What is this the sleeping pad you talk about? When I was younger, all the hikes were uphill both ways, and everyone slept on the ground in sleeping bags with a half-inch thin layer of closed-cell foam between us and each pebble. We also filter water with our teeth and mainly eat raw meat and forage. Kids today.
Still, I suppose there’s still something to be said for a comfortable mattress after a long day on the trail, or even in the campsite next to your car. There are now plenty of ways to make sure no peas (or pebbles) are disturbing your sleep outdoors. Over the years, we have tested all types of sleeping pads in all kinds of conditions and we are happy to report that in all the time we have had no problems. That said, there are some to stand out and some to avoid.
Be sure to read through our other outdoor guides, including The best tent, The best hiking gear, The best stove, And Our camp cooking guide.
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The best super comfortable car camping pads
Therm-a-Rest invented the self-inflating camping mattress. The brand has kept pace in the 50 years since, innovating or catching up with every major development in the field. The MondoKing is the most comfortable mattress in its class, a top product for picky car campers and those stuck in the backcountry for weeks or months. This burly rug is 4 inches thick and weighs 4 pounds. You won’t want to drag it far, but even a side bed with a large body won’t hit the bottom.
The StrataCore foam inside gives it an R value of 7, so comfort is claimed to be well below the temperature at which vodka freezes. (During our test nights, WIRED has not independently verified a good night’s sleep at -20 degrees F.) It’s also very, very comfortable. Like the Megamat below, it has a thickness of 70 denier on the underside with a 50 denier stretch top providing the natural sag of a real mattress. MondoKing also has a definitely nice edge, meaning you never feel like you’re about to roll. The MondoKing is better than a lot of hotel mattresses and can inflate and deflate quickly enough that you can roll it out the next time you find yourself in a lumpy hotel bed. —Martin Cizmar
Another choice
- Discovered MegMat 10 for $180: This is the ultra-luxury, powerful mattress that started the giant car camping pad trend. And for that, we thank Exped. The MegaMat is still a great option and a pretty good equivalent to MondoKing, even though the MondoKing is lighter and packs a smaller footprint. On the other hand, the MegaMat has slightly better insulation and may be a better choice if you sleep cold.
Best for couples and families
We’re huge fans of REI’s in-house product line, which is solid and works well without being too expensive. On a recent camping trip, every family with kids under 10 had this mattress, including mine. It’s 56 inches wide and 6 inches high, wide enough to fit a mother and two elementary school students inside Habitity Tent for 6 from MSR. (Dad and dog still have to sleep on the ground.)
It comes with a small carrying bag for easy transport, includes a manual air pump, but the versatile nozzle means you can ditch the pump and use the battery-powered machine to inflate it quickly. and easy. Welded seams keep the mattress taut and bouncy for three days and nights as the kids jump up and down on it. The surface is soft enough to sleep with your face pressed against it if you slip out of your sleeping bag and is insulated, but has an R value of 2.6. I definitely needed a blanket under our sleeping bag during those 40 degree nights. —Adrienne So
Another choice
- Kelty’s Kush Queen Airbed for $105: This PVC-free queen size bed from Kelty includes a pump that inflates quickly (make sure you charge it before you go) and a very comfortable 6-inch thick mattress. It’s not an air-insulated mattress like the REI above, so it’s best for the warmer months, but it can double as a spare bed at home.
The best super light sleeping mattress
When you venture out into the backcountry, every ounce counts. For sleeping pads, there are always trade-offs. You want the fewest ounces with the highest R value. The Nemo Device Tensor Insulated Sleep Mat has an R-Value of 4.2 and weighs ONLY 15.2 ounces. That alone is impressive, but what I like about Tensor is that it’s thick, comfortable, and most importantly, near-silent. I hate that pile of plastic, which is pretty much synonymous with sleeping in the country. There’s hardly any such thing with Tensor, it’s great value for money in my opinion. The insulation is reflective film, with a baffled air chamber design, to help keep quiet. This design also helps it roll up into a small sack. It’s about the size of a 16-ounce bottle of Nalgene. There is also a non-mummy version for $187 if you like a little more space.
Another choice
- NeoAir XLite Sleeping Mattress for $210: Tensor’s obvious competitor is Therm-a-Rest’s NeoAir XLite, according to WIRED reviewer Matt Jancer. Xlite NeoAir may be lightweight but not warm. He used it on icy glaciers without feeling a chill down his spine. You have to blow it up by hand, but the easy screw-on valve makes it simple and he was impressed with its durability over 5 years. No holes or scratches. It tends to slide around, but it’s quiet.
