Our choose
This 3-inch-thick, notably heat pad is probably the most snug one we examined. And it’s simpler to inflate, deflate, roll, and retailer than another car-camping pad.
The self-inflating Therm-a-Relaxation LuxuryMap Sleeping Pad has lengthy been a favourite with our testers, and it has stood the check of time—six years of car-camping journeys, to be particular. This 3-inch-thick pad has further foam, with an air pocket on high, positioned precisely the place the physique exerts extra strain; this will increase consolation and helps stop the pad from bottoming out in a single day. Aspect-sleepers, back-sleepers, and stomach-sleepers all discovered this pad to be snug and supportive.
With an R-value of 6 (R-value is a measure of how effectively a pad insulates), the LuxuryMap pad is greater than twice as heat as our backpacking choose. In our exams, the LuxuryMap’s face cloth appeared to reject lint and dust higher than cloth on rival pads. And its carry bag was refreshingly straightforward to stuff and to tote round (this isn’t typically the case with bigger sleeping pads). The one draw back: This pad is heavy. However so long as we parked near our campsites, that didn’t trouble us.
Our choose
With sufficient thickness to assist your again and hips, this sturdy sleeping pad is probably the most snug possibility we tried that was nonetheless gentle sufficient to hold lengthy distances. However it’s not heat sufficient for the winter.
Should you’re in search of a sleeping pad that’s supportive but nonetheless gentle sufficient to hold—for backpacking journeys within the spring, summer time, and fall—the 3½-inch-thick Nemo Quasar 3D Light-weight Insulated Sleeping Pad is a strong alternative. It has an R-value of three.3 (corresponding to that of its opponents), and it comes with personalized baffles that contour to your physique. In contrast with many of the different backpacking pads we tried, this one felt extra like a supportive mattress.
It’s additionally very sturdy. Throughout testing, we blew up the pads and allow them to sit. After three weeks (throughout which they have been jumped on by little children), the pad confirmed no put on and tear or deflation. The Quasar pad is available in common, common vast, lengthy vast, and double sizes. At 1 pound 12 ounces for the common dimension, this pad is heavier than a few of the different backpacking pads we tried, however it packs down small.
Funds choose
Primary however dependable, this pad is light-weight, sturdy, and cheap. However it’s not our most snug or our warmest pad.
In case your high considerations contain value or sturdiness, the Therm-a-Relaxation Z Lite Sol Sleeping Pad is a standout alternative. This light-weight (14 ounces) pad is sturdy and cheap. It’s no shock that this choose shouldn’t be practically as snug as any of our different decisions, because it’s made with primary foam and is the thinnest of our picks (lower than an inch). Nonetheless, the pad has an R-value of two.6, which is spectacular contemplating how skinny it’s (although all of our different picks are nonetheless hotter). Should you ever determine to improve, the Z Lite Sol turns into a go-to backup or loaner pad that you would be able to anticipate to make use of for many years to come back.
Additionally nice
This sleeping pad isn’t small, and it isn’t gentle. However it’s probably the most snug pad within the recreation. Should you’re driving as much as your campsite, this one is a wilderness luxurious.
Right here’s the factor: The Exped MegaMat Duo 10 shouldn’t be straightforward to pack. It’s not straightforward to inflate. And it’s not straightforward to hold round. However it’s completely probably the most snug double sleeping pad you should purchase—it’s so snug, in reality, that lots of our testers discovered themselves utilizing this pad for company of their dwelling, as an alternative of a typical air mattress. The MegaMat Duo is 3.9 inches thick and weighs about 7½ kilos (the Duo LW+ mannequin is nearly 10 kilos), and it has an R-value of 8.1, making it each the most important and warmest possibility we examined.
Over the course of two years and dozens of tenting journeys with babies, our testers by no means noticed injury to the MegaMat Duo. There’s sufficient padding to assist side-sleepers’ hips and shoulders. And stomach- and back-sleepers appreciated the mattress’s lower-back assist. The MegaMat Duo additionally stays firmly inflated for a number of days, however we do suggest giving it a pre-sleep top-off of air. Should you’re headed out on a car-camping journey the place weight isn’t a difficulty, that is the couple’s pad to decide on.
Additionally nice
This air pump works a lot sooner than utilizing a pump bag or your personal breath to explode a sleeping pad.
Many sleeping pads must be inflated along with your breath (as you’d inflate a balloon) or with a sack (referred to as a pump bag). However there’s another choice: a light-weight air pump. The Exped Widget Pump isn’t straight suitable with non-Exped beds—its seal works greatest with Exped pads. But the airflow is so highly effective we discovered it nonetheless works on different picks, even with no direct seal, and it sped up the inflation course of tenfold. We have been in a position to inflate a single pad in about 30 seconds, and this pump added simply 7 ounces to our pack weight. You do want to make use of a USB charger to cost the pump earlier than a backpacking journey.
