Barnaby Ventham Reviews The Beal Double Air Pad

Fresh from his recent trip to font where he ticked Karma, Barnaby Ventham gives us some thoughts on Beal's Double Air Pad.

The first thing I noticed about the pad is how light it is. It is the lightest one I have come across. When one has a light bouldering mat it makes a huge difference to the walk in to any crag. Well maybe not Parisella's cave or any other roadside crag, but anytime you has to slog up a steep hill with a thick heavy mat and other gear it just zaps a tiny bit of energy which could be reserved for the 'send' go of the boulder problem!

The Beal Double Air Pad was designed with the Verso concept which consists of 3-density padding which is a brilliant idea (Ed: And is reversible for different height falls). At first glance and feel anyone would think it is too soft, but when you take a fall on to it the pad suddenly tenses up and takes the impact amazingly! The corners of the pad are also reinforced, and there are three ways of carrying it. Shoulder strap, handle, or back pack are all useful in different situations.

I spotted two minor negative points about the pad. The first being the buckles. I found it extremely fiddly to get the buckle in its holder and also struggled to tighten them up as much as i might like. The second point was the folding crease of the pad. some pads these days have two different angles so when the pad is opened you can't slip through the gap. The Beal Double Air sadly didn't have this feature, this means it would be more likely to roll an ankle or if falling from a great height maybe hitting the ground.

Even though there a couple of minor negative points I personally would use this pad on any bouldering trip. Because it is so light and firm it makes a huge difference to the session.  

Barnaby Ventham