Best backpack packs (2025), wired and evaluated

Here you will find some general guidelines that you should take into account when buying a new sleeping pad. When it comes to backpacking, we recommend that you adhere to inflatable pads or self -harmful pads (although these are generally heavier) that offer the best insulation and the upholstery of size and weight. Whatever you are specific, your goal is always to find the best ratio of heat to weight. More heat means more weight. Note the following tips.

Know your intended use. Every ounce counts, as does the packed size. Smaller, lighter pads take up less space in your backpack and are ideal for a passage where you try to minimize the equipment to make room for food. Also consider the climate. If you want to camp in Michigan in autumn, in which cold weather is so well guaranteed, you need a much isolated pad to protect you from cold floor temperatures when you carry out in Eerglades camping in August. Bonus tip: Not camping in the Everglades in August.

Know yourself. Everyone sleeps differently and different pads will be better for different people. Are you a side sleeper that sleeps cold? Go for a thicker pad with more insulation. Definitely sleep and always wake up hot? Get an ultra -light pad that is quiet so that you don’t bother your tent comrades.

Look at your entire sleep system. The pad is the foundation, but how warm you sleep will also be affected by it Your sleeping bagPillow, even What basic classes do you bring with you. (Many people don’t know that, but sleep sack temperature values ​​assume that they are wearing a basic layer.)

You may need two. Sleep pads are not a uniform solution. A light pad that is perfect in Balmy Summer Nights will not cut it in an alpine bearing in the early spring. It may be tempting to simply get the summer pad and bring a heavier sleeping bag in spring, but this does not lead to relaxing nights. A good sleeping pillow means the difference between warm and quiet or trembling all night, even in the same sleeping bag. Trust us. We do it so that you don’t have to.

Comfort is the key. I know I joke about sleeping on tiny pads with a closed cell foam, but there is no need. This guide is proof that comfortable sleep pads exist and almost nothing weigh. Although I really slept on the floor 35 years ago, I couldn’t pay for it now. Now I almost always bring two pads: an inflatable and a thin foam with closed cell. The latter gives me a place to sit in the evening and adds some warmth and a mud surface without a blow when I need it at night.