I loved my neoair venture on the PCT. It has a pretty terrible R value (wasn't a problem for me), but its light, conpact abd damn near bullet proof. And so comfortable.
My last pad was a Neoair Venture, and that kinda has horizontal baffles but is fairly smooth overall. I wanted vertical baffles, because those work on a hammock.
I don't think the baffle orientation matters much. At least I can't feel much of a difference. A much bigger comfort difference comes from the thickness and that's where the Versa wins big. Also a side sleeper.
With everyone recommending an Xped or Thermarest, I think you should check into renting one. Personally, I use a 2” thick Thermarest and can confirm it’s comfortable and very insulating. It has also lasted us 15+ years so far.
As for sleeping bags versus blankets — hands down, I think a bag is warmer than blankets. Women’s bags are shaped to have lower volumes and more insulation where it’s needed. You can get polyester fill or down, with the latter being a longer term investment when stored properly between uses. My wife and I have 40F bags that zip together, and can be supplemented with a fleece liner when temps require it. We also have 20F mummy bags for when it’s cooler.
At night, change into sleep specific wear. My wife and I use our Smartwool base layers used for skiing for this. A fresh layer of clothes have no moisture in them from daytime activities and will keep everyone warmer.
Finally, the larger the tent, the more air that needs to be warmed. While we enjoy the space of our 6P tent, we also have smaller tents (one of my vices is buying tents) and one 4-season tent we use in the spring and fall cooler temps.
Have fun. Bring layers. Plan for hats/gloves in the early morning while enjoying a hot cup of coffee.
I started on the old school thermarest shortie, then a full length, then switched to a big agnes inflatable--which i liked but went through two of them with bad valves. Switched to a nemo a couple of years ago, and love it. It's a little "crinkly" sounding, but otherwise well worth it. Good choice :-)
Oon ite retkeillyt jo vuosia XXL:sitä ostetulla Helsportin 3-kauden pussilla, ja voin suositella. Tällä on itse tullut nukuttua mm. 2 asteen yölämmöissä mukavasti hyvällä riipparisetillä (sis. alupeiton). Vastaava näyttää tänä päivänä maksavan liikkeessä alta 80€. Tuo on varmasti riittävä väline satunnaisretkeilijälle.
Alustaan sen sijaan sijoittaisin sinuna enemmän niin ajatusta kuin rahaakin (toimiva eristys maanpinnasta keventää myös makuupussi vaatimuksia). Esim. Thermarestin ilmatäytettäviä retkeilypatjoja löytyy alan liikkeistä hintahaarukasta 100-250€ ja omien kokemusten perusteella voisin ainakin suositella.
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.
Dr_Element
