Lightweight, COMFORTABLE sleeping pad for side sleepers?

A textured under mat or a thicker pad. (Nemo)

Look at the Thermarest NeoLoft. It’s personally too thick, soft, and “bouncy” feeling for myself, but my wife really likes it. (As much as one can like a camping inflatable mattress.)

I’m not sure of your build, but perhaps a pillow – puffy jacket, clothes in a stuff-sack – between your knees might help with hip comfort as well.

Light side sleeper here too.  Nemo Tensor (the older “Insulated” R4.2) wide long works well for me.  I suck up the weight hit (19oz) to get a good sleep.

Horizontal dimpled vertical baffles, at least 3″ thick and 25″ wide seem best for comfort for side sleepers, if trying to avoid the 30oz or more of “comfort” pads.

The Nemo Tensor All Season may be closest to this now, or their Eclipse which is a bit warmer and thicker and cradles you in more through thicker sides (but its outer tube each side isn’t insulated). Comparison

If not minding that sort of weight, also consider the Exped Ultra 6.5R

I might give the Tenso Elite Ultralight a try for summer. It shaves ~ 9 oz off those but only has an R of 2.4.  Its a bit less comfortable than the other Nemos but supposed to be notably more comfortable than the Thermarest ultralights and still pretty comfortable because the material has give.

Best pad reviews I’ve come across are Justin’s:

https://gearpriority.com/gear-reviews/

Side/stomach sleeper here. Tried 6 different pads last 6 years and there are three that have been good for me, but only one that I’d recommend from a comfort standpoint; Sea to Summit Ether Light XR Pro, with a Zenbivy, and an inflatable pillow between the knees. Wife uses a body pillow (long cylinder shaped inflatable pillow from Anazon).

The one’s i’ve tried;

Nemo Tensor. Can work but need to deflate to a perfect level, and then increase again when the night temp drops. Too complicated for me. Wife uses it when she comes along.

Thermarest Neoair Xlite. Did not find this one comfortable at all. Sold it.

Zenbivy Light. Works ok with a bit of deflation. Use it with an Amok Double hammock.

Zenbivy Flex Air. This is, oddly, the worst pad I’ve ever used. Brought it on a 6 day trip and woke up at 0400 every morning with aching hips. I suspect that it’s too soft – both a stretchy fabric and forgivikg baffles. Emailed Zenbivy about it but they replied that sleeping pads aren’t that comfortable to use so nothing to do about it. Will be sold.

Exped Dura 6. Very very nice to sleep on. Primarily used by my daughter. But bulky.

Sea To Summit Ether Light XR Pro. Very comfortable for side and stomach sleeping. More supportive than the Zenbivy Flex Air. The baffles «give in» but the fabric is not as stretcy, so it’s more balanced. At least for me. Garmin watch usually reports good sleep when I use this. It was meant as a winter pad, but now I use it in the other seasons as well. Having an issue with it now – does not seem to retain heat as well as last winter. Don’t know what S2S customer service is like. But comfort wise it’s my champion.

If I were to buy a 3 season pad now, I’d check out the Nemo Eclipse. It get’s very good reviews for comfort.

Thanks to all for the suggestions so far.  Someone asked about my build: 5’8″ 130lbs.

Seems like the Nemo Eclipse and S2S Ether Light XR Pro could be good options.

I tried sleeping with a pillow between my knees when I was pregnant and found it super comfortable, but I roll over too much and the pillow doesn’t want to roll with me.  Then I tried a pillow on each side – but I would wake up in the middle of the night on my back with a pillow snugged up on each side of me preventing me from turning over…

When I injured my knee and it hurt for them to touch side sleeping, I carried a balloon and under inflated it to put between my knees.  Worked great and weighed nothing.  I had room in my pack for it inflated, protected by my quilt, but think playing around with a glad bag twist tie might work to deflate it each morning.

I sleep on my side and use a Etherlight XT, which I think is heavier and thicker than the XR but not as thick and heavy as the XR Pro mentioned above.  I find it comfortable and I fall asleep easily (after a day hiking).  I do wake up because of the pressure on my hip/shoulder and need to roll over every hour or so.  But it’s never gotten to where the other side isn’t more than fully recovered before I flip back and I roll like that, if less often, in a bed.

Hey Jen,

I’d 2nd the suggestion of the Thermarest Neoloft with the red/orange fabric. Since it is 4.6″ deep and you’re a side sleeper, that should provide the depth you need to keep your hips from hitting the ground. I haven’t used one, but it is quite thick. The weight is still fairly reasonable and it’s 26″ wide so you get a tiny bit more width than most pads.

