Cosmo Insulated Lite 20R

I use an astro non-insulated for 50-55+ nights and an older Nemo cosmo insulated for the colder stuff. It's heavy, but I sleep well on it. However I'm no longer enjoying the foot pump in it. A tensor is at the top of my list to replace it whenever I'm ready, but the astro covers most of the stuff I do.

Thermarest neoairs are too loud and crinkly for me. Rab style of mattress doesn't do well for me as a side to belly sleeper. Nemo is my pick because the only air pads I've kept are Nemo. An astro non-insulated pad is my summer pad with an older cosmo insulated pad being my 30 to 55-deg pad.

Thermarest neoairs are too loud and crinkly for me. Rab style of mattress doesn't do well for me as a side to belly sleeper. Nemo is my pick because the only air pads I've kept are Nemo. An astro non-insulated pad is my summer pad with an older cosmo insulated pad being my 30 to 55-deg pad.

Insulated inflatable sleeping pad. Yes, an air mattress. But the ones with high R value will insulate you. Exped, Nemo, Thermarest, Sea to Summit, others. There are lightweight ones for backpacking and imaginably so they're going to tend to be more expensive. There are other ones that may be more comfort focused that aren't as light if you're just doing car camping. Get one from a company that does ASTM rating. This does kind of sound like "big sleeping pad" or a cartel. And it kind of is. But prior to them using that standard, it was the wild west. Sleeping pad manufacturers would just put any number on there that didn't mean anything. So a bunch of companies got together and decided to use this standard. It just gives you that relative comparison across brands. If you're not going below 32 f, then consider a pad that is R value 4 to 5. If you're going to be going below freezing but not necessarily below zero f, consider R value 6 or better. If you're going to be going below zero f then, you want to get up into the ones that are rated at R value 7.5+. You can stack an inflatable on top of ccf pads to increase your insulation. You can put an insulated sleeping pad on top of a cot if that's what you want to do. If you're using an inflatable, obviously you want to make sure it won't pop on the cot. About using a cot. Just getting you off the ground isn't going to make your warm. You'll still need insulation. The cot is irrelevant to heat transfer to the ground. You'd just end up with cold air under you instead of cold ground. One to look out for is the upcoming Nemo Eclipse which is supposed to be due out in march. It's going to be 4 in thick so probably comfortable. With an R value of 6.2 it should be pretty comfortable down to about zero f. No one really has information on this yet. So if you're looking to buy right now, you're going to look at other stuff. Check out the websites. If you see ones you're interested in, watch YouTube reviews. They're usually pretty good videos on most every product that's out there. I wanted to add, R value on sleeping pads and ground insulation is equally important to understanding top insulation. If using a sleeping bag or backpacking quilt, it's important to understand the EN or ISO rating. And really to look at the comfort rating. Understand also that those standards are assuming you're sleeping on a sleeping pad with an R value about 5 plus wearing base layer or thermal underwear, wool socks, and a warm hat.

Bought the Nemo Cosmo with built-in foot pump about 4 years ago. Insulated, quiet, durable and so comfortable. Highly recommend.

Tents you can rent from REI and other shops. REI does have some good deals at the moment. -15 degree bag and a insulated pad can make all the difference. I go ice cave camping on Mt Baker every late January. I sleep perfectly fine on my Nemo insulated pad and my -15 degree Marmot sleeping bag.

In my research a couple years ago, it felt like there was a triangle of: price, comfort, weight. The Big Agnes moves a bit toward the comfort away from center, and the Thermarest moves a bit toward the weight savings. I didn't see sea to summit in my research, but I gather it's also more in the weight savings side. The Nemo seemed the most balanced in the triangle. That's what I bought. I've been happy with it. Although it's the insulated, not all season (was the prior gen). If you favor comfort, BA, if you favor weight, Thermarest or StS. If you want the all around balance, Nemo. But that's just my take.

Oh, interesting. When I bought, the Nemo was the middle and Thermarest was on the weight side. But as I said I haven't looked as recently. And you're right, the packability is as much of the criteria for the "weight" corner as the few teams of difference. BA seemed a little bulky for me. I will say when I get the right level of inflation on the Nemo, I find it very comfortable. I don't always nail it though. I've had some nights where I get the sore/misaligned hip and turn over a bunch, and some nights when it feels like I slept on a mattress. The good nights really impress me though, considering how small and light it is.

Exped and Nemo both have thick pads and they aren’t crinkly like Thermarest. :)

Comfortable, I have one now. Before I had a Nemo pad I returned and honestly, kind of wish I had kept it. Only downside was it took forever to inflate. Also, these things go on sale/get returned all the time. I’d look for one second hand if possible.