Sleeping Pads

Featured review by David Link

A super comfy lightweight mat for warm sleep in cold conditions. When the conditions are “extreme,” the Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated pad delivers. The Thermolite insulation helps you forget that you are sleeping on the ground, and it is completely worth the bulk and weight.

I have been a fan of the Sea to Summit UltraLight Insulated mat for a few years now, and have reviewed it here previously. For the weight and packability (16 oz), it provides really good comfort in warmer weather. But in colder winter and shoulder season temps, I have used a bulkier/heavier Therm-a-Rest mat, as the UltraLight Insulated really isn’t up to the task. Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated So, when the chance to try the Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated mat came along, I was eager to give it a go.

Read more: Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated reviews (2)

Featured review by Arson

This is a great 4-season sleeping pad.

From the Manufacturer: New for 2012: The XTherm mattress is the warmest mattress in the NeoAir collection, allowing you to go lighter than ever in winter conditions. Patent-pending Reflective Barriers give the XTherm mattress true 4-season warmth without the weight or bulk usually found in a winter-worthy mattress. The result is a mattress that weighs less than a pound, takes up less pack space than your water bottle, and provides serious comfort in extremely cold conditions. Pump sack and repair kit included.

Read more: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm reviews (9)

Featured review by Sheila Bergin Goss

This review is for the XL size of the air pads...bought as a bit of "giving-in" to the need for a more supportive sleeping pad. I originally thought I would use it for only car camping when we may sleep in a tent or in a wooden lean-to...however, despite its humongous size (30 x 77 x 3 ), it actually goes canoe camping with me as well! It certainly is too large for backpacking, but is a very comfortable pad, if you can manage to bring it along.

 Right after unrolling it...This is rather a luxury to take camping, but the more I use it, the more I appreciate it. It is 3 inches thick when inflated, is easily and quickly inflated with self-inflating valves (though I often add a bit more manually), and prevents many of the aches and pains that I previously felt with a more compact pad. The foam is a good dense, but still soft, open cell foam made of polyurethane. The pad is durable (I am on the second season of frequent camping with it), and is a rip-stop top, and an abrasion resistant bottom.

Read more: ALPS Mountaineering Lightweight Series Self Inflating Air Pads reviews (9)

Featured review by Richard Proulx

The Therm-a-Rest Women’s ProLite Plus is my dream four-season expedition sleeping surface. It is comfortable, durable, warm, and reasonably light and compact.

Therm-A-Rest Women's ProLite Plus What an incredible cornucopia of sleeping surfaces today’s climbers and trekkers have to choose from! Therm-a-Rest makes such a dizzying array of types and styles that this abundance often leads to confusion and difficulty when shopping. Sleep surfaces boil down to three basic types; all foam, all air, and a combination of air and foam. While it is impossible to strictly categorize type by price, one may generally observe that all foam tends to be the least expensive, all air the most expensive, and air and foam somewhere in-between.

Read more: Therm-a-Rest ProLite Plus reviews (13)

Featured review by PhilNC

The NeoAir Topo Luxe offers excellent comfort and insulation for a price in weight and pocketbook. For "comfortably light" hikers (not ultralight!), this is the "recliner" for your back country living room. Warm enough to take you into at least the shoulder seasons, unbelievably comfy, sturdily constructed, and much quieter than other NeoAir models. Weight is the big issue (1lb 7-14 oz depending on size), but the 4-inch height also might have to be factored in for those who are tall enough to be near your tent walls. At this height, it's also a bit bouncy if you are sensitive to that.

This is a preliminary review after two months of testing. More to come this winter! I have trimmed my pack weight down over the years to what I call "comfortably light," with emphasis on the comfort. Therefore I was excited to test the new NeoAir Topo Luxe as it seemed to fit my style of adding on a bit of weight in order to lounge comfortably in camp. Or I could have just been looking forward to all the hard work "testing" the Topo Luxe... Product Description & Specs The NeoAir Topo Luxe is a comfort-first sleeping pad for those who balance luxury and weight.

Read more: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Topo Luxe reviews (2)

Reviewed by KiwiKlimber

The NEMO Tensor Alpine ultralight sleeping pad is a do-it-all pad. It’s small and light enough to carry into the mountains, it’s warm enough to use in all four seasons, it’s comfortable enough to sleep soundly through the night, and it’s easy enough to inflate/deflate that you won’t dread setting up or tearing down. This pad is the warmest I’ve ever slept on and one of the easiest to inflate/deflate.

