You mean backpacking? The Megamat ultra is my favorite comfort oriented pad that you can use backpacking but it’s pretty bulky, but for shorter distances or more base camp oriented backpacking trips it’s fine. The Thermarest Neoloft packs smaller while still being very comfortable so that’s a nice compromise. If you are pushing miles, the Rapide SL, Nemo Eclipse, Exped Ultra 6.5 are really good.
I’m 220lbs and never had issues bottoming out even with my old 3in summer backpacking air mat. Are you adding enough air? I also store my foam/air mattress compressed.
Are you looking for full foam or the more common air/foam (Megamat style). You also mentioned fiberglass so I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of a camp mat containing fiberglass.
My air/foam car camping mat is a generic one I found on Amazon. I love its integrated pump which I’ve used to inflate other pads as well as stoke fires. It was dirt cheap, not quite as comfortable as a real Megamat, but close enough considering it was well under $100. It’s similar to the Heeta and Pinehike 4in pads that are on Amazon, the tan detachable pump is exactly the same.
Exped Megamat Ultra. It’s all air, no foam, and has synthetic insulation. It does have vertical baffles like the BA Divide, but the top fabric is stretchy and I don’t notice them. The downside is that it’s about 2lbs.
I’ll add that my previous pad was an Exped Ultra, and the verticals baffles on that were not particularly comfortable. The Megamat Ultra feels completely different. It also doesn’t have the “side rail” cradle shape that the regular Ultra has, so it is a flat surface.
What previous brands did you have? The Exped MegaMat is a pretty popular one and on sale at their site and REI right now. I just ordered one because my backpacking pad is just too uncomfortable for longer car camping trips.
I tried out the Hest foamy at REI and while it’s comfy, it also stores huge and more than I wanted to spend.
I’ve seen reviews that MegaMats have lasted that long! Exped has a 5 year warranty, and I’ve seen people say they’ve gotten items replaced even after the warranty was up. REI’s is only 1 year on their branded gear. I tried the REI’s comparable pad, the westward dreamer, and it was comfy, but the Exped warranty and higher R value was worth the extra $50 to me.
The Ultralight is certainly lighter, and a comfy pad compared to a lot on the market, but the Flex Air is on par with Thermarest Neoloft and Exped Megamat Ultra, except lighter and less balloon-like compared to the Neoloft.
In the states REI and other outfitter stores let you test them out. Is there an option at a store by you to do that?
I am a very picky side sleeper and the exped megamat (4”) has been fantastic for me. I toss a bit so the 30” wide version is perfect.
Megamat Ultra and the Thermarest Neoloft are comparables. Def not ultralight but I use the Thermarest on backpacking trips, not thru-hikes, and love it. I'm a big guy and the Thermarest is comparable to my MondoKing and Exped MegaMat Duo. The Ultra will work well for you.
Guy on ytube who reviews western mountaineering sleeping bags sleeps or slept on his exped megamat for yrs. He discusses it there.
I occasionally break out one of my mats and sleep on it; I miss camping that much.
I know most people don't seem to feel this way but I still think comfort for side-sleepers with wide shoulders and hips is an unsolved issue. I'm on a Megamat Ultra now and can get about 70% of my normal sleep at home on it before my shoulder and hips hurt, but that's still not good enough.
The problem is many fold
- In order to maintain an aligned spine and not wake up in extreme pain after a few hours (even if initially comfy), I need to deflate even this 4" matress almost completely (ie my hips almost touch the ground). Doing so creates problems of its own:
A) the R-value of every air pad is drastically reduced when it is not fully inflated
B) every pad becomes extremely balloony when not fully inflated, ie pressure downwards anywhere (like hips or shoulders) makes the air there "displace" and press back up everywhere else, where you don't want it to, like under your mid-back area, contorting your spine. Baffle structures work to prevent this when fully inflated but have much less limiting effect when deflated for comfort.
C) motion stability absolutely sucks
I wonder about a couple possible avenues for improvement:
- Stretchy baffle material?
- A separate lower and higher air chamber, with the lower kept at higher inflation and the higher deflated for comfort, with the insulation in the lower? Or maybe even vice-versa.
- A 3D-shaped mattress structure that follows the curve of a side-sleeping spine at least a bit, so the mattress doesn't have to be deflated at all for spinal comfort?
Whenever I post about these problems, I invariably hear "just switch to hammock camping" in reply. That's silly; there can be limiting factors that prevent someone from hammock camping, and why would we just stop innovating? That could have been the reply to anyone who thought 1/4" foam pads weren't good enough 30 years ago too, but thankfully there has been innovation since then. There can absolutely be more.
Top Sleeping Pads on Reddit
1
Exped
MegaMat Series
92% positive of 454 users
Car camping comfort champ, but some side sleepers find it thin.
99trey