- Sea to Summit Ultralight for $110: If you’re someone who cuts off your toothbrush handle to save weight, this mat is well worth considering. It has an R value of 1.1, making it a summer-only pad. But it weighs only 11 ounces, packs a lot, and is $70 cheaper than Tensor. If most of your camping is in the summer, it gets the job done. It is slightly larger than Nemo.
The best for backcountry comfort
If you’re willing to carry a few extra ounces in exchange for more comfort and a better night’s sleep (in theory), the NeoAir Topo is our favorite mattress. At 21 ounces, it’s certainly quite heavy, but it’s also 3 inches thick, and we promise you won’t feel any gravel, or even small rocks, underneath this thing. The R 2.3 value makes it a good choice for three-season camping or backpacking, and I find even the regular one to be spacious enough. Therm-a-Rest includes a breath-saving pump bag, compact storage bag and field repair kit.
Best old school pad
I was joking in the introduction here, but neither am I. This mattress was my go-to for sleeping in the countryside and I’m still a fan (though technically, my mattress is a no-name brand). The Z-Lite and its ilk weigh almost nothing (10 ounces for the small), fold up small enough to strap to the outside of any pack, and double as a chair, adding cushions on cold nights, the table, you name it. I’m too old to just use the Z-Lite anymore, but I still have one on almost every trip. Pairing it with the Nemo inflatable above gives me plenty of room to sleep and sit for less than 2 pounds total. That means I can bring more steak with me, and good country food is really the key to everything.
Pad Country 4 best seasons
If I were to go camping in the snow, this is the mattress I would bring. Exped’s Ultra 7R offers (as the name suggests) an R-value of 7 in a pad that weighs under 2 pounds for the wide version. And I recommend choosing the wide version. I found the regular bed a bit narrow, and the weight difference (5 ounces) doesn’t justify the loss of sleeping space. I used this pad at 30 degrees F and it was very comfortable (in a 20 degree pocket). Exped rates it as -20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Exped’s Schnozzel Pump ($45) Also great and essential if you’re camping in cold weather, as you don’t want moisture from breath inside your mat.
The best children’s sleeping pad
Let’s be honest—if your kids are old enough to backpack, they’re probably old enough to use an adult-sized mattress, which will get old with them as they grow. However, in a moment of weakness for parents, I bought my kids mini-size sleeping pads to fit in their Kindercone sleeping bags, they’ve been useful for an amazingly long time. My daughter is finishing second grade and has been since kindergarten.
After all, 60 inches is pretty long—almost tall enough for me to use. This one has an R value of 4.5, and my kids have slept pretty warmly on these for years in temperatures as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Separate inflation and deflation valves keep young children from getting confused. and makes setup much easier. Oddly enough, these mattresses are also much easier to roll up and back into bags than my own; REI may have secretly made me firmly there. —Adrienne So
honorable mention
The following sleeping pads didn’t impress us as much as the ones above, but we tested them and still liked them enough if none of the others did.
Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Air-Insulated Sleeping Mat for Women $160: We’ve been debating for a while about whether women need different sleeping pads. After some long conversations with our female testers, we decided that there wasn’t much of a difference. That said, this is a good sleeping pad for anyone. It is very close to the Sea to Summit Ultralight above.
REI Helix Insulated Air Sleeping Mattress for $160: This REI pad is comparable to the Nemo Tensor above, but it is noisier and heavier. It’s a bit cheaper and there’s nothing particularly bad about it, but we think you should spend the extra $20 and buy the Nemo Tensor.
Pads to avoid
Not every mattress is a winner. We have tested and had problems with the following models.
Exped Flexmat Plus: What if inexpensive, lightweight, and indestructible closed-cell foam rugs like the iconic Z-Rest and RidgeRest were… gigantic? It was an interesting idea, but the Exped Flexmat Plus was a noble failure. The problem with this extra-thick, 1.5-inch, closed-cell rug is that, while relatively light, cheap, and indestructible, the foam is stiff and thorny. And by “spikey” we mean it’s really just thorns that stab you while you sleep. Fans say it needs a break. After six nights on it, critic Martin Cizmar begged the dungeon guard to let go.
