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Therm-a-Rest ToughSkin

rated 4.5 of 5 stars

The ToughSkin has been discontinued. If you're looking for something new, check out the best self-inflating sleeping pads for 2024.

photo: Therm-a-Rest ToughSkin self-inflating sleeping pad

I am Active Duty in the US Marine Corps. I purchased this pad a few years ago for trip to the Big Island of Hawaii for training due to the fact that we train and sleep in mostly old lava flow. I could have not been more comfortable!!

While the standard military issue foam pads were torn up my pad was REMARKABLE! Not one puncture, hole, tear. I got some of the best sleep I have ever had in the field.

I then took it on to Iraq for a couple of tours. There we had the option of a mattress. I asked for a cot and threw my pad on there and slept like that for 14 months total with no problems whatsoever.

I still use it today for recreational camping and hiking. I even got one for my wife. Hands down one of the best pads out there.

Price Paid: $95 (on base price)

With the same size ProLite 3 you get something twice as heavy. I'll admit I do use my ProLite more often but this pad has an important role among my gear. This is always the pad I take when I go on longer trips (5+ days) because the extra reliability is defiantly worth it. Besides its role in the Therm-a-rest family, this pad is very comfortable. It doesn't have those annoying bumps that sometimes occur when you sleep on a large bump or when you sit up and lose yore cushion on your tussin. When weight isn't the primary concern this gets a 5 star.

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Heading to the desert or other prickly, puncture-prone locales? Then you’ll want to check out the Therm-a-Rest ToughSkin sleeping pad, which won a Silver OutDoor Industry Award for innovative technology at the 2006 European OutDoor Trade Fair. The ToughSkin is composed of a top layer of open-cell, self-inflating foam and a bottom layer of closed cell foam, for protection from punctures by thorns, sticks, and sharp rocks, which would otherwise render a self-inflating pad useless.

Therm-a-Rest found that 95 percent of sleeping pad punctures penetrated less than one-tenth of an inch, so they made the ToughSkin’s puncture-resistant material a minimum of one-eighth of an inch thick. In the unlikely event that the inflated portion of the pad is punctured, you’ll still retain the insulation value of the closed cell foam bottom for an insulated night’s sleep.

Small
Size: 20" x 47" (51 cm x 119 cm)
Thickness: 1.5 inches (3.8 cm)
Weight: 1 lb 10 oz (750 g)
R-Value: 5.2
Suggested retail price: $99.95

Regular
Size: 20" x 72" (51 cm x 183 cm)
Thickness: 1.5 inches (3.8 cm)
Weight: 2 lbs 8 oz (1140 g)
R-Value: 5.2
Suggested retail price: $119.95

Specs

Price MSRP: $119.95
Historic Range: $74.93-$149.95
Reviewers Paid: $95.00

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