sleeping pad reviews

Nemo Tensor Insulated Air Mattress.

Review: Nemo Tensor Insulated Air Mattress

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Insulated Air Mattress
Nemo Tensor Insulated Air Mattress
$190, 13 oz. (regular mummy, not including stuff sack or pump bag)
Sizes: four sizes from 20×72 inches to 25×76 inches
backcountry.com

The search for the right backpacking air mattress tends to boil down to two competing objectives: finding a mat with the lowest possible weight without compromising on comfort. And different people will define comfort differently—thus affecting the weight of their air mat choice. But many backpackers and other users may find Nemo’s Tensor Insulated hits a sweet balance between those competing objectives, as I did sleeping on it for eight nights on a nearly 130-mile, August hike through the High Sierra, much of it on the John Muir Trail, and for four nights in early September in the Wind River Range.

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A young boy in a sleeping bag while backpacking in Sequoia National Park.

10 Pro Tips For Staying Warm in a Sleeping Bag

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By Michael Lanza

Head into the mountains in summer, or almost anywhere in fall or spring, and you can encounter nighttime and morning temperatures anywhere from the 40s Fahrenheit to well below freezing. That’s more than cold enough to pose a real risk of hypothermia or, at the least, result in a miserable night for you or a partner or child you’ve taken backpacking or camping—and would like to take more. Here’s the good news: The very simple techniques outlined in this article can turn a potentially unpleasant night into a comfortable one.

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The Sea to Summit Ether Light Extreme Insulated Air Mattress.

Review: Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated Air Mattress

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Insulated Air Mattress
Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated Air Mattress
$219, 1 lb. 9 oz. (unisex regular)
Sizes: four unisex and two women’s sizes
backcountry.com

On several nights in early winter, as temperatures slipped into the teens and single digits Fahrenheit outside my tent on the snow on two separate trips in Idaho’s Boise and Boulder Mountains, I zipped up snugly inside my sleeping bag and lay on this fat, well-insulated air mattress, briefly considering that I might feel cold before morning. And every morning, I awoke after sleeping longer and later than I normally do in my bed at home, feeling incredibly well rested and realizing my 0-degree bag combined with this air mat were only pushed to their limits (for me) when the temps dropped to within a few ticks of 0° F.

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Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Air Mattress

Review: Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Air Mattress

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Insulated Air Mattress Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Air Mattress $199, 17.3 oz. (regular) Sizes: five unisex and two women’s-specific sizes backcountry.com What makes us sleep so well in the backcountry? I contemplated that question after numerous, very peaceful nights of deep slumber on a river trip and three backpacking trips. Certainly, the deep quiet and being outdoors …

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Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite air mattress.

Review: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Air Mattress

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Insulated Air Mattress
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite
$230, 9 oz. (regular, 20×72 inches, in its stuff sack)
Sizes: small (20×47 ins., $140), regular (20×72 ins.), regular wide (25×72 ins.), large (25×77 ins., $210)
backcountry.com

As I was loading my backpack at the start of a six-day, 74-mile backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon, I smiled as I held the stuffed Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite air mattress in my hand; call me a gear geek, but unusually small ultralight backpacking gear just has that effect on me. One of my hiking mates glanced over and said, “Is that your air mattress?!” Yea, it’s that tiny. And if you’re serious about reducing your pack weight—as any backpacker should be—you should be taking a serious look at the NeoAir Uberlite. Here’s why.

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