Sleeping Pads
Sleeping pads are more important than you think.
There are two comfort factors that your sleeping pad contributes to. The first is more obvious than the second. It is easy to see how a pad or a mat can contribute to a comfortable night's sleep by its ability to smooth out the bumps in the ground. What is less intuitive is how much sleeping pads contribute to warmth. When it comes to sleeping comfortably outside, first time campers often jump to the wrong conclusion. They think about warmth in the backcountry the same way they think about it at home i.e. more blankets equals more heat. They immediately assume that they need to invest the majority of their budget in a fluffy, warm sleeping bag, however they fail to consider how much of the work is actually being done by their mattress.
There are a few ways that heat escapes your body in cold weather. Convection and conduction are the two that we will focus on today.
Convection is the more obvious of the two. Everyone knows that a breeze on a cold day will make it feel colder than the actual temperature of the air. Wind makes you feel colder because more things (let's call them "air particles") are absorbing the heat from your body compared to when the air is still. When the air is still, your body donates heat to warm up the air particles around it. Your body does the same thing when it is windy outside, however your body has to work harder because the wind continuously blows away the air particles that your body just warmed up replacing them with new, cold air particles that suck away more and more of your body heat. Wind breakers and fleece jackets work so effectively because they hold in the air particles that your body has already heated up, which forms a layer of warm air between your body and the cold air outside your clothes. Campers who prefer hammocks instead of tents will often use an under-quilt in cold weather in addition to their sleeping pad in order to prevent losing heat to the breeze that passes underneath them as they sleep.
Conduction is a little different. Similar to how an iron skillet absorbs heat when placed on an electric stove panel, your body gains or loses heat when you touch things that are hotter or colder than your core temperature. Conduction is one of the many reasons that your choice of footwear plays such an important role in your winter getup. Quality winter boots will not only insulate your feet from the cold weather, they will prevent the cold ground from absorbing your body heat through your feet.
Even though a sleeping bag protects you from the cold air around your body, like a fleece or windbreaker, it will not prevent the ground from absorbing your body heat. The reason sleeping bags, fleece jackets and wind breakers work the way they do is not because they are warm but because they create a barrier behind which your body can create a layer of warm air. When you lie down in a sleeping bag, the part of the bag between you and the ground is compressed, which leaves no room for the warm air pocket to form. Sleeping pads are important for the same reason that the soles of winter boots are made from different material than the rest of the boot. They are made with insulated material that cannot be compressed in order to prevent heat loss from conduction. For this very reason, quilts are becoming increasingly popular replacements for sleeping bags, especially in the hiker community. A quilt is essentially a sleeping bag with no zipper that is used like a blanket in conjunction with a sleeping pad. Without the need for a zipper or the extra material between you and the ground that would typically be rendered useless in a sleeping bag, quilts weigh less and are therefore easier for hikers to carry. Some quilts even come with straps that you can loop underneath your sleeping pad to create a similar but more effective cocoon of warm air than one created by a traditional sleeping bag.
Inflatable vs. Closed-Cell Foam
There are two categories of sleeping pads made for camping that each have their own pros and cons.
The first option is a closed-cell foam pad, which is essentially just a thick foam mat. Closed-cell foam pads have a couple advantages, namely price and durability. However, they tend to be less comfortable especially if the ground is uneven or you were not able to remove all the little sticks and stones from the spot where you decided to set up camp.
The second option is an inflatable pad, which is basically just a small air-mattress. These are much more comfortable and much more expensive. There is no contest when it comes to comfort, especially if you are a side-sleeper. Inflatable pads eliminate any and all discomfort that you will typically feel though a closed-cell foam pad that has a pebble or inconveniently placed mound of grass underneath. One downside is that they can be a bit noisy when you move around. The sound is kind of like the sound an inflated balloon makes when you rub your fingers over its surface. Even though many inflatable pads now sport a rip-stop exterior, they can still pop if you are not careful. Most inflatable pads come with a couple patches that can temporarily fix an air leak, but it is a problem you simply will not encounter with a foam pad.
There are a few other distinctions, like weight and space, that might push you towards one option over the other. Inflatable pads weigh less. They also deflate and compress to a size that takes up much less space in your pack, but they do take up space. Another advantage to carrying a closed-cell foam pad is that you can simply roll it up and strap it to the outside of your pack so you can use the space inside for something else. You could technically fit a rolled up inflatable pad inside a mesh water bottle holder on the outside of a pack, but then you run the risk of accidentally tearing the material if you brush past a thorny bush or a sharp branch.
So what should you get?
It depends. Everyone has different needs based on a whole bunch of different factors. In order to help you narrow down your options, I have put together a list of a few questions to ask yourself to help you better gauge your needs.
What types of activities do you plan to use it for?
