Therm-a-Rest - RidgeRest Classic

I’m taking a neoair AND a RIDGEREST!!!!! Luxury baby! Base weight is still 11 pounds cuz of a few other luxuries but DO IT!

If you have the space or option of lashing things to your pack, I'd just get two closed cell foam pads, like the Therm-a-Rest Z-lite Sol or Ridgecrest Classic, and stack them. That would be an R-value of 4. It would be a little bit bulky compared to an inflatable, but it would be cheap, durable, and functional. I'm partial to foam pads, though.

Then, go the foam pad route. There's no way to get a good pad with a high R-value for ~€100 without finding a really good sale. You can get the Therm-a-Rest Ridgecrest Classic for ~$30 (not sure what the price is over there in €). Do not go with one of the Amazon specials just because they're cheap. You'll be miserable at best and possibly even unsafe.

The cold ground can make the air in your sleeping pad colder which shrinks it a bit. When it's very cold I use an old Thermarest ridgerest foam pad under my inflatable pad.

Closed cell foam pads are just marginally softer than plywood, especially the old school grey Ridge Rest that rolls up. I would try that, it is cheap also.

I've slept down into the low 30s F many times on a ThermaRest Ridge Rest (R value 2) and been warm enough with a properly over-rated top quilt. But if you sleep cold you may need a bit more R value. REI recommends an R value of 2 to 3.9 for temps as cold as 32 F. Those Walmart pads are probably somewhere around R 1.5 to 1.8. I would stack two (R value is stackable) if I were going to use them for 39 F. Remember, the weather forecast can be wrong and it can get significantly colder, so prepare for colder temps. Most adults can't sleep on thin foam mats. For comfort you can throw a couple of those mats on top of an air mattress (insulated or not) to provide the insulation needed. The yoga mats will provide some insulation value, though it's hard to say how much. Many are made of closed cell foam and would probably provide the same insulation as a similar thickness camping mat.

What CCF pad are you using? I have a ridge rest (that I use mostly for my dog) and it’s way less comfortable than my cheap air pad. I can’t side sleep on it at all, I wake up with the my bottom arm numb and my shoulder aching.

Second this. Ridgerest or zlite closed cell foam pads are great for kids and actually pretty comfortable and sturdy. 

Under 100 means you're getting foam. If you don't need to backpack it, get a nice thick Ridgerest.

I use a couple of RidgeRest for car camping and I really like them. I'd use one for backpacking if they weren't so bulky. Well I put my legs down, the reflective side works so well that it feels like the mat is emitting heat.

I'm getting back into backpacking after many years and am hoping for a recommendation on a sleeping pad. I'm 5'8", 140# and am sort of an omni-sleeper. I can sleep in more or less any position (and I tend to switch throughout the night) and on any mattress from firm to soft (which, admittedly, makes my question here a little baffling). Back in the day, I used a Ridgerest cut down to 36". I slept great on that in my 20's, but now in my 40's I find my hips want more cushion (or maybe the new ones aren't as soft?). Double stacking the pad is better, but the weight and bulk of carrying the full pad is a bit much. My wife has a older NeoAir XLite Women's pad which I've tried and could barely sleep at all. Constantly felt like I was falling into space, super unstable. I have no issue if an arm or leg is off of the Ridgerest, so I assume it's the extra height that is causing the issue. Also the crinkling would wake me up anytime I switched positions. The level of cushion was great though. I'm trying to avoid spending a grand looking for a sleeping pad I can sleep on comfortably, so hoping for some suggestions. I figure an inflatable pad is going to be the way to go here. Based on my experience with the NeoAir, I'm thinking I probably want to go with a wide pad to feel more stable. Pretty big weight penalty to carry a full length wide pad though, and short wide pads don't seem to be a thing, so perhaps a pad that I can shorten and re-seal? Based on everything I've read that leaves me with a NeoAir or Nemo Tensor. Are either of these better than the older NeoAir with regard to noise? Anything else I should consider? Thanks for any help!

Get a cot. Seriously, I have several types. The Roll a cot we used in hotel rooms when we needed an extra bed. It also allows adjustment for firmness For summer camping in very hot weather and,/or humidity I use a Thermostat ultralight cot. Which allows air to circulate around me with or without a sleeping bag or my coolmax liner. To this for varying degrees of comfort I can add my CCF Ridgerest pad, or my new sea to summit comfort light pad. These 3 things cot CCF pad Air mattress Mix and match will allow you to adjust not just for physical comfort but comfort for temperature as well. Just add appropriate sleeping bag for temperature. Needless to say I don't use the cot when the temperature drops.

Don't pick on my Ridge Rest. Tried and true. But I'm the guy growing up who would fall asleep on an indoor outdoor rug on a wood floor. Oh, so no wