What are these sleeping pads you speak of? When I was young, all backpacking was uphill both ways and everyone slept on the ground in sleeping bags with only a half-inch of thin closed-cell foam between us and every pebble. We also filtered our water with our teeth and ate mainly raw meat and foraged ramps. Kids these days.
Still, I suppose there is something to be said for getting a good night’s sleep at the end of a long day on the trail. These days, there’s no shortage of packable, lightweight sleeping pads to make sure no peas (or pebbles) ever disturb your slumber on your next backpacking trip. We’ve spent countless nights on all manner of sleeping pads, and we’re happy to report that in all this time we’ve never had one fail on us. That said, there are some standouts—looking at you, Nemo Tensor All Season—and a few to avoid.
Updated July 2026: We’ve added Exped’s new Ultra 6.5R sleeping pad, removed several discontinued pads from our honorable mentions, added some more advice about R-values and warmth, and updated price and links throughout.
How to Choose a Backpacking Sleeping Pad
Here are some general guidelines to keep in mind when shopping for a new sleeping pad. When backpacking, we suggest sticking with inflatable pads or self-inflating pads (though these are generally heavier), which offer the best insulation and cushioning for their size and weight. Whatever your specific needs, your goal is always to find the best warmth-to-weight ratio. More warmth means more weight. Keep the following tips in mind.
Know your intended use. Every ounce counts, and so does the packed size. Smaller, lighter pads take up less room in your pack and are great for a thru-hike where you’re trying to minimize gear size to make room for food. Also, consider the climate. If you plan to camp in Michigan in the fall where cold weather is all but guaranteed, you need a much more insulated pad to protect you from cold ground temps than you do when camping in the Everglades in August. Bonus tip: Don’t camp in the Everglades in August.
Know thyself. Everyone sleeps differently, and different pads will be better for different people. Are you a side sleeper who sleeps cold? Go for a thicker pad with more insulation. Sleeping every which way and always waking up hot? Get an ultralight pad that’s quiet, so your tossing and turning won’t disturb your tent mates.
Consider your entire sleep system. The pad is the foundation, but how warm you sleep will also be affected by your sleeping bag, pillow, even which base layers you bring. (Many people don’t know this, but sleeping bag temperature ratings assume you’re wearing a base layer.)
You might need two. Sleeping pads are not a one-size-fits-all solution. A lightweight pad that’s perfect on balmy summer nights isn’t going to cut it at an alpine camp in early spring. It might be tempting to just get the summer pad and bring a heavier sleeping bag in spring, but this does not lead to restful nights. A good sleeping pad means the difference between being warm and getting rest or shivering all night, even in the same sleeping bag. Trust us. We do it so you don’t have to.
Comfort is key. I know I joke about sleeping on tiny closed-cell-foam pads, but there’s no need to anymore. This guide is proof that comfortable sleeping pads exist and weigh next to nothing. Even though I really did sleep on the ground 35 years ago, you couldn’t pay me to do it now. Now I almost always bring two pads: one inflatable and one thin, closed-cell foam. The latter gives me a place to sit in the evening and adds quite a bit of warmth and a no-slip sleeping surface when I need it at night.
They’re a long con by the outdoor industry. Or at least they were. Now they’ve been standardized, so, in theory, you can compare brands’ R-values and it will mean something. If you see the acronym ASTM (or ASTM FF3340), it’s using this new system. If you don’t, it’s pretty much made up. Thankfully, REI has been pressuring brands to adopt the new system, so most of the R-value listings you see today use the standardized system.
So what is an R-value, then? A sleeping pad’s R-value is a measure of how much it resists heat flow. (Get it? R for “resists”?) The scale is simple. An R-value of 2 means it resists heat twice as much as a value of 1. So a higher R-value means the pad will better insulate you from the ground. Unlike with sleeping bags, where buying too warm of a bag is going to be bad for summer camping, buying a high R-value pad and using it in warm conditions won’t be a big deal. You’re just carrying more weight than you need to.
The problem is that this doesn’t tell you much about how warm you will be. Even though an R-value of 4 might be good enough for me to sleep on snow, it might not be good enough for you if you sleep cold. In isolation, R-values tell you very little, even the standardized ones. However, if you have a pad that’s not cutting it and you know it’s an R-2.5, you can look for a pad with R-4 or R-5 and know that it should be warmer.
Sleeping Pad Tips and Tricks
I’ve had very few problems with any inflatable sleeping pad I’ve tested. Some have lost air, but I’ve never had one deflate completely (knock on wood). That said, there are some tricks to getting the best night’s sleep and having a pleasant trip.
Don’t inflate your pad with your mouth: For one thing, some of these pads are huge, and it’s just a pain, but also your breath is warm and moist and you’re injecting into nylon, which is a recipe for mildew and mold. This worry may be somewhat overblown—a few people have cut open pads they’ve inflated by mouth for years and found no sign of mold—but considering what a pain it is to do anyway, it seems easier to just avoid it. Most manufacturers include some kind of pump sack these days, which makes quick work of inflating your pad. There are also motorized pumps that only weigh an ounce or two, like the Flextail pump.
