Can we talk about how cheap sleeping pads rate better than expensive ones?

I was looking through some lab tests on sleeping pads last week and found out that a $30 foam pad from a big box store beat a $200 inflatable on insulation in cold weather testing. The cheap one had a higher R-value. I double checked the source, it was a gear testing site that buys everything with their own money. Now I'm torn between trusting my old inflatable on a 3 night trip to Yosemite or switching to the foam monster. Anyone else found this kind of surprise in review data? Which side do you trust more, real numbers or your own back after night 2?

2 comments

2 Comments

davis.adam19d ago

Lab tests only measure one thing cold, they dont measure comfort or durability or what happens when that foam monster soaks up moisture. That $30 pad might beat the numbers on paper but after night two on granite your hips are screaming and you're swapping it out for a sit pad anyway. Those testing sites also rate flat ground in controlled conditions, not real campsites with roots and slopes where an inflatable actually conforms to the ground. My back votes for something that doesn't feel like I'm sleeping on a parking lot, even if the R-value says otherwise.

mary_martin2218d ago

$30 for a pad that leaves you crying by night two?