Conditions: I’ve tested the NEMO Tensor Alpine pad (Wide/Long option) over the course of three months, during late autumn and winter camping trips. I’ve spent a total of nine nights sleeping on the pad, and my nephew borrowed it for an additional three nights. Specs: Remember, these are the specs for the Long/Wide option. NEMO also sells a Regular/Mummy version of this pad, which is 4 inches shorter, 5 inches narrower, and 7 ounces lighter.  Length: 75.5 inches / 191.8 cm (Manufacturer claim is 76") (Regular/Mummy is 72") Width: 25 inches / 63.5 cm (Manufacturer claim is 25") (Regular/Mummy is 20") Thickness: 2.875 inches / 7.3 cm (Manufacturer claim is 3") (Regular/Mummy is the same) R-Value: 4.8—bring on the cold weather! (Regular/Mummy...

Read more: NEMO Tensor Alpine Ultralight review (1)

Reviewed by Sean Van Cleve

Exped's lightweight and easy to use Ultra 1R sleeping pad is quiet, durable, and provides substantial comfort throughout a wide temperature range. Paired with a short CCF (closed-cell foam) pad, the Ultra 1R proved to be comfortable down to the mid-30°F range on the 93-mile Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park in September 2022. Although this sleeping pad is aimed toward lightweight/ultralight hikers, any camper looking for a compact and durable sleeping pad may find this product more than sufficient for three-season overnights. Multiple sizes, widths, and a rectangular model are available.

People do not want to take risks when it comes down to a night of much needed rest. Although individuals in the past have accepted poor quality sleep as "ordinary," this stigma has been rapidly changing with the development of outdoor technology. Based out of Switzerland, Exped has been in the industry since 1983.  Preparing camp at N. Puyallup River on the Wonderland Trail The Ultra 1R sleeping mat is a straightforward product with two easy to operate valves. The proprietary Exped Flatvalve has one-way operation, as to not leak when filling.   Note the lower inflation check valve Included is a Schnozzel Pumpbag UL (20L/size small) for quick and moisture-free filling.

Read more: Exped Ultra 1R review (1)

Featured review by David Link

Lightweight comfy pad, gives a great night's sleep.

I was intrigued by Sea to Summit's new line of sleeping pads, so when the REI dividend and coupon came out, I decided to give it a try. The first thing I notice was how small the packed size was. I'm always trying to put less bulk in my back, so this is good news for me. I was taken by the pad's interesting new valve design. There are essentially two "plugs" in one. You open the outer plug to inflate, and both plugs to deflate. I find that it takes about a dozen or so breaths to inflate it fully, which is much faster than my previous pad, which usually took a couple of minutes to inflate.

Read more: Sea to Summit UltraLight Insulated reviews (4)

Featured review by Ashleigh

Tired of miserable, sleepless nights in the backcountry? Give the four-season Big Agnes Insulated Q-Core a try. Big Agnes claims that its Insulated Q-Core is the most comfortable pad on the planet. Is it? Well, I can’t answer that, but I can tell you that it is the most comfortable pad I have ever slept on. Because it is 3.5" thick, you’ll never know you're sleeping on the ground. The Q-Core features a quilted pattern of alternating vertical and horizontal baffles that provides even weight distribution and raised side beams to prevent rolling off the mat in the middle of the night. It may be a little bit on the heavy side at 27oz, but to me, a good night’s sleep is well worth a carrying few extra ounces.

I have owned my Big Agnes Insulated Q-Core for about a year and a half now. I have slept on it in temperatures ranging from 15 degrees to 75 degrees and on surfaces ranging from rocky, granite ground to plush grass. No matter the temperature or the surface I slept comfortably on the Q-Core. The Q-Core offers superb support, no matter if you are a side, back, or stomach sleeper. It can be made very firm for extra support or more soft to cradle your body. Even when it isn’t firm, your hips still don’t touch the ground.   Filling the Q-Core to 3/4 capacity provides a cradling effect on the body when you lie on it.

Read more: Big Agnes Q-Core reviews (12)

Reviewed by Twig

A multi-purpose pack liner that works incredibly well as a pump bag for a sleeping pad. While designed to work with Exped pads, a simple modification can adapt it for Therm-a-Rest pads.

Specs: Length: 27" Width: 19" Weight: 2 oz. Volume: 42 liters (2563 cu.in.). Warranty: 5 years Materials: Top: 15 D Ripstop Nylon, Silicone/PU coated, 1500 mm water column. Bottom: 15 D Ripstop Nylon, Silicone/PU coated, 1500 mm water column20 D Polyester, TPU Polyether Film Laminate, Hydrolysis resistant, Honeycomb embossed. Background: I had previously been using the Exped Mini Pump to inflate my Therm-a-Rest Neoair Xlite, after I discovered that a small piece of bicycle tubing (road bike size 700c) fit over both the Exped fitting and the classic Therm-a-rest valve.

Read more: Exped Schnozzel Pumpbag UL review (1)