NEMO - Switchback Ultralight Sleeping Pad
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Last updated: Dec 30, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
415
109
"The roborock I have kicked and smashed with my foot so many times out of anger when it doesn't collaborate, and still he rocks 4-5 yrs later and no broken parts"
"has withstood the last week of winds over 70 freezing kph."
"I've used it daily for at least 10 years now, probably closer to 15 and apart from the fact you need to clean it periodically, it's still works like brand new."
440
33
"We have traveled to 3 countries with it, set it up on taxis etc."
"Super easy. ... Took about 20-30 minutes"
"sets up in under 3 min including stake out time. ... Take down is just as fast and it fits in its storage bag with out much fuss. ... set up in under 90 seconds 120 if you putting in stakes."
241
1
"I use it a ton for roasting peppers along with daily for everything else."
"What I love about our oven vs. the air fryer is the amount of space the oven offers. Rotisserie chicken, 4 baked potatoes, pizza, evenly cooked tenderloin with a broil setting that can provide a crust."
"just for hiking and trail rubbing ... Personally I wore them for my ultra."
208
57
"I can take it down to like 25-30F very comfortably."
"Pads like the Xtherm (with good convective heat loss mechanisms) outperform pads like the Tensor XC (minimal convectove eat loss mechanisms) even though the Tensor XC has a higher tested rvalue. ... Stevens testing reinforces what I have also been seeing in the field while testing dozens of pads in every temperature possible. ... The other issue is that companies are designing to max the ASTM standard and "taking advantage of" the hole in the standard in order to push really high r-values that don't hold up when you're all of a sudden in air temps of -40."
"I slept on a simple switchback in 7°F weather last month on Hagerman Pass in Colorado... It was warm enough."
615
132
"super comfy. ... And even me at 270lbs I can sit in my side and not bottom out (inflated a lot though)"
"definitely has improved our sleep quality a lot while camping ... boyfriend has back issues so a bad sleep set up is not really an option"
"I just put up with the pinholes and patching them on trail because I can't sleep better on any other pad. ... There's a huge difference in comfort depending on your body between the dimpled baffling of the Etherlight/Tensor and the horizontal baffling of the Xlite. ... I can't sleep on horizontal baffling despite all the good features of the Xlite. ... I'm a side sleeper and my arms and shoulders ache and/or fall asleep or go numb on the Xlite. For whatver reason I can only sleep on dimpled baffles (tensor, etherlight)"
Disliked most:
155
105
"found it to be the equivalent warmth of the insulated static v plus my ccf, and even pairing the etherlight extreme with a ccf, and having it fully inflated wasn’t nearly enough for sleeping on frozen ground or snow."
"I've got three nights on it so far in temperatures ranging from upper 30s to mid 40s and I have been cold on it every night. ... It wasn't freezing, but it was noticeably cool and feels like an accurate R-value would be significantly lower. ... That night the pad felt a little colder than my nights on the Neoloft have been, but not by much."
"too cold for what they said it was"
34
33
"I had to return the etherlite after waking up with a sore back every night."
"I'm a side sleeper and had one of the worst nights sleep on the S2S Ether ... Something about the S2S made my spine bend the wrong way on my side."
"My ass is always hitting the ground with the Klymit V."
48
54
"they offer zero comfort"
"does not cushion at all"
"Cascadias are GREAT shoes if you don't plan on running further than 5 miles. ... midsole is deader than my wife in the sack."
20
18
"Was bulk and weight that chased me away from self inflators years ago. ... I find the selfinflating foam so comfortable, more so than than air mats, but it's 790 grams, very bulky and just 3.8r. Can't justify it."
"The only downside is the bulk. ... It takes up a lot of space in my pack. ... When I I’m out for long hauls I don’t have the room for it and switch to the Tensor All-Season."
"on 5+ nighter with a bear can, the bulk and weight would no longer be worth it for me."
1
4
"The R-value of the switchback is super low so won't provide much insulation ... Based on the temperatures in your post, you might want to allocate a bit more toward a warmer pad."
"at high R-values where you'll really start to notice the cold, CCF is no longer competitive from a weight perspective. ... But an R 4.5 CCF pad will pretty much always be heavier than an Xlite."
"My inflatable is also lighter than a switchback."
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.
r/CampingGear • MegaMat Duo Sleeping Mat - Medium, worth the hype? ->My exact setup atm is a Dura 3R and Nemo Switchback. I feel like a king after coming from a old school thermarest and ground tarp
r/CampingGear • Exped Dura 5r or 6r (microfiber vs dawn)? [Searching for a very durable sleeping pad] ->The nemo switchback is a bit more comfortable than the z-lite because it has a different dimple structure. I think the comfort benefit of a switchback is worth the increased price compared to an Ozark trail or aliexpress ccf sleeping pad. Additional recommendations: Others have mentioned short or torso length pads, but these certainly aren't for everyone. You should get a full length pad, use it for a few nights, then trial run using the pad shortened without actually cutting the pad. You can do this by just leaving the pad partially folded and sleeping on the unfolded part. The most trimming you should do from the start is just removing sections that are longer than your height. For example if you're 5'6" and the pad is 6' you can take off a couple sections and still have a full body pad. Going along with this, if you use a pillow, because ccf pads are so thin you can put the pillow off the edge of the pad to increase its effective length.
r/Ultralight • Are the Z-Lite sleeping pads worth it? Or an Ozark Trail will just do the job? ->Everyone prioritizes things differently. Some people want the perfect piece of gear for every situation. Some people prioritize money, weight, comfort etc. For me, I didn’t want to buy multiple pads for multiple situations. So I bought the thermarest xlite with R value of 4.5 and a Nemo foldable switchback. Now I am covered all season comfortably with will not need to buy anything else. Have you slept on a foldable pad before? As a side sleeper I could not get comfortable. Where I backpack, it can get cold at night even in the summer and I didn’t want to be caught unprepared, so I always use my inflatable pad. You will eventually get a puncture in your inflatable sleeping pad, which is why you bring a small repair kit.
r/CampingandHiking • Best Sleeping Pad Setup for Summer Bivouacking? ->Have you considered a camping cot? There are a lot of ultralight options now which are about the same price as a good sleeping pad for side sleepers. The only difference being is the weight, you’re looking at around 1.5kg for a cot bed which would be double the weight of a sleeping pad. For me, the extra weight is worth it for the comfort. For context I’ve tried Therm-a-Rest, Big Agnes and Nemo mats. If I’m going for comfort, the cot bed wins every time.
r/wildcampingintheuk • Best sleeping pads for side sleeping? ->Yep I bring two pads as well. Although my system is a little bit different in that I use an X-therm combined with a 80x40 1/8th pad as my floor and then can fold it down in an emergency. I'm surprised that worked for you. I know when I had first gotten my sulo I took it down to 22F on snow with just a nemo switchback because that's all I owned and could very easily feel the cold from the pad
r/Ultralight • Winter sleeping mat ->When I did Baker I brought a closed cell pad (Nemo switch back) and an inflatable (Sea to summit) for comfort and redundancy. You'll be hard pressed to find a new bag that's also lightweight for $200. You'll probably need to see if you can find something used or I would recommend you see if you can rent one.
r/Mountaineering • Recommendations for Sleeping Pad & Sleeping Bag ->My Nemo pad is more comfortable than my Purple bed 😂
r/WildernessBackpacking • How much better are “nice” sleeping pads? ->I have the switchback and it’s warm enough for 32F for me but not cushy enough for my hips.
r/CampingandHiking • Best Sleeping Pad Setup for Summer Bivouacking? ->Glad you had success with it! I was super hyped about it from all the accounts of its comfort. Right now my “light” ground sleeping loadout is a klymit insulated paired with Nemo switchback (most comfortable combo I’ve found outside of self inflating) with tarp and bivvy. If I’m going less than 8 miles for an overnight and either the weather is extreme winter or I have a camping partner I haul my stupidly heavy mondo king pad and split the weight of the 3 man tent between us. Been leaning towards just going fully back to my hammmock but I think I’ve determined that I need an open cell/self inflating style pad to prevent hip pain on the ground.
r/Ultralight • UL comfortable sleeping pad for side sleepers? ->Nemo all the way!! They are luxury and pack up so small! I’ve been pregnant and camped with them and they are superb!
r/canoecamping • Need new sleeping pad for canoe trips (sidesleeper) suggestions? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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