--- title: "How to choose a sleeping pad for treks and multi-day crossings?" description: "Packing for a trek or a mountain crossing but not sure how to choose the right ultralight sleeping pad? In our article you'll learn what to focus on." canonical_url: "https://gramino.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-sleeping-pad-for-treks" last_updated: "2019-07-14" --- # How to choose a sleeping pad for treks and multi-day crossings? Authors: David Czempka Date: 2019-07-14 Packing for a trek or a mountain crossing but not sure how to choose the right ultralight sleeping pad? In our article you'll learn what to focus on. The sleeping pad and the sleeping bag are the key parts of your sleep system. It pays to split your attention between them evenly, because each does a completely different job. While the sleeping bag protects you from cold air, the pad forms a barrier between you and the hard, cold ground. If you're planning trips around freezing point, you should put real thought into choosing your pad. Not even the best sleeping bag can make up for what a poor pad lacks. **In this article you'll find:** - An overview of the basic types of [sleeping pads](/c/sleep/sleeping-pads), with their pros and cons - What to focus on when choosing - A few tips for colder nights ## Basic types of sleeping pads ## Foam sleeping pads Foam pads are made up of air-filled cells. The most suitable type is a foam pad with a closed cell structure. They don't absorb water and they're practically indestructible. You'll often find a thin silver layer on the surface, whose job is to reflect body heat back to the user. Always lay these pads down with the reflective layer facing up. ### **Pros** - Of all three types, foam pads are the cheapest. - Thanks to the porous foam they're light and have fairly good thermal insulation properties. - They're among the most reliable pads there are. They contain no parts that could break and make them unusable. You can burn them or put a hole in them, and not even that will stop them. - They're great as sit pads during breaks in the course of the day. - Your bed is made with zero effort in a matter of seconds. ### **Cons** - The smaller thickness of foam pads doesn't even out bumps as well, and in certain terrain you'll have to think a bit harder about where you bed down. - You'll rarely fit a foam pad inside your backpack, so count on having to strap it to the outside. **A quality foam pad will cost you:** approx. €33–50 **Weight**: 390–430 g **When to choose one?** You prefer simplicity and durability. You're on a limited budget and comfort isn't your number one priority. - [Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol](/p/therm-a-rest-z-lite-sol.md) - [Therm-a-Rest Z Lite](/p/therm-a-rest-z-lite.md) - [NEMO Switchback](/p/nemo-switchback.md) - [Therm-a-Rest RidgeRest Solite](/p/therm-a-rest-ridgerest-solite.md) - [Therm-a-Rest RidgeRest Classic](/p/therm-a-rest-ridgerest-classic.md) ## Self-inflating sleeping pads Self-inflating pads are made of a foam (similar to a washing sponge) that expands back into its original shape. Compress it, on the other hand, and you simply squeeze the air out. With a self-inflating pad you just open the valve and wait a few minutes. The foam does most of the work for you, but you'll still have to top it up with one or two breaths for optimal firmness. In many respects, self-inflating pads are halfway between foam pads and inflatable ones. ### **Pros** - They even out bumps better than foam pads (but not as well as inflatable ones). - They pack down smaller than foam pads (but not as small as inflatable ones). ### **Cons** - Of all three types, they're the heaviest. - They can be punctured (though a repair kit is almost always part of the package). - They don't pack down as small as inflatable pads **A quality self-inflating pad will cost you:** approx. €90–105 **Weight**: 500–600 g **When to choose one?** Low weight doesn't matter that much to you and you're fond of comfort. [Therm-a-Rest ProLite Apex](/p/therm-a-rest-prolite-apex.md) ## Inflatable sleeping pads The insulating layer is formed by the pad's air chamber, which can also be filled with synthetic insulation and a heat-reflective layer (aluminum foil) for use in colder conditions. ### **Pros** - Of all three types, they pack down the smallest. - They're low in weight. - Inflatable pads are often around 5–7 cm thick, so you can bed down even on fairly uneven, rocky surfaces and still sleep like a baby. ### **Cons** - They're usually the most expensive. - Inflating takes a bit of time and energy. - Certain pad models with an internal insulating layer make a crinkling sound that sensitive sleepers might mind. - They can be punctured (though a repair kit is almost always part of the package). **A quality inflatable pad will cost you:** approx. €80–240 **Weight**: 200–500 g **When to choose one?