NEMO Quasar 3D

The best cushion-to-weight sleeping pad of 2021

Photo: courtesy

With a 72-by-20-inch footprint (size regular) plus 3.5 inches of air insulation, the Quasar 3D brings heavy-hitting comfort to a lightweight model. “I felt like I was sleeping on a car-camping pad, not one made for backpacking,” one tester said after hiking into Denali National Park. The Quasar 3D’s height is complimented by gentle, rolling sidewalls in the horizontal baffles, which create a cradling design that always kept us centered on the pad no matter how we slept. One baffle at the head is also slightly raised, adding a subtle pillow-like effect. Though its 1.8 R-value classifies the Quasar 3D as a summer pad, a veteran tester took it out with a 20°F bag for a 30°F Alaskan night and reported no cold spots. The pad rolls up to the size of a small loaf of bread.

regular, regular/wide

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