Rectangle vs mummy sleeping pad

Generalizing but

Side sleeper – mummy is fine

Back or stomach sleeper – rectangular is better because your forearms/hands will most likely be off the pad with a mummy shape.

Discussed within the last few weeks:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/sleeping-mats-shape-and-redundacy/

Unfortunately only you will be able to tell. I have tried over and over to get on with mummy-shaped pads but I’ve just given up and accepted they don’t work for me now.

Rectangular bed at home, and camp. Or a hammock.

Unfortunately only you will be able to tell. I have tried over and over to get on with mummy-shaped pads but I’ve just given up and accepted they don’t work for me now.

I also tried to ‘make peace’ with the narrow, mummy shape and finally had to admit they’re just not for me.

Fortunately I found happiness with the short/wide/rectangle format (47″ x 25″) which is unfortunately a sparsely populated niche… NeoAir Trekker being one of the few.

Since there are always two of us, side by side, the rectangular (UL 7) works much better for us.
Other thing about mummy shape, apart from the gap between two of them at the bottom end, is that they don’t seem to be much lighter than the best rectangular ones. IMHE

Happy New Year

As a side sleeper, I found that mummy left my feet off the pad every time I bent my knees a little, or rolled over onto my other side. My guess is that mummy pads only work for back sleepers for sleep with their feet close together (Ie: use a sleeping bag or quilt with a narrow foot box).

I use mummy style pad.  No problem.  I sleep on side and frequently turn.

I didn’t really choose it so much as that’s what it was.  Thermarest Prolite.

I switched from an ancient version that weighed two pounds.  New one weighs one pound.

Thanks everyone. It seems like the mummy isn’t so bad. I will give that a try then. I usually bring a ccf pad as well in the winter months, so slipping off isn’t too big of a concern.