Don’t over-inflate: Insulated sleeping pads work by putting air and material between you and the cold ground, but that doesn’t mean you need to inflate it until it’s taut. It varies by pad. I generally find that the best method is to inflate it taut, and then start to let out air, lying down to test it until you get to where it feels comfortable. The downside to this method is that your pad isn’t that thick and you’re more likely to bottom out if you let out too much air. I find this isn’t much of an issue for stomach or back sleepers, but if you’re a side sleeper it might take some time to find the sweet spot between comfort and warmth.
Carry a patch kit: Most sleeping pads these days include a patch kit. I rarely bring these kits and instead carry a small roll of Tenacious Tape ($6), which will solve rips and tears in everything from sleeping pads to tents. Make sure to test a small piece of tape on your pad beforehand to make sure the tape sticks, and bring an alcohol wipe to clean the affected area.
Women need higher R-value pads: Women generally have lower body mass than men, which means women should add roughly 1 R-value to get the same amount of insulation in the same situation. (I also recommend upping the R-value if you’re a cold sleeper in general.)
Sleeping bag ratings assume R5 pads: Most temp ratings you see on sleeping bags are true only if you’re using a sleeping pad with an R-value of 5 or higher (they also assume you’re wearing a base layer). If your pad is less, you will need to adjust your sleeping bag temp rating accordingly. For example, using your 30 degree quilt with a R4 pad will likely leave you cold if you encounter freezing temps. In that situation you’d want to either up the R-value of the pad, or bring a warmer sleeping bag.
Best All-Around Backpacking Pad
Nemo Equipment
Tensor All-Season
Nemo’s Tensor All-Season sleeping pad (8/10, WIRED Recommends) sits at the middle of the Venn diagram of warmth, comfort, and weight. There are lighter pads (see below), but they are not as warm, nor as comfortable. With an R-Value of 5.4 and weighing just 18.2 ounces, the All-Season has the best R-Value-to-weight ratio of anything we’ve tested. That alone is impressive, but what I love about the Tensor is that it’s thick, comfortable, and pretty quiet. I hate that crinkly sound that’s pretty much synonymous with backcountry sleeping. The Tensor series uses a double layer of reflective film insulation, with a baffled air chamber design, which helps keep it quiet.
The regular wide version has been my go-to choice for trips for the past year, proving itself a capable all-round pad. I even paired it with a Therm-a-Rest Z-Lite for a few nights on snow and found it performed well. It also packs down small, rolling into a tiny stuff sack. It’s about the size of a 16-ounce Nalgene bottle.
If you want to save a little weight, there’s also the Nemo Tensor Trail for $190. It weighs just 16 ounces for the regular wide, but the R-Value is only 2.8, and overall we prefer the Therm-a-rest XLite below for ultralight trips. Don’t tell the Reddit ultralight police, but these days, most of the time, I ended up taking the Tensor All-Season for the added comfort.
| Specs | |
|---|---|
| R-Value | 5.4 |
| Weight (Regular) | 16 oz (454 grams) |
| Sizes | Regular, Regular Wide, Regular Mummy, Long Wide |
Best Ultralight Sleeping Pad
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Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
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Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Therm-a-Rest
NeoAir Xlite NXT Sleeping Pad
The king of the ultralight community, Therm-a-Rest’s XLite series is popular for a reason: It delivers a comfortable night’s sleep while remaining well under 1 pound for the regular size. When your primary concern is weight, this is the pad to get. At 3 inches thick, it offers plenty of protection from the ground, and it’ll be plenty warm in most three-season conditions. You do give up an R-value of 1 compared with our top pick, but you’re saving 6 ounces, which, when you’re trying to go ultralight, is a considerable amount of weight. Part of the weight savings comes from the mummy shape, which, while sufficient, may leave your arms hanging off the pad if you sleep on your stomach or back (there is the square-shaped Max version, but it’s as heavy as the Nemo and not as comfortable).
Therm-a-Rest’s latest version of the XLite uses a new valve system that means you can inflate it with Therm-a-Rest’s inflation sack. I prefer the Flextail pump, but the sack is marginally lighter. While I try to avoid inflating pads with my mouth, this one has a valve that is particularly large and awkward to inflate that way. I have used both this latest version and an older model that is still going strong, but there is a common complaint that the baffles in Xlite eventually pop. I have at least 100 nights on my older model and have had no issues. The popped baffles complaints seem to come mainly from thru-hikers with 500-plus nights on their pads. My main gripe with this pad is that it’s loud. The newer model is definitely quieter than my older one, but it’s still not as quiet as the Nemo. Still, for the weight, there’s nothing better.
| Specs | |
|---|---|
| R-Value | 4.5 |
| Weight (Regular) | 13 oz (370 grams) |
| Sizes | Regular Short, Regular, Regular Wide, Large |
