Lot of talk about SIMs being the more 'reliable' option....got no idea where this misconception comes from.
Where I get that idea, is there are many AT thru-hikers who have used Thermarest Prolite mats for 6 years / 6 thru-hikes and the mat is still alive and working. Whereas AT thru-hikers who use Thermarest NeoAir XLite mats tend to report it blowing out on the start of their 2nd thru-hike, and they report "but it had a good innings" kind of anecdote, and they buy another of the same.
Now even getting through a single thru-hike all the way from start to finish without any incident is still a good effort on the part of a mat. But it's interesting that the Prolite mats are lasting multiple thru-hikes.
So it's based on these repeated anecdotal reports that I am basing my assumption that the Thermarest Prolite (SIM) mats last longer than the NeoAir XLite air mats.
The fabrication used for the Thermarest 40th anniversary (SIM) mat is 75d Hex Rip Poly top fabric, compressible urathene foam, and bottom fabric 70d nylon soft grip.
That fabrication is more durable than NeoAir XLite, and looks even more appealing / durable compared to say the Nemo Tensor air mat which is 20 Denier (and known / reported to be a bit fragile in respect of springing a leak).
Secondly, a flat/holed SIM offers bugger all thermal insulation. That foam is selected for its shape memory, not thermal insulation. A flat SIM is about as good as newspaper compared to CCF, so don't think SIM has an edge there.
I don't doubt that a SIM with a hole has "bugger all" thermal insulation, but it has some, albeit a small amount. Newspaper - the material you mentioned - has some insulation. (Anecdotally my great great grandparents were sewn into newspaper suits for Winter down in Queenstown as early immigrants as it was so cold and no money.) And aside from that limited thermal insulation, it is more comfortable than sleeping on nothing, or sleeping on a deflated airmat.
That said, I don't want to be the one to test out sleeping on a deflated Thermarest 40th anniversary to report on comfort and insulation, and compare to a deflated airmat. Either sounds like not much fun! Wink.