ZERO MATTRESS R05

I’d go for an inflatable pad and for speed I’d get a little flextail pump to speed up the time and effort required to set it up. I’ve recently bought a Naturehike 5.8 which I’m very pleased with and a flextail gear zero r5.6 which feels comfortable although I’ve not slept on it overnight yet. The main thing about the flextail like the exped is it looks a bit like the sort of lilo you see kids using in a holiday swimming pool.

Have a look at Flextail I have their R05 version in the big size as I’m quite tall. I really rate it. R5.6 and about £100 or less with discount codes. They’ve also got a model called R09 with an R value of 9.4 which is pretty high! And on offer today £154

Flextail RO5 in either the Mummy Plus size or wide pad. I'm 5'8 and just about get away with the regular, so you'd probably want the larger pad. They're on offer at the minute I believe on flextails site.

I actually just bought a naturehike Ultralight 6.5R sleeping pad to try. Definitely warm, lives up to the R value but for comfort wasn't as good as my Flextail Zero 6.0R pad, also very slippery in the tent but that can be fixed with some silicone dots. Overall wouldn't be bad as a starter pad but wasn't my cup of tea. FYI - sleeping pads, sleeping bags or quilts and a comfortable pack are VITAL to enjoying backpacking but there are good budget options for all. Also, check out the Sensory4U sleeping quilt on Amazon - $130 and it's a 850 down quilt, very light and warm. There are a ton of YouTube channels that talk about good budget gear to start with as well. Try Dose of Dirt, StepMassive, MyLifeOutdoors, or Dan Becker for good info on gear Darwin on theTrail, Homemade Waderlust, JupiterHikes or Oscar Hikes for good hiking info and tips as well.

I’ve had the original r05 since it came out, to preface I got it for an exceptionally low price and have not tried many others so take all of this with a pinch of salt. Saying that, I love it, it’s very comfortable, very warm and reasonably light but by all means not ‘ultra’ light. If you have tried other pads and found that you like the vertical baffle system then this pad is great i know true ultra lighters will say that comfort shouldn’t be a consideration but if you’re on a budget and can only buy one pad it really isn’t a bad option

I like my Flextail R5. My only gripe is that it can be a challenge to get it back into its bag. But other than that its a great pad for the money

Both of the guys that I talked to at REI were big fans of the Tensor and were anti Therm-a-Rest. I went with that and ordered a Flextail zero online. I’ve got it packed on my bike, and I’m going for a two day ride tomorrow to try it out. Thanks everybody, I appreciate this community!