Best Backpacking Sleeping Pads (2025), WIRED Tested and Reviewed Leave a comment
Listed below are some normal pointers to bear in mind when searching for a brand new sleeping pad. When backpacking, we recommend sticking with inflatable pads or self-inflating pads (although these are usually heavier), which supply the very best insulation and cushioning to dimension and weight. No matter you particular wants, your aim is all the time to search out the very best warmth-to-weight ratio. Extra heat means extra weight. Maintain the next suggestions in thoughts.
Know your supposed use. Each ounce counts, and so does the packed dimension. Smaller, lighter pads take up much less room in your pack and are nice for a thru-hike the place you are making an attempt to attenuate gear dimension to make room for meals. Additionally, contemplate the local weather. If you happen to plan to camp in Michigan within the fall the place chilly climate is all however assured, you want a way more insulated pad to guard you from chilly floor temps than you do tenting within the Everglades in August. Bonus tip: Do not camp within the Everglades in August.
Know thyself. Everybody sleeps in a different way, and completely different pads shall be higher for various folks. Are you a aspect sleeper who sleeps chilly? Go for a thicker pad with extra insulation. Sleep each which method and all the time waking up sizzling? Get an ultralight pad that is quiet, so your tossing and turning will not disturb your tent mates.
Contemplate your total sleep system. The pad is the inspiration, however how heat you sleep may even be affected by your sleeping bag, pillow, even which base layers you deliver. (Many individuals don’t know this, however sleeping bag temperature rankings assume you’re carrying a base layer.)
You would possibly want two. Sleeping pads usually are not a one-size-fits-all resolution. A light-weight pad that is excellent on balmy summer time nights is not going to chop it at an alpine camp in early spring. It is perhaps tempting to only get the summer time pad and produce a heavier sleeping bag in spring, however this doesn’t result in restful nights. A great sleeping pad means the distinction between being heat and getting relaxation or shivering all evening, even in the identical sleeping bag. Belief us. We do it so you do not have to.
Consolation is essential. I do know I joke about sleeping on tiny closed-cell-foam pads, however there is no want anymore. This information is proof that snug sleeping pads exist and weigh subsequent to nothing. Though I actually did sleep on the bottom 35 years in the past, you couldn’t pay me to do it now. Now I virtually all the time deliver two pads: one inflatable and one skinny closed-cell foam. The latter offers me a spot to sit down within the night and provides fairly a bit of heat and a no-slip sleeping floor after I want it at evening.
