SynMat HL Winter

No the sleeping bag won’t help much. To get a significant bump in comfort you’ll have to jump into some heavier pads that are still compressible enough to bring backpacking. Pads like the Thermarest Neoloft or Exped Megamat Ultra. I have a Tensor All Season and find it comfortable, however my Exped Synmat 3D (older version of the Megamat Ultra) is definitely more comfortable. My brother has the Rapide SL which is similar to the Tensor in comfort.

I don't know the weight of the Exped you listed, but you are right about the website weights of the vendors. I do have an older R=5.2 Exped SynMat Winter HL in medium wide that weighs 539 g. Here is a photo of it rolled up: [https://imgur.com/a/SZs4DAy](https://imgur.com/a/SZs4DAy) And a photo of it in a tent with another pad: [https://imgur.com/a/F4cSV7j](https://imgur.com/a/F4cSV7j) I recommend a WIDE mummy pad. Your listed sizes suggest that those pads are not wide and other numbers seem off to me, too. Probably you might need to see the m in person.

A similar thread from yesterday might be worth visiting: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/1l5j7gk/noisy\_sleeping\_pad\_what\_is\_a\_good\_alternative/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/1l5j7gk/noisy_sleeping_pad_what_is_a_good_alternative/) Exped Ultra 5R (aka SynMat Winter H) works for me below freezing temps. Also a WIDE pad is worth it for me. A problem with all these daily pad questions is that the daily responses are not representative of the universe of pad users. One probably has to read at least 3 months of such threads to come to the conclusion that there is no consensus. Good luck with your search and please report back what ended up working for you.

My exped is a piece of magic.

I have a exped 9 cm thick pad. Mine is the synpad, it is a bit larger than the down equivalent when folded up, but it is really super comfortable, and with a great R rating

I really like my Exped Synmat 9. It’s not produced anymore but they have a lot of other models.

I have an Exped Synmat and it's quite comfortable. It's more "air mattress" than my Thermarest Prolite Plus but more comfortable. So much so I'm insisting my wife use my Synmat mattress instead of her existing Thermarest on our next trip. I can handle the lesser one (I hope). I think basically if you're spending some money it's always going to be more complicated than "air mattress". I think OP means a classic vinyl sack filled with air. They tend to have poor support, zero vapor management, and are cold (because air convection inside the mattress takes all your heat and moves it to the ground).

G'Day Practical, I've had an Exped Synmat which I recently replaced with an Exped 5R (I haven't used this yet, but it is the successor the Synmat). The Synmat lasted quite a few years and I was very happy with it. Both mats are rectangular rather than tapered so I think you will be less likely to slide off it. I certainly never had any problems, which is why I bought the 5R. Regarding sleeping bags, I have a three season bag (Exped Ultralite 300, \~300 g down) which I can pair with an inner bag (Macpac Snowflake, 130 g down). I used this combination (along with a silk inner sheet) in Nepal up to 4000 m (in accommodation) and was always comfortable. Note, you didn't mention having an inner sheet. If you do not have one, I advise you to get one (silk, not cotton). I think it is worth buying quality products from reputable manufacturers. They will last you a long time and be reliable.

What time of year are you going? I've done a lot of camping in Iceland in a range of seasons over the course of about 7 trips, if you're going in summer you don't need anything particularly large, just think UK spring or Autumn really. I took a Synmat in May/June and it was fine. All I would say is that it's very windy and there are very few trees or vegetation so your tent needs to be able to stand up to the wind exceptionally well. I stayed at a campsite on the south cost where someone's tent literally blew away with about half their stuff in. It ended up in the sea. So get good pegs. The ground isn't very soily! Definitely take a ground sheet protector there's some spikey rocks.