I used to be a total sleeping pad snob but last month changed my mind

For like 3 years I swore by my blow-up mattress at camp, the kind you plug in and inflate to full bed height. I figured any foam pad was just for ultralight weirdos who liked sleeping on concrete. But last month I crashed at a buddy's site in Shenandoah and he let me try his self-inflating pad, one of the thick ones with memory foam on top. I woke up feeling way better than I ever did on my air mattress, no back pain at all and I didn't slide off in the middle of the night. The real kicker was when a cold front came through at like 3am and my old setup would have had me shivering from the cold ground seeping through. That foam pad just held the warmth and I slept right through it. Now I'm looking at swapping my whole sleep system but I'm not sure if I should go all in on the thick foam pads or try one of those hybrid ones that have air and foam together. Anyone made the switch and regretted spending the money on a good pad?

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emmag404mo ago

Wait wait wait, you actually slept through a cold front at 3am on a self-inflating pad? I've been through those Shenandoah nights and even with my 4-season bag and a heavy blanket I'd still be curled up like a shrimp on my air mattress. That's honestly wild to hear because I thought the whole point of those tall air mats was to keep you off the ground entirely. I made the switch to a hybrid last summer (one of the ones with foam inside plus air adjustment) and honestly it's been a game changer for my back. Never thought I'd say that about something that costs more than my tent.

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jennifer3584mo ago

Double check the ground temp first, that pad's R-value is just low enough to fool you.

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