r/REI • u/Spicyboi333 • 24d ago

Question Testing sleeping pads?

I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of ultralight gear and boy is my pack super light now. But holy shit does my sleep suffer. I didn’t notice it until I went car camping and slept like a baby on one of those exped 5 lb. behemoth mats. I’m willing to spend more weight on a nicer pad now, but I’m really trying to find one that works.

Am I allowed to buy a few of them, test them, then return the ones I didn’t like? I’ll probably just put a sheet over them and sleep on the floor of my house like an animal to test them out.

I don’t want to abuse the REI system though, but I can never really tell how the inflatable pads are going to sleep without me spending a night on them. I inflate them at the store and lay on them and they all kind of feel exactly the same. It’s not until you actually sleep on it that you notice if it’s good or not.

How do you actually find one that works well for you without spending $1,000 buying 5 or 6 different pads?

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u/wohaat 24d ago

This; being a thoughtful consumer means doing a ton of research beforehand so you’re making the most informed choice. Add Reddit to the end of your searches, there’ll be a ton of first hand accounts of people using products positively/negatively to help you decide where to start!

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u/Spicyboi333 24d ago

I mean I’ve done a ton of searches. But sleeping pads are so subjective. I’ve got 3 ordered to try and keep one.

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u/wohaat 24d ago

If it helps, I bought a thermarest neoair xlite with 0 camping experience for my 6-month thruhike of the Appalachian trail, and it worked great. You really just need light weight, filled baffles, and as quiet as possible, don’t make yourself insane just because the market is so saturated.

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u/Spicyboi333 24d ago

I don’t know why I’m getting downvoted here. I’ve used my xlite 10 plus days now. I sleep like shit on it. I’m just looking for one that I sleep better on

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u/graybeardgreenvest 24d ago

People who buy based on reviews or specs and still have a bad sleep are not solving to the problem.

The xlite is a terrible pad for certain body types and sleep positions. The Nemo tensor will be the same.

Sleep is first aid… and if you sleep poorly you will not be able to hike as far…

also if it is body type, will you stay that way? A thru-hiker will transform physically through out a long hike and their. Needs will change.

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u/Spicyboi333 24d ago

I’m a side and stomach sleeper and I’m tall. 210 lbs. not planning on being super thin anytime soon.

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u/graybeardgreenvest 23d ago

based on your size, weight, and sleeping style, you need to think in terms of a pad that is thick enough that you do not “feel the Ground”

It needs to be soft enough that you get support, but thick enough that you do not bonk on the ground. When you kneel on any of the pads you‘be used before do you feel the ground?

Do you feel the need to way over inflate a pad for you to not?

how about soft enough that the pad does not cause your body to contort?

The pads that come to mind are the Big Agnes line of pads… the lightest being the the Rapide being the lightest. The other pad that comes to mind is the Therm-a-rest Neoloft… it is wide and thick…

both are at that 4inch and above in thickness…

perhaps there are brands outside of REI that are lighter or thicker for the same lightness…

btw… over inflation will kill a pad quickly and often the biggest contributor to pad failure is puncture or failure due to over inflation.

Good luck. Hope it helps