wnylogo

I plan on doing a 2-3 month self contained tour from Maine to Florida in the Fall. Trying to choose the most appropriate sleeping pad. Am thinking that an insulated pad will be needed for the first half, since the night temperatures will dip much lower than down south. I own two sleeping bags I can use. One is synthetic and rated to 20 degrees. The second is down and rated to 30 degrees.

My priority, after comfort, is the smallest packing space. I already have an older self-inflating therm-a-rest, but it only packs down to about 14" x 10", is nearly 3lbs and takes up a lot of space in the pannier. I would like the weight of the new pad to be no more than 2lbs, plus it needs to be wide.

My question is, can the sleeping bag make up for a lower R rated pad? Would appreciate input from experienced riders who traveled through different temperature zones.

PedalingWalrus

I think a sleeping bag could not make up for lower R rated pad because the insulation beneath you gets flattened and rendered useless.

FWIW, I have Nemo Cosmo insulated pad that is 20" wide and it has a built in foot pump - and I like it very much.

I'd be interested at mini reviews from others on their pads.

indyfabz

https://www.rei.com/product/135411/s...d-sleeping-pad

Been digging this since I got it last year. Easy to inflate, deflate, fine tune firmness and pack up. Not sure why they added an integrated "pump" to the stuff sack. I don't have the greatest lung capacity and I can get it nearly full with ten deep breaths. I have used it in temps down into the upper 30s with a bag having an EN comfort rating of 35 with no problems.

PedalingWalrus

From my observation, the insulated pad starts to make tangible difference only when the temperatures dip below freezing.

fietsbob

Air mattresses with insulation in them , win for packed size , the open cell foam are popular
down filled air mattresses, more money.

pdlamb

As for sleeping bags, depends exactly when in "fall" you're planning to start. September in, say, Vermont? 30F. Maine in October? 20 degrees. As you note, it'll get warmer heading south as it gets cooler heading toward winter. With a little luck the two will balance out.

fantom1 

No substitute for R value. Do you have anywhere you could ship to halfway and then ship the insulated pad back?

elcruxio

You could take a lightweight sleeping pad and a light foam pad that goes under it. More bulk, not much more weight and the increase in R-value would be quite significant

Erick L

No. Get a pad with an R rating of ~3 or more.

Check these out:
SynMat HL MW | Exped USA They also have a long/wide
https://www.thermarest.com/neoair-xlite See the long/wide.
https://www.klymit.com/sleeping-pads...ping-pads.html

Happy Feet

I currently have a Thermarest Scout which is a good compromise between price and comfort. I bought it for $60 CAD. Good insulation (R 3.4) and packs down to about 5.5X11" and about 1lb's. I put it between my aerobars but It will fit in a Salsa anything type fork cage or similar space. Full length mummy shape.

I spent a bit of time comparing it in store to other inflatables and many did not have that big a savings in size or weight until spending at least $150-200. Maybe one day but at the time that was too rich for me.

Tourist in MSN

I have a couple of different air mattresses and also some older Thermarest self inflating pads.

I have never felt that my air mattresses caused me to suffer due to lack of insulation. Have used them in sub-freezing temperatures when my 40 degree rated down bag was just barely enough. I also use a sleeping bag liner, not so much for extra thermal rating but more to keep my sleeping bag clean if I was grungy. A sleeping bag liner launders easily. But who knows, maybe the liner helped for temperature. My favorite air mattress is an older version of the REI Flash, however REI has re-designed the Flash and I have not tried the newer model. The older Flash model that I use is quick to inflate and deflate, air mattresses with small valves take more time and effort.

I exclusively use air mattresses for bike trips because they pack so tiny and fit well in a pannier. But backpacking and canoeing I use the self inflating pads because volume was not as critical. Backpacking, I strap it outside the backpack, canoeing I carry a bigger pack that has plenty of volume capacity.

wnylogo

Thanks for contributing your experiences and thoughts. I've made some eliminations and narrowed down some of the choices.

longtemp

If you are a back sleeper, you may need less insulation than side sleeping and stomach sleeping.

PedalingWalrus

reppans

niknak

I have the original Neo Air that I think I just wore out, so I've been looking at what's available these days. The Neo Air X-Lite seems to offer the best combo of r-value and weight for a 3-season pad compared to Big Agnes, Exped, Sea to Summit, Klymit, and a couple of others I can't remember. They are noisy though. Some people hate the noise. I don't mind it.

longtemp

That works, too.

longtemp

I bought the Sea to Summit Camp Mat SI. The foam self-inflating looks better than air only.

Tourist in MSN

I should have mentioned this earlier but did not think of it. Air mattresses, they usually are a couple inches thick. All of my air mattresses are full length.

But self inflating pads that are an inch or less thick, all of my self inflating pads are the shorty length. On soft soil, I do not need a lot of padding under my knees or feet. If the ground is hard, I throw some clothes under my bag down at knee and feet level for a bit more padding.

The thicker your pad or mat is, the more important that it be full length so you do not feel like your lower third has fallen off a cliff.

reppans

Tourist in MSN

I did not know the Neo Air came in a shorty option, you learn something every day.

I think my Xlite is the regular size, but as I noted above I usually use the older (green color) REI Flash air mattress.

3speed

staehpj1

I love my Neo Air X-Lite and have used it for a broad range of conditions. I found it fine even for cold nights in winter on the ST or cold spring and Fall nights elsewhere.

The thing is that despite temps at least as low as 18 F, the daytime highs were always at least in the 50s. Why does that matter? Because the ground was still unfrozen when I set up camp for the night. So while the air dipped into the teens, the ground under me didn't freeze.

For real winter camping with hard frozen ground with low air temps, I still use the Neo Air X-Lite, but add a Thermarest Z Lite under it.

For your route I think I'd just use the NeoAir xLite.

fixedweasel

The Neo Air is the Benchmark for sure. It costs around $170 though for the Regular I believe . If you are on a budget but still want excellent UL gear, try..................

1) Outdoorsman Lab UL air mattress. I belive the R value is rated at around 2. So not quite the Neo but close. Around $40
2) Aegismax Outdoor UL goosedown sleeping bag (800 Fill..Lower Limit 40F/Extreme 15F). You can unzip with the zipper facing the ground, tuck the foot end of you air mattress into the bottom of the bag and use the upper 2/3's of the bag as a quilt. Around $75
3) Trekology Inflatable Pillow. Inflate for comfort. Around $15
4) I also cannot afford a Zpacks Cuban Fiber tent so I went with a 3F UL Lanshan 2 tent. I only needed to seam seal the tie outs from the A-frame sides of the tent and it has been stellar. It weighs 2 lb/ 7 oz. albeit it uses trekking poles to set up. Cost $107 shipped.

I am a huge fan of UL gear as it packs down so small and is so light.* I also wanted gear that has been proven with great reviews but didn't cost me an arm and a leg. So my whole system above was $270*** including the carbon fiber trekking poles which then have a dual purpose. So far it has been excellent and suits my needs. I am a stickler when it comes to tools and gear and I cannot have something that is going to fail and I've realized over my many years that you can purchase quality gear on a budget if you do your homework.

*I can easily fit all of the above into about half a pannier**
**with poles telescoped down and tied down outside the bag/rack
***just $100 more than just the Neo Air alone