how do these inflatable hiking sleeping pads cope in cold weather ?
with reference to the ones that have a foam inner and those that are just air only
reference images below
so the question is spurred from my traditional car camping experiences inflatable products like air beds and mattresses seem to suffer in the cold and deflate during the night.
Foam inner - âself-inflatingâ - I have experience with and theyâre good. I have a Thermarest Trail-Lite, R3.4 value. Impressed. Good insulation. Good comfort. Good nightâs rest.
Weighs about 750gm
I also take 2-3mm thick EVA pad with me. 50 x 100cm. I lay this on top of the Thermarest when sleeping on slopes in the mountains, prevents me from sliding downâŚ(pack propped under Thermarest under my feet).
Happy with this set up.
Canât vouch for âair-onlyâ inflatables. Sorry. But theyâre on the super light side of things, which is always a boon.
Research R Values
Agreed with what the others have said - you have to look at the R-value.
Re punctures: yes, they all end up with a puncture eventually, especially if you sleep directly on cave floors. But like any other gear, repeat use does eventually result in it failing eventually.
I still think the best solution if going into very cold environments is a pad and a mat. R Values accumulate. Then at least if your pad fails you have the mat for partial backup.
Pads are comfy, mats are reliable. Also R value changes quite a bit depending on how inflated the pad is.
i think i understand R values as a measure of insulation
what i was wondering about is the air inside the mat thats used to keep the mat inflated.
eg with traditional air mattresses - during colder weather, the air in the mattress tends to condense, and the bed deflates, also when the air gets low, the bed is not functioning as highly and is more prone to tears or holes.
does that mean that the Insulation used in a hiking mat makes it immune to deflation over night in cold weather?
like iâm just thinking of one side being fully exposed and in contact with the cold ground.
