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Sleeping Pad Shopping Guide
The Standard: For years, the unquestioned king of good snoozing has been the self-inflating, foam-filled mattress. The best are comfortable, durable, warm, and easy to fill. Recently, though, variations on the old-fashioned air mattress have been making serious inroads, bringing improvements in cushion, durability, and price. For as little as half the price of a standard self-inflater, you can get an air mattress that blows up twice as thick, albeit with less insulation (usually) and lots more effort.
Variables:
Closed-cell foams mats still have fans–mainly ultralighters who cut them to hip length and even use them to cushion unpadded backpacks.| You sleep... | You should buy... |
| Like a rock | Why carry extra? Go for a short, thin closed-cell pad like the Z-Rest. |
| Like a princess | For three-season camping, choose a full-length air mattress that inflates to 3 inches thick. For colder conditions, get the same thing with insulation or a (slightly warmer) 1.5-inch-thick self-inflater. Thicker self-inflaters are available, but are too heavy and bulky for backpacking. |
| Warm | Short air mattress. |
| Cold | Try either of the cold-weather princess options, plus a short closed-cell pad to layer under your torso for extra insulation. |
| In the snow | Go with a full-length self-inflater and full-length closed-cell pad; even insulated air mattresses have a hard time in deep cold due to the seams between chambers. Put extra clothes under your bag and your backpack under your legs for maximum warmth. |
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READERS COMMENTS
I have found the Therma-rest ProLite 4 line of mens and womens sleeping pads to be very very nice. They are excellent at keeping you warm in winter camping, yet they are light, and compact enough to store inside your backpack. Totally worth it.
Posted: Apr 24, 2008 Chad
Andy,
It's the BA pad with the Qualofil insulation (I believe)...I'm using one this weekend on the AT. It's 2.5 in. thick and weighs 1lb. 6 oz. Not bad if you ask me but I'm almost 50 and I enjoy being comfortable.
Posted: Apr 16, 2008 Michael King
W/in the past few months Backpacker magazine print edition recommended a certain Big Agnes pad - anyone recall which one or which months magazine discussed this?
Posted: Mar 29, 2008 andy
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