Sleeping Bags and Pads

Recent Sleeping Bag/Pad Reviews

Sea to Summit Comfort Plus Mat

Supremely comfortable. Comfort: This is with no doubt the most comfortable pad I have ever used. It simply feels like a nice mattress. Size: I have the Regular Tapered and at my 172 cm (5'8") with relatively wide shoulders it is plenty wide enough to easily lie on my back with my arms to my sides and roll around (I am a side sleeper). Inflation: The pad has two independent air chambers and this offers two main advantages. First, you can adjust the pad very easily, and second, it has a lot of built-in… Full review

Therm-a-Rest Men's NeoAir XLite

Light, but fragile and uncomfortable. It is a relatively light pad, but you get what you ... ask for. My pad had a leak on the first night. Just luck of the draw but it brought home the problem with this type of design: one tiny leak means your sleeping night is over. I am 172 cm (5'8"), relatively broad shouldered, and the pad was not large enough for my arms if I slept on my back; it is thin, and it has a very narrow range of inflation that somewhat works for comfort. Too little and you hit the… Full review

REI Flash Insulated Air Pad

The REI Flash is a compact ultralight pad that performs well. It’s comfortable at 2" (5 cm), insulated (3.7 R-Value), and easy to inflate—all at 15 oz. The drawbacks are that it’s loud, the welds may fail, and it has a tendency to slide around at night. I found the Flash at a co-op garage sale and picked it up for a measly $10. The tag said that it leaked. Leaked it did! There were several micro perforations. I found the leaks with some soapy water; they were all at where the pad and welds… Full review

The North Face Bigfoot

Bought this bag in 1993 from REI and used it in the High Sierras for many years. It's a bit heavier than the Lost Ranger I've used since 2010. After sitting on my shelf for 10 years, I decided to pull it out for a snowshoe trip this year and now remember why this was the go-to bag for cold weather back in my youth. North Face quality, large foot area for storing things, and had to unzip it at 9,000 ft in the snow because it was too warm. One of the best investments I ever made in 45 years of backpacking. Full review

NEMO Disco 30

It’s comfortable, stayed warm when camping in the 20s. Packs up nice and small. Perfect for backpacking. Have taken this bag on extended backpacking trips and it met all my needs. Kept me warm even when it was in the 20s. It was lightweight in my backpack and always fluffed up nicely when I took it out of the stuff bag. Love the shape as it gave me extra wiggle room. The foot box gave me extra warmth right where I needed it. Full review

Feathered Friends Swift

I purchased this Swift at the FF store across from REI about 1998. The Swift is light, compresses well, and holds up to a great deal of abuse. It has kept me comfortably warm down to its published temp range of 20° F with only a base layer inside a homemade liner. I definitely recommend it for PCT section hikers from Oregon North to Manning Park; as well as weekend or holiday treks where you may encounter wet/cold conditions. DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE This is a Swift, serial number 95448, 800 fill… Full review

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir All Season

A comfortable and reliable insulated air mattress, good on cold ground down to about 0˚C. Our pair has served us well over the last five years. We (my wife and I) purchased a pair of these from a Norwegian retailer in the run-up to our 2014 two-family hike on the John Muir Trail. We used them on that 25-day journey and every backpacking trip we have done since, and for a lot of frontcountry camping as well. I would guess that it all adds up to six months of nights out over nearly five years now. Full review

Klymit Massdrop x Klymit Ultralight V

This pad was specially made for Massdrop, and was an excellent deal at $60. Although it has a lot of good qualities (high R-value, light, easy inflation/deflation), ultimately it was just not comfortable enough for my backpacking sleep needs. It may work well for back sleepers, but was not comfortable for me, a slender built side and stomach sleeper. I was searching for a sleeping pad for my backpacking trips that was light, had a high R-value, was comfortable and packed down tight. The Klymit Ultralight… Full review

Enlightened Equipment Accomplice

An ultralight and ultracomfy sleeping solution for two, with top-quality treated down fill, silk-like shell fabric and thoughtful details. Save weight, sleep with a friend! For years we have used an opened-up TNF rectangular bag, now probably 25 years-old, as a summer sleeping quilt for the two of us. In winter, we zip it together with its twin for more airtight warmth down into the teens if not single digits. But as of 25 years ago, 700 or maybe 750 fill down was the good stuff, and shell materials… Full review