Please disregard this if you’ve already tried a 3” NeoAir. I’m a rotisserie-style side sleeper, and after years of poor sleep on my 2” NeoAir, I upgraded to the 3” model. It’s made a huge difference for me.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record – I recommended the Thermarest NeoLoft earlier. This one is not for me, my wife (wider hips, narrower waist) prefers it, and sleeps well. Oddly, my daughter (a very slim teenager) prefers it as well.

Personally, I’ve found the Big Agnes Rapide-SL to be the best so far. I find it to be very comfortable, but firm enough that it doesn’t feel “bouncy” like the NeoLoft.

Though these pads are pricey, you can find them used in good condition on ebay, marketplace, REI returns, etc. They are popular desirable enough that you can re-sell them and get most of your money back.

Physical characteristics can make a difference in how individuals feel about their pad. You’ve already said that the pad doesn’t work for you.

A thicker pad. More room for adjustment. Deep dimples like the ZB Flex Air can create thin spots.

(I  complained to ZB as well.  I was told that their pad was very comfortable. How do you argue against that logic? )

Something like the Exped Flexmat underneath can add structure, keeping you off the ground. It adds R-value, redundancy, and pad protection. It can be cut down. It also adds weight and can be bulky.

Been doing more research on your recommendations…looks like the Sea To Summit Ether Lite XT is people’s favorite pad…until it goes flat mid-trip.  Bummer.  The Big Agnes Rapide apparently often leaks right out of the gate.

And the Thermarest Neoloft looks perfect…but bizarrely sleeps really cold.  Could work if I was carrying a full sleeping bag but not sure I want to risk it with a quilt.

The Nemo Tensor looks like my best bet, possibly with my backpack’s sit pad under the hip section.  Thanks for the thoughts – really appreciate it!

I can take my Tensor down to freezing.  Below that I add my ccf sit pad under my hip and it’s been manageable to 20f

Jen, you brought up cold sleeping – How cold do you plan to be sleeping?

I’ve taken my Rapide-SL down into the mid-20’s with a layer of mylar-bubble insulation underneath. It was fine. Likewise, my son as well. I’ve taken a NeoLoft and the Rapide down into the high 30’s with nothing underneath, and was comfortably warm on them.

The Tensor all-season should perform well in regards to warmth. I felt like the Rapide-SL was slighly more comfortable (to me) and is definitely quieter. That said, the Tensor definitely packs down smaller.

My son & I both use the Rapide-SL’s now. He has a kids’ Big Agnes 20* synthetic bag, which lacks insulation under the back/torso. I use a 20* down quilt. Durability has been no issue. I’m surprised that many complain about the Rapide’s, as they feel pretty durable to the touch, as they seem to use a pretty durable ripstop.

If you can try them in-store, I think you’d be able to come to a decision pretty quickly. If you like the Tensor, I think you would NOT like NeoLoft (or similar, thicker pads.) Personally, I think the Rapide-SL is similar in feel/comfort to the Tensor pads.

I’ve used an uberlite which is 3 inch thick.  I find it uncomfortable to sleep on because it feels like I’m going to tip off of it.

I got the therm-a-rest trail prolite.  2 inches thick.  I’m a side sleeper and find it comfortable.  It’s self inflating, but I don’t care that much about self inflating, but that design has a stronger connection between the layers so I don’t feel like I’m tipping off of it.  Not light though 1.5 pounds.

Hi Jerry

Try only half inflating the 3″ mat.

Cheers

I’ve tried that but it still wasn’t comfortable.

I think the fact it’s just an air mattress with nothing internal to connect front and back is a problem.

And, lots of people love those pads.  I just have one opinion.

I wonder whether the problem is with the tubes going across rather than lengthwise? I can’t find the relevant photos or details from my survey of airmats right now, but it sticks in my mind that cross-ways tubes were a bit unstable.

Cheers

Forgot to mention a pad that’s actually comfortable, lightweight, warm, and cheap – the Lighttour 7.5R. You can find alot of youtube reviews of these – especially from the UK. The measurements they provide is for non-inflated pads – so consider sizing up. I have tried this pad down to 5 degrees celsius and it had no problems with that temperature.

I think the problem with the uberlite (and similar?) pads is the top surface fabric can shift sideways, relative to the bottom surface fabric.  There’s nothing mechanically to prevent this.

With self inflating pads, the internal foam is glued to the top and bottom surface fabrics which inhibits sideways motion.