Inflatable Sleeping Pads: Finding Comfort when Sleeping on the Ground (Updated)

No suffering, no story.

many years ago I slept on a CCF just fine

if you could find a soft place, like pine needles or duff, then a CCF would work

Thanks Roger,

And thanks for re-sharing your pad survey. I still remember when you released it -no one had done anything like it at the time.

It’s in-depth and thorough analysis compelled me to invest in a life time BPL membership,  something I’ve been grateful for ever since.

Now how do ordinary concerned outdoor enthusiasts come together to push against the outdoor equipment manufacturers raise their ethical standards regarding the accurate measuring of their gear?
(This also must include Gore industries and their “Guaranteed to keep you dry” stuff)

nm

warmth to weight ratio

As much as I’d like to return to the Prolite, that’s a definite strike against it.  That said the sleeping surface is closer to the ground whereas the air mattress can “high center” a sleeper unless the wide option is carried.  Maybe it gets negated unless a dedicated side sleeper who can use a regular width pad?

CCF

And A simple and cheap option especially if klutzy with inflatables.

Hey Ryan, your top five pads include rectangular Nemo pads and the mummy Therm-a-Rest pads. Does the stability difference you mention come from directly comparing these designs, or do you also think the rectangular Therm-a-Rest pads are less stable than the Nemo pads? I tested a Nemo pad at one point but can’t remember why it didn’t stand out to me. What about the baffle design makes the Nemo more stable?

I also think my opinions about pads would probably be very different right now if I had been using 25″ pads all along, so I’m glad you brought that up. I’ve used a ton of 20″ pads but in some ways it seems silly to even compare them because 20″ is really too narrow to be useful.

I can’t agree that 20″ pads are too narrow in every case. Sue & I have 2 off Exped 20″ rectangular mats which we couple together with silnylon loops. That gives us a combined pad which accommodates the two of us nicely. Well- it works for couples anyhow :) :)

Cheers

I used to sleep on a Ridgerest – and use it as a frame in my frameless pack “burrito style” but as I’ve gotten older I moved to a Thermarest XTherm in 2015 (still use it – never leaked – knocks on wood) which made me change from frameless packs to framed packs.  I just blow it up with my mouth and don’t worry about it.

if you have a 3.5 inch pad that’s 20″ wide before inflation, then it will be more like 18″ or less wide when inflated

That could be too narrow

I use a 20″ thermarest prolite which is 1″ thick and 20″ wide when not inflated, but more like 19″ wide when inflated – wide enough

Im a 100% side sleeper. I use a 20” wide Exped Ultra 7R almost exclusively. I deflate it a bit for improved comfort and it’s still toasty warm. It is definitely heavier, but sleeping comfortably through the night is important to me and the 7R gets it done.

Ugh some time in the next 3-4 months I have to purchase a new one. so expensive! Or I just use the old one that I have to inflate at 2am. I wish they came in lengths between super long and short; I am 67 inches. I’ll probably get a short one and just put something under the feet.

Brad, are you using a 20″ or 25″ Xtherm? mummy or rectangle? I have liked my rectangle neoairs more than my mummy ones

@ AK Granola

Have you compared the weight difference between the short and standard length pads? It’s usually quite negligible, so the standard may make more sense. Also, if you decide to sell it down the road, you’ll have a bigger resale audience than you will if you opt for the short.

Does anyone other than Big Agnes still make inflatable pads in a 60” length?

AK, I’m 66” tall and I picked up a 25” wide NeoAir when they updated to the thicker version and new valve a year or so ago. I had been using my leaky 20” women’s NeoAir and wanted the width and assumed that I would cut it down and seal it. I was surprised to learn how much more comfortable it is to have the pad under my feet and pillow so I decided to keep the whole pad intact. I think mine is 72×25?

Anyways my point is that the comfort of the wide/long/thick pad surprised me and is worth the couple ounces to me.

YMMV

Great article.  I remember the now obsolete ensolite pads that got brittle and broke trying to unroll them in the cold.  After a major failure of an inflatable pad I have added gossamer gears thin noninflatable pad.  It has saved my warmth on nites when I loose the air in the inflatable one.  Just fold it in half (or thirds) and add the pack and I can make it thru the nite reasonable well.  It is impossible to find and fix a leak in the dark.  Most of the leaks need water to find.  Like the down pads for severe cold.  They sure feel warmer to me.  It may have to do with “true” insulation and protection from cold coming from the sides.

I purchased a Nemo Tensor Extreme based on this article.  I’ve been using a Thermarest Neo Air.  Both are the Long Wide versions.  The article implied that the Nemo was a better product so I tried it.  The Nemo got no further than an inflation and quick test in my house, and its going back to REI.

Several shortcomings not mentioned in the article are:

1) The inflation bag must be “blown into” to inflate it per instructions printed on the bag.  You cannot get volume into it any other way. The opening is so small my hand just fits into it so I was unable to create volume as I do with the Thermrest bag.  Doesn’t blowing into that inflation bag defeat the purpose?  The moisture from your breath just goes into the bag.

2). The material is very slippery compared to the Neo Air.  I tried the pads side by side with both my merino sleeping base layer directly on the pad and a quilt over me (my preferred setup) and with a bag (both Feathered Friends).  The Nemo was slippery enough that it was less comfortable to keep my elbows and arms from dropping off the side.

3) The baffles on the Nemo are very large and noticeable.  They are twice the width of the Neo Air.  I could feel them with my body; depressions and hills interfered with comfort.

So while the Nemo may provide more R value, and a lower cost per R value than the Neo Air, it fails in two critical comfort factors and one design (potential) problem). My suggestion for future gear evaluations is to consider everything about the products you compare, not merely focus on one feature.  A high R value may aid in sleeping on frozen ground, but an overall uncomfortable experience negates that.

I enjoy Backpacking Light, and am often impressed and astounded at the depth of technical evaluation applied to gear, but I do find that some of the evaluations, as this on did, spend all their effort deep in the weeds, and miss the larger picture.

That is really good observations, thanks

Yeah, that air bag has never made sense to me, although I haven’t tried it.  If you have to blow into the bag, and then squeeze that into the air pad you haven’t saved much.  Blowing directly into the air pad isn’t that big a deal – 5 minutes maybe.  I bet using that bag it would still take 5 minutes.

Does anyone know of a lightweight, low R value pad, now that the Uberlite is discontinued?

Packing for a trip this weekend, with high in the 80’s and lows around 67F, I feel that the extra layers in my Xlite are unnecessary.

I found an uninsulated Big Agnes pad but it was heavier, not lighter than my Xlite!

Nemo Tensor Elite? 330 g, 11.6 oz.

Tensor Elite by itself (no inflation sack) is under 9 oz (255 grams).  It is more comfortable than an Uberlite but very slippery.

Thanks Bill and Bob!

Too bad they don’t make a large, as I have become addicted to the extra size. And, the weight savings would be even larger for the larger pad.

I briefly pushed the pad aside last night, lying just on the thin bathtub floor, and it was pleasantly cool compared to the pad!

No kidding. Regular wide rumored for next spring.

Blowing into the Nemo bag just opens it up. You are just blowing a tiny amount of air into it, so that the volume is open, and therefore full of ambient air. It’s like a paper grocery bag. No air inside when folded up, full of air when unfolded and open. It is a huge time and energy saving over inflating the pad by mouth.

Been making my own inflation bags for years.  First with Neo and now only with Nemo. I use a very lightweight disposable kitchen garbage bag…the perfect size for a pack liner for both my GG Gorilla as well as Kumo. I cut the corner off and use a small strip of duct tape to connect a tiny section of 1/2 inch PVC.  I can fill my insulated Nemo with three bags of air and my Nemo Extreme with between 3-4 bags.  If the bag gets a hole in the field, I throw a small piece of duct tape on the hole and when home, replace the bag in minutes.  The bag is the perfect size for a pack liner and often, in camp and sleeping in my summer Borah Bivy or under my SlingFin tarp, throw my empty backpack into the bag to keep it clean/dry.  I love the set up.  I’ve got buddies I backpack with who use a variety of tiny pumps.  For me…it’s just one more thing…and one more electronic thing.  I like to have as few things (especially electronic things) as possible when in the backcountry.  I love my bag system…been using it for year and will continue to years to come.