Foam Quality

Organic uses a proprietary mix of memory foam, high density urethane rubber, and soy-based open cell foam in their Simple Pad. This combination was a favorite among testers because of the subtle balance between firmness and forgiveness on bigger falls. Some testers did report that they wanted to “break in” the foam by taking numerous shorter falls before taking any jarring back falls.

Shell Durability

The Organic Simple Pad uses 1050d Cordura nylon for the outer shell and 1000d Cordura for the landing surface. Although it was not the highest denier nylon in our test, the Organic pad showed very little wear and tear to the shell. It is also worthy to note that the Organic Simple Pad was the only pad in our test to use the Cordura brand ballistic nylon which is manufactured in the US.

Functionality

The Organic Simple Pad is extremely functional and user friendly. It’s lightweight and packs easily in the car for the drive out to the crag. It also has square corners so there’s no dead space when pushing multiple pads together. As an option, you can make it modular with a padded hip belt or the load flap for carrying up to two extra pads. For a small fee, any Simple Pad owner can order a refill of the open cell foam as opposed to buying a whole new pad. Lastly, with the 4-buckle closure system, testers found it much easier to pack their loose gear in backpacks as opposed to the commonly used “throw it all in the pad” method.

Carrying System

The Organic Simple Pad has a height adjustable, single-piece padded shoulder strap with a 2” webbing waistbelt. It also has a sternum strap to help stabilize heavy loads in the pad. Overall, testers liked the shoulder straps and waistbelt because of how they distributed weight across the torso.

Maneuverability

The Organic Simple Pad is relatively light at 11 pounds. With three grab handles and no extra flap to contend with, it was one of the easiest pads to move or throw into small spaces in boulder talus fields.