Pad Materials Help Please

I think a piece of closed cell foam pad would work just fine, and probably your lightest option.

Those closed cell egg carton pads are so bulky though… I wish I could get a really small NeoAir or something.

I wish I could get a really small NeoAir or something.

Your wish is my command :)

I was thinking of the flat rollies, but those are bulkier than air pads anyway.

You could always cut a self inflating in half and reseal the the end with an iron. Definitely more expensive option though.

Cutting down the NeoAir is a cool idea. …but my dog can kiss my you know what if he thinks I'll be spending 140 bucks on a NeoAir for him. Not to mention then cutting it down. :)

OK, on a more serious note. I don't have a dog, nor have I ever camped with one….my humble opinion, the dog bed you linked to above is probably fine for warm weather, but if it uses synthetic insulation, then you kind of lose any R-value/insulative properties as soon as you sit on it (compression). Most of us would freeze fairly quickly using just our sleeping bags as insulation from the ground. So, if you're camping in cooler temps, probably something else would be better.

Where's all the hikers with puppies?

"Where's all the hikers with puppies?" Nothing about dogs in the thread title!

I use a piece of cheap closed cell foam pad, cut to 20" x 33" for my 80-lb. mostly Labrador. I fold it in thirds and it fits nicely in the pad pocket of my Six Moon Designs Comet pack (where it pads the back much better than my insulated air pad). It weighs 3.5 oz.

My dog also has a jacket (Ruffwear Cloud Chaser, recently on sale at REI) which I put on him for below-freezing nights. It weighs 7.5 oz. in a large (suitable for a Lab). While he has plenty of fur (perpetually shedding!), he's an indoor dog at home so needs some help when it's really cold. For a jacket, it's important to have it loose-fitting so it doesn't compress the dog's undercoat. Of course for dogs with thin coats and no downy undercoat, more insulation will be needed at higher temperatures.

The entire dog bed package (jacket plus pad) is 11 oz., a lot less than what you're considering.

I originally bought a dog pad made by Thermarest, the equivalent of a 36" long Z Rest. I think those have been discontinued. It is now being used by my 8-year-old granddaughter. The Gossamer Gear NightLight torso length sleeping pad would be an excellent choice for a dog, probably more comfy than the el cheapo green foam from Coleman that I use, and cheaper than buying a Z Rest and cutting it down. It weighs the same, 3.5 oz. I've seen lots of dogs carrying their own pads strapped on top of their packs, and they do fine. I carry my dog's pad only because it helps me with pack support. I give him something of mine to carry in return.

EDIT: The GG Nightlight torso pad folds flat, in thirds, so it's not particularly bulky. So does the green foam from Coleman I'm using now. Either is just the right width for any lightweight backpack that needs a pad for support (such as packs from GG and Six Moon Designs). Or, as mentioned, it can be strapped on top of your dog's pack.

Despite my clipping my dog's claws every two weeks, I keep him well away from my insulated air pad and would never put him on an inflatable pad!

A piece of closed cell foam + a square of fleece I got from the fabric store. It works great for cold temps. If it gets to cold I will also throw my fleece over him as well.

Cut down Ridgerest. Bulky, yes but darn near indestructible, and cheap. My dog has his own down quilt, but we usually wind up together under the covers. Cozy!

My two pups get a chuck of large ridge rest deluxe cut in half. In winter they get 2 chunks each, and a down vest each.

My dog is a wuss :) just over the long weekend he was sleeping in our Morpho, on his REI self inflating pad wearing his Ruff Wear Cloud Chaser jacket and shivering all morning. I think the temps were around 38degrees in the Olympic National Forest.

…OH BUT when I went to the stream to get water for coffee the first thing he did was jump in for a morning swim with his jacket and all. – goofball

Being a Pitty he has no undercoat at all so that's why I'm trying to find a lighter yet still warm solution for us.

I still hate the bulk of foam pads and hate the look of them even more when they stick out from underneath a pack. (My background in rescue diving is preventing me from NOT streamlining my gear).

Since you already considered an expensive Neoair, what about getting Bender from Kookabay to build a custom dog mattress? Then you can get a tough top layer. Or you can keep it thin and use tough removable covers.

FYI I have a small amount of tougher 200D material available. Those doggy pads at REI weigh more than my bag & pad combined! An alternative to inflatables would be a thick layer of synthetic insulation with a fleece cover. How big is your dog?

My dog is about 70lbs but he's about the size of a really, really, really small lab.

…and this is why I'm looking at something self inflating(ish). He's just going to compress the synthetic sleeping bag type stuff right under him.

Man, I dunno. I haven't put a hole in a thermarest since I started using them in the 80s. But on a cabin trip, my gal invited the pups (80-ish pounds each) up onto the air mattress. Instant hole. I know there are self-inflating dog pads, but… air tight and dog claws seems like a bad combination to me.