's useful, thanks for sharing. If there's any indication the the foam remains just as bad in their latest pads (how old is your pad?) I think that tips the balance in favour of Ocun. Maybe Ocun plus Grivel.

[tomtom]

Foam is the most importNt - and most expensive pad component...

[lagerstarfish]

I'd rather have 2 pads than one big one

[Danny]

I do see the benefits of the multi pad approach. But since I already have a couple of (softish and ageing) pads I think I'm still going to go big. Ocun Incubator possibly.

[tomtom]

I do see the benefits of the multi pad approach. But since I already have a couple of (softish and ageing) pads I think I'm still going to go big. Ocun Incubator possibly.

Fair enough. Plattsy (of this parish) had a bit of experience falling on one of these in Font IIRC and was very impressed - impressed enough to buy a Dominator... (is the incubator the one with the same foam?)

[Danny]

I think the Incubator / Dreamtime have standard innards, rather than the fancy pipe insulation type stuff in the Dominator. All good, hopefully.

[tomtom]

I think the Incubator / Dreamtime have standard innards, rather than the fancy pipe insulation type stuff in the Dominator. All good, hopefully.

Fancy pipe lagging stuff is great! That aside the build quality/construction is good..

[cha1n]

I have the Edelrid Deadpoint pad with a sit start (was included) and although the build quality of the pad is pretty good the foam is terrible (then again, so was my old moon warrior). The sit start pad's purpose is to fly out from under you if you land on it and make you do a backflip.

Stay away from them in my opinion. The new moon pads were nice to land on and I'd also suggest more pads as it's easier to carry to medium pads than some of these huge taco pads that fold twice.

[Reprobate_Rob]

Interesting to hear other people's thoughts on the Edelrid pads. I've got a Deapoint and a Crux and they've both held up remarkably well (save for the shoulder strap tearing on the Deadpoint, but Edelrid very quickly sent out a replacement pad when contacted).
The foam's always seemed good to me - 4 separate layers (firmer layers top and bottom) so it doesn't just bottom out like a lot of the 2 layer pads.

Also haven't managed to do a backflip when landing on my bum on the sit-start pad.

[cha1n]

The backflip mainly occurs when you land on your feet but at a slight angle. The black material on the bottom is very slippery!

Myself and another who has the bigger version of the crux both confirmed that the foam was shit, we had the pads the same short period of time. The closed-cell stuff seemed fine whereas the open-cell stuff is like a wash sponge, very soft. My DMM dyno which I bought second hand and must be something like 4 years old was much nicer to land on, unfortunately the outer came apart on the DMM pad and I used the  leftover foam to make my old moon warrior capable of taking a fall again.

I've taken some highish falls straight onto my back;  

I quite liked the look of the thick wild country pads.