** Your priority is low weight, good packability and comfort. And you don't mind investing a bit more in a pad. - [Sea To Summit Ultralight Insulated](/p/sea-to-summit-ultralight-insulated.md) - [NEMO Tensor Trail](/p/nemo-tensor-trail.md) - [NEMO Tensor All-Season](/p/nemo-tensor-all-season.md) - [NEMO Tensor Extreme Conditions](/p/nemo-tensor-extreme-conditions.md) - [Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT](/p/therm-a-rest-neoair-xtherm-nxt.md) - [Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT](/p/therm-a-rest-neoair-xlite-nxt.md) - [Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT Max](/p/therm-a-rest-neoair-xlite-nxt-max.md) - [Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT Max](/p/therm-a-rest-neoair-xtherm-nxt-max.md) ## **Inflating** Inflating by mouth is a decent workout after a demanding day. Pads with a narrow valve need roughly 20–25 breaths, pads with a wide valve less than half that. Another option is inflating with a **dedicated pump sack**, which often doubles as the storage sack. You're saving not just yourself but the pad too. Breathing into the pad puts moisture inside it, which in winter can condense and freeze. Moisture also causes mold to grow inside the pad and slightly worsens its thermal insulation properties. With some, the pump sack is already part of the package (for example the [STS Ultralight Insulated](/p/sea-to-summit-ultralight-insulated), [TaR Xtherm NXT](/p/therm-a-rest-neoair-xtherm-nxt)). If you want inflating your pad to take no work at all, the small Flextail pump has proven itself well for us. [Flextail ZERO pump](/p/flextail-zero-pump.md) [Flextail TINY pump 2X](/p/flextail-tiny-pump-2x.md) ## What to focus on when choosing? ### **Width** The pads you'll come across most often are 51 cm wide, which is optimal for most people. But if you're on the larger side, sleep on your back with your arms along your body or toss and turn a lot at night, pads 60 cm wide will suit you better. ### **Length** Most pads in the standard length (Regular) are **183–184 cm** long, which is enough for most people (even those around 190 cm tall). Whatever goes under your head (clothing or a [pillow](/p/sea-to-summit-ultralight-aeros-pillow)) you can put off the pad. With inflatables it also doesn't matter if your feet overhang the edge slightly – what matters is that they don't touch the ground. If you mostly sleep on your side, a shorter pad will do as well. Length is of course a matter of personal preference, but we wanted to point out that you can get by with almost no limitations on a pad that doesn't even reach your body height. For smaller people, women's pads can be an alternative – they're **160 cm** long and usually have a higher R-value. For minimalists there's a **120 cm** option. The pad is just long enough to cover your torso. Under your legs you use your backpack, spare clothing or whatever you have on hand that could insulate at least a little. ## **R-value** With sleeping pads you'll often come across the R-value, which expresses the pad's resistance to heat flowing from your body into the ground. In practice we feel that as cold. The higher the R-value, the better the pad resists heat transfer (the better it insulates). Unfortunately there's no standard that manufacturers have to follow when determining it, so you need to take it with a pinch of salt when comparing competing products. It's more useful when comparing pads from a single brand. And because it's linear, we can assume that a pad with R = 3 will insulate 3x better than a pad with R = 1. Some manufacturers don't use this metric at all and only state seasonal use. In the end, there's nothing better than finding out the experience of someone who owns and uses the pad. ## **A few tips for colder nights** - A more inflated pad will insulate better (even if it won't be as comfortable). - On freezing nights it's better to sleep on snow than on a rocky surface (rock) or ice. Snow is the worst heat conductor of the three, so it won't draw heat away from you as efficiently. - If you don't have a winter pad, you can combine two three-season ones, for instance (inflatable + foam). Adding up their R-values gives you an idea of whether it'll be enough for winter or not. - And if you really do underestimate it and the cold is creeping up from the ground, put your backpack under the pad (under your torso), branches (dry ones ideally), trash, and so on. - Don't leave the patch kit at home. Murphy's law works best in the worst situations. A patch kit weighs nothing and takes up no room in your backpack. Take a look at the sleeping pads on offer in our Gramino shop. 🙂 - [TOAKS Titanium 1100 ml Pot with Pan](/p/toaks-pot-1100-ml-with-pan.md) - [Cumulus Lite Line 400](/p/cumulus-lite-line-400.md) - [Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol](/p/therm-a-rest-z-lite-sol.md) - [Sea To Summit Premium Aeros Pillow](/p/sea-to-summit-premium-aeros-pillow.md) - [Sea To Summit Airlite Towel – Medium](/p/sea-to-summit-airlite-towel-medium.md) - [REAL Turmat Taco Bowl](/p/real-turmat-taco-bowl.md) - [Tyvek 75x230 cm (for 1 person)](/p/tyvek-groundsheet-230-x-75-cm.md) - [Sea To Summit Frontier UL Collapsible Cup](/p/sea-to-summit-frontier-ul-collapsible-cup.md) - [Culo Clean](/p/culo-clean-bidet.md) This post is also available as [HTML](/blog/how-to-choose-a-sleeping-pad-for-treks). ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.