Paul Magnanti, long-distance hiker, instructor/guide with Andrew Skurka, author of PMags.Click to expand.I hate to be that guy, but the REI employee was wrong. Junaid Dawud, record-setting long-distance hiker, guide at Adventure Travel West, email interview, May 26, 2016 Ryan Linn, long-distance hiker, instructor/guide at National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyoming, author of Guthook’s hiking apps, phone interview, May 25, 2016 Jason Hairston, co-founder of hunting apparel company Sitka, and founder of hunting gear and apparel company Kuiu, email interview, April 5, 2016Įlizabeth McCullough, co-director of the Institute for Environmental Research at Kansas State University, phone interview, May 23, 2016 Richard Nisley, retired engineer, Backpacking Light gear guru, phone interview, May 12, 2016Īndrew Skurka, record-setting long-trail hiker, outdoor guide, and author of National Geographic’s The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide, phone interview, April 8, 2016 If you’re headed out on a car-camping trip where weight isn’t an issue, this is the couple’s pad to choose. The MegaMat Duo also stays firmly inflated for several days, but we do recommend a pre-sleep top-off of air (using an air pump like the Exped Widget, not the included self-inflate valve or pump). Also, the foam helps campers avoid the popcorn effect typical of an air bed (when air transfer from one person’s movement pops the other person up in the air). There’s enough padding to support side-sleepers’ hips and shoulders stomach- and back-sleepers appreciated the bed’s lower-back support. Over the course of two years and dozens of camping trips with a small child, our testers never observed damage to the MegaMat Duo. The pad is made with foam and has additional air pouches throughout, and the face fabric is soft and durable. The MegaMat Duo is 3.9 inches thick and weighs about 7½ pounds (the LW+ model is almost 10 pounds), and it has an R-value of 8.1, making it the largest and warmest option we tested. But it is absolutely the most comfortable double sleeping pad you can buy-so comfortable, in fact, that many of our testers found themselves using this pad for guests in their home, instead of a typical air mattress. Here’s the thing: The Exped MegaMat Duo 10 M is not easy to pack. If you’re looking for a very light pad, you may prefer the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite. One downside: Though it’s less than half the weight of our car-camping pick, the Ether Light XT is about 5 ounces heavier than some of the other backpacking pads we tested, and it’s slightly harder to pack down. The pad’s 3.2 R-value is similar to that of competitors (although not as insulating from the cold ground as the LuxuryMap). The regular pad is 72 inches long if you need one that’s longer or shorter, you can order it in small (66 inches) or large (78 inches). The quilted air-pocket design also keeps the pad from slipping on the ground, and it provides added support for side-sleepers’ hips and shoulders. This means you’re less likely to roll off of it overnight and end up cold and aching come morning. Its mummy shape is wider in the hip area (21½ inches) than most of its competitors, including our former backpacking pick, the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite. If you’re looking for a sleeping pad that’s supportive yet still light enough to carry-for backpacking trips in the spring, summer, and fall-the 4-inch-thick Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Air Sleeping Mat is a solid choice. But as long as you’re parked close to your campsite, this shouldn’t bother you. The regular LuxuryMap ( 20 by 72 inches) weighs 4 pounds (the pad is also available in large and extra-large, both 77 inches long, and 25 or 30 inches wide, respectively). And its carry bag was refreshingly easy to stuff and tote around (not often the case with larger sleeping pads). In our tests, the LuxuryMap’s face fabric seemed to reject lint and dirt better than fabric on rival pads. And with an R-value of 6.8 (R-value is a measure of how well the pad insulates), the LuxuryMap is more than twice as warm as the top-end backpacking pads we also reviewed for this guide. Side-sleepers, back-sleepers, and stomach-sleepers alike found this pad to be comfortable and supportive. This 3-inch-thick pad has extra foam, with an air pocket on top (placed exactly where the body exerts more pressure this increases comfort and helps prevent the pad from bottoming out overnight, a common problem). The self-inflating Therm-a-Rest LuxuryMap Sleeping Pad has long been a favorite with our testers, and it has stood the test of time-five years of car-camping trips, to be more specific.

Exped deepsleep mat review