I went to a lot of music festivals when I was in college. For those of you who are unaware, music festivals typically have at least two tiers of camping options. The first option is a basic pass that typically grants you a place to park and a place to pitch a tent, which is usually but not always right next to your car. The second option is the RV pass, which is not only more expensive to buy buy also at the very least requires you to have some sort of camper van, which is typically more expensive than your average tent. I am sure you can guess which option seems more attractive to your average college student.
The advantage to car-camping, at a music festival or otherwise, is that you do not have to worry about weight because your car is doing all the carrying for you. I have seen many of my music festival friends take advantage of this notion to the extent that what they are doing can hardly be classified as camping at all. One guy I know would bring a four-person tent just for himself, along with a full-sized air-mattress, like the one you use when you have relatives visiting from out of town. He would bring pillows, sheets and blankets, essentially recreating most of the comforts of home two feet off the ground, next to his car in the middle of a field. This is a great option for people who do not plan to camp away from their car. Just make sure you buy the battery powered pump so that you can avoid wasting time looking for a wall outlet in the middle of the woods. If there is a chance that you might need to carry your gear, or squeeze it into the back of a car with four other peoples' gear, a full-size or queen mattress is not the best option.
If you want to save space or hike with your gear, you should invest in a sleeping pad that is made for camping.
A couple years ago, my wife and I spent a week hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park. I had a lot of previous hiking and camping experience but most of the hikes I had done on my own were day-hikes, and most of my camping experience came from going out with people or organizations that provided most of the gear for me. Most of the clothing requirements for a day-hike, are similar to what you would need on an overnight hike so I was all set in that department, but I hardly had any of my own camping equipment so there was a lot I needed to buy.
More often than not, the best gear is also the most expensive gear. I knew exactly what I wanted but that became irrelevant when I compared it to what I could afford. When it came to sleeping pads I had it narrowed down to two options. One closed-cell foam pad and one inflatable pad. The Therm-a-rest RidgeRest SOLite (~$30 USD) and the Therm-a-rest NeoAir Xlite (~$170 USD). Even though I would have preferred the NeoAir Xlite, my budget forced me to choose the significantly cheaper RidgeRest. I sacrificed comfort and a bit of weight in order to save money for other things I needed, mainly a backpack and a tent.
When it comes to camping, there is a wide range of extravagant possibilities beyond what you need in order to stay healthy and safe. There was no question that the Ridge Rest would protect me against conductive heat loss to the cold ground, so my dilemma really only had to do with my desire for a more luxurious and comfortable night's sleep, which is not insignificant. Everyone knows the benefits of better, more productive sleep. I just figured that I would suffer more if I compromised on the tent or backpack.
For those of you looking for a budget option, I can definitely recommend the Therm-a-rest RidgeRest SOLite. I have camped with it in March when there was still snow on the ground all throughout my Iceland trip last September and had no problems keeping warm and I would not hesitate to bring it winter camping provided that it was paired with a seasonally appropriate sleeping bag. If you are concerned about space, the Therm-a-rest Z Lite is only costs $10 USD more and it packs down a bit smaller, but it weighs the same 14 ounces as the Ridge Rest SoLite and you sacrifice a bit of warmth due to its lower R-Value (scale used to measure insulation factor).
Two years later my RidgeRest is still holding strong. I have used it in all sorts of conditions and the only change I have noticed is in the color, which is a bit faded but does nothing to inhibit the pad's performance. This past Spring, however, I got an email about a 20% member discount at REI and decided to treat myself to the NeoAir Xlite and my Ridge Rest was relegated to the the trunk of my car where I keep it as a spare. I have only used my NeoAir Xlite a few times since I bought it in the Spring, but I can say without question that it has made at least a $140 USD improvement in the quality of sleep I get when camping.
For those of you who get cold at night, Therm-a-rest also makes an inflatable sleeping pad called the NeoAir Xtherm that is a bit heavier than the RidgeRest but boasts a significantly higher R-Value than either of the previously mentioned options. I really only recommend this option as a dedicated sleeping pad for winter camping, unless you know that you get very cold at night. I have a friend who bought an Xtherm and subsequently returned it in exchange for and Xlite because every time he would sleep on the Xtherm he would wake up from being too hot.
My Picks:
For the exclusive car camper: The most comfortable and most bulky option.
Just get a regular air mattress. You will be more comfortable without having spent very much money.
Pros: Comfortable, cheap.
Cons: Heavy, bulky.
For the budget backpacker: The best deal on a pad you can carry with you.
Pros: Price, durability
Cons: Least comfy, and bulkier than an inflatable option.
My Top Pick: The best at everything except the price.
Pros: Light weight, comfortable, packable
Cons: Expensive, less durable.
What is your budget?
This was the largest determining factor when I bought my first sleeping pad. When I was a kid, I never had to think about this because I would just use whatever my dad had in the basement.
Few brands stand out as representatives of their industry the way Therm-a-rest does. Like Xerox and Kleenex in their respective industries, the word "Therm-a-rest" has simply become a synonym for "sleeping pad."
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