Choosing the right sleeping pad for your camping or backpacking trips can be difficult. There are a lot of factors to consider in order for a hiker to make a well informed decision. Picking the right sleeping pad is important because we need to be comfortable at night. It is hard for a lot of people to be comfortable when they are sleeping on a hard surface. The more comfortable you are, the better you are going to sleep. The more sleep you get, the more energy you will have for hiking in the morning. Sleeping pads also offer warmth and insulation by protecting your body from the cold ground. They can help your body stay warm and cozy during the cold nights.
Types Of Sleeping Pads
Closed Cell Foam
Closed cell foam mats are still pretty popular and I still see a lot of hikers bring them when they are backpacking. They are mats that you roll to open and close. Think of them as yoga mats. They are a little bit bulky but offer enough cushion to keep you very comfortable at night. There are also designs that are more rectangular in nature. Instead of rolling them, you basically fold them to make them more compact. Most of the time, people would attach these closed cell foam mats at the bottom of the backpack.
Open Cell Foam
I often see open cell foam on memory foam beds and memory foam toppers that you can get for indoor use. My bed at home is actually an open cell memory foam. Open cell basically allows air to pass through so it is more breathable than closed cell. Open cell also goes back to its original shape as soon as possible which makes the camping rather bulky. There is not a lot of sleeping pads that are made from open cell foam. I know an open cell foam sleeping pad which is Teton Sports Camping Pad which is very very comfortable and pretty popular as well. Open cell foam is very bulky and usually meant for car camping instead of backpacking.
Self Inflating
Self inflating sleeping pads are my favorite. All you have to do is to open the valve and the sleeping pad will inflate. Most of the sleeping pads I have seen and tested are not that fast when it comes to inflating themselves. It is much faster to just blow on to the sleeping pad. Most of the time, you will only need 10-15 breaths in order to fully inflate a self inflating backpacking pad. I find self inflating pads to be lightweight and compact. They work well for me. However, most of them do not offer enough cushioning or warmth. So if I am camping or backpacking and expecting cold weather, then I will bring a closed cell foam mat as well and combine the two together.
Air Mattress With A Pump
You can also bring an air mattress with a pump. These types of sleeping pads are very comfortable. These pads can range from being lightweight to being very heavy. You can bring the heavy ones for car camping. You will get a lot of comfort and you will sleep better at night. These sleeping pads can even rival the comfort that you get from your bed at home. These air mattresses for camping that are very comfortable are also very heavy and bulky. They are not meant for backpacking but very good for car camping. One thing to keep in mind is that the pump will also add weight so air mattresses are not ideal for backpacking.
Hammock Pads
Hammock pads are meant for hammocks. There is not a lot of them available right now. It is easy to spot them, they will have wings on the side. These wings are meant to keep the pads stable or not move around the hammock. The wings also add insulation and more comfort to the user. However, hammock pads tend to be somewhat more expensive. If you are really into comfort then you should get one but if you are saving money then a self inflating sleeping pad works well also for hammocks.
Outdoor Activity Considerations
Car Camping / RV camping
If you are not going to be carrying the sleeping pad, then you will have more options. You can get heavier, bulkier and more comfortable mattresses and sleeping pads. If you are going for car camping then pick the most comfortable outdoor sleeping pad that you can get. The more comfort, the better. Of course, the more comfortable the item, the more expensive it is going to be as well. For car camping or RV camping, you don’t need to worry about weight, and backpack space so you can choose a very comfortable item to help you sleep at night.
Backpacking
For backpacking, you will obviously have to carry the sleeping pad with you. You have a limited amount of backpack space or room and you have a limited amount of energy. For backpacking, it depends on the trail and miles that you are going to hike for. There are lots of backpackers that just hike for 1 mile into a lean-to or a primitive camp site, and they just stay there to enjoy nature. There are also Thru-hikers that tend to hike the Appalachian trail, they will need to hike lots of miles every day. The backpacking sleeping pad that you are going to get depends on the miles that you are going to do.
Minimalist Backpacking
Minimalist backpackers will only carry the lightest gear as much as possible. Most of them do not even bring a sleeping pad. A lot of them just use a tarp. I am not really a minimalist backpacker since I like to take pictures but to a minimalist backpacker, weight is everything. They would cut their shoe laces, cut the straps on the backpack, jacket and so on to make themselves more agile, faster and be able to reach their destination sooner. Most minimalist would go for something that is less than a pound.
Winter Camping
Winter camping is somewhat different. You need to make sure that your air pad is insulated with a very high R-value. You will also need a closed cell foam pad added to the air bed. When you combine both together, you will get more insulation for the ground. The closed cell foam mattress will make sure that your air bed is not punctured or destroyed by the ground. It gives the air bed an added layer of protection.
Sleeping Pad Features We Should Consider
Material
The material of the pad is something you need to consider. It will determine whether the pad is durable or not. You don’t really want to have puncture holes on your air pad after a few weeks of using it. You want the item to be durable and lasts for a long time. If it is a foam mat, you want to make sure the density and thickness of the material. Open cell foams tend to be bulkier than closed cell foams.
Weight
Weight is something we always have to consider. The more weight that we carry, the less energy we will have hiking the trails. It is important that we make sure that the item that we are getting isn’t too heavy if we are going to bring it on a backpacking trip. People often end up packing too much weight because they didn’t plan the total weight of their backpacks when they bought their backpacking gear. We always have to try our best to get the lightest possible mattress that we can get.
Width
Most of the sleeping pads I have seen and tested have a width of 20 to 23 inches. This width is often times the standard and it is good enough for a lot of people. However, if you are pretty large or big then you may want a sleeping pad with a width of 25 to 30. There are also double sleeping pads that are very wide. They are meant to fit two people. So if you are going backpacking with a lover or partner then getting a double or wide sleeping bag is ideal since you will save a few ounces of weight and space in your backpack.
Length
Most sleeping pads have a length of 72 inches. This is good enough to keep your head, body and toes insulated. 72 inches is 6 feet. If you are more than six feet tall then you should consider sleeping pads that are lengthier. The next most common size is 78 inches in length. You will often have to pay extra. You will end up with a few more ounces of weight as well. There are also sleeping pads with a built in pillow for the head. Those add length to the sleeping pad as well. It is good to know these things so that you will know the right size to keep your body warm and comfortable.
Built In Rails / Wings
There are lots of sleeping pads with rails and wings. These pads are meant for hammocks most of the time. However, you can also use them for tent camping. These pads will provide more stability and helps prevent the pads from slipping. They also prevent the user from rolling off the sleeping pad at night when the user turns their body. The rails or wings are pretty good for children and teenagers that move a lot when they are sleeping.
Inflation
There are different ways to inflate an air pad. There are self inflating pads that do not need anything else, pads that use air pumps, sleeping pads with built in pumps, pads that you blow air into and so on. There are also different kinds of valves. There are high volume inflation and deflation valves. These valves are meant to speed the air flow into and out of the item. The inflation of the sleeping pad can give you a lot of stress and annoyances. It is better to make sure that inflating the air bed is very easy and effortless. If you are backpacking, the last thing you want to do is put a lot of effort into inflating your bed for more than an hour.
Sleeping Pad Accessories
Rails / Wings
There are companies that are creating rails and wings now for sleeping pads. The wings do offer a lot of usefulness so they are a good accessory to any sleeping pad. I have seen one from Eagles Nest Outfitters. A friend of mine brought it with him. I kind of like it. It is nice and gives added insulation.
Pillows
With recent innovations and amazing new designs by individuals and companies, backpacking pillows are now very lightweight. Bringing one to give yourself more comfort at night is not a bad idea or decision. I would highly recommend it.
Air Pumps
If you bought an air bed for camping, then there is a probability that it will have an air pump. Unfortunately, some companies will give you the cheapest and most fragile air pump ever. They are not even that good when it comes to moving air inside and outside of the air bed. So I recommend getting a third party air pump for your bed if the one that you got is pretty crappy.
Patches
A lot of the air pads that I have bought and tested came with additional fabrics in case the sleeping pad gets punctured. If you do not get additional fabric then you may have to buy one. One thing to keep in mind is that most air pads are made out of 75D polyester. Polyester and heat do not work well together. You may end up burning your sleeping pad if you use an iron to patch it. I am just reminding you that you should be careful.
Understanding R-Value And Insulation
The simplest explanation I can give to you is that the ground is cold. It gets colder at night. Even in the summer, the ground can get very cold. The R-value of a sleeping pad determines how well it can resist the cold. The higher the R-value, the better it is for cold surfaces, cold ground, and cold weather that will make the ground surface cold. This is something you need to consider if you are going to get a sleeping pad. Most sleeping pads will have some sort of insulation layer. This layer will determine its R-value. R-values range from 1 to 11 on most outdoor sleeping pads. It can be higher though. A lot of indoor beds will have a high value. For summer camping, an R-value of 3 or 4 is good enough.
References:
- https://www.gearx.com/blog/knowledge/hikingcamping/how-to-choose-a-sleeping-pad/
- https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/sleeping-pads.html
- https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-sleeping-pad/buying-advice
- https://www.ems.com/f/ea-how-to-choose-a-sleeping-pad-1.html
- https://www.thesleepjudge.com/open-cell-vs-closed-cell-foam/