REI Co-op - Flash Insulated Air Sleeping Pad

At Philmont, even in summer, you’re going to be dealing with elevation, cold ground and nights that can dip into the 30s. In those conditions, an R-value around 4.0 or higher is a safe target if you want consistent and comfortable sleep yk. A tent doesn’t provide insulation on its own so your pad is doing almost all the work underneath you. That’s why an insulated air pad makes a lot more sense than an uninsulated one for this use case…I’d recommend: - the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm (regular or MAX) OR - the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Ultra If you’re on a tighter budget, the REI Flash Insulated would probably be better. There are these [ultralight sleeping pads](https://alaskanarrows.com/5-best-ultralight-sleeping-pads-for-backpacking/) that you can also look into

That style of thermal welds creating small individual pillows is a fundamental design defect. The welds will peel slightly and create leaks. The REI Flash pads were notorious for this design with many reports of leaks. Here's pic of a patched pad: https://i.imgur.com/imj5JYy.jpg Buy your own pad and enjoy creating photos like the above after a few uses.

Pads with these types of thermal welds to make small "pillows" are notorious for peeling the welds apart causing leaks. An old example is REI Flash pads: [https://i.imgur.com/imj5JYy.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/imj5JYy.jpg)

To add on, I could never sleep on an air mattress. They killed my back and I’ve never had a bad back. I have just hated and refused to sleep on these. I would rather sleep on the floor. My favorite sleep is in a hammock. With that said, if I’m tent camping. I will sleep on a sleeping pad, air mat. It’s Better to have one per person. They give you the insulation value you need without the crazy fluctuation of those massive wasteful air mattresses. I don’t know why they are so common in campers and spare rooms but they are horrible. I feel like at least in the us people think they need to be elevated when sleeping, but it’s so much less comfortable to me. Edit to add I use an rei flash and an exped mat for two people. The flash is great for the price but very squeaky. In my hammock I switched to an under quilt from a sleeping pad. But that wouldn’t work in a tent.

Glad you made it and are camping now! I’m also a kayak camper, and I broke my back in a 30 foot fall while backpacking as a teenager. I am now able to use backpacking sleeping mats like the REI Flash, but this one looks interesting if you had big enough hatches (or were willing to put it in a dry bag bungeed to your deck): https://www.rei.com/product/233662/nrs-snooze-pad-3-sleeping-pad?color=BLUE

I went from an OK REI inflatable to a NEMO tensor and then a Sea to Summit Etherlite XT. The waffle-looking baffles on the two latter pads were a huge improvement in comfort. I think the Etherlite is slightly more comfortable but I switched mostly for durability reasons. 3+ inch thick pad with the waffle pattern is the way to go in my book. Back feels better in the morning and I wake up way less often because some body part fell asleep.

That’s what I use too but I put an inflatable sleep pad from REI on top. It’s due to fail as it’s at least 10 years old but the memory foam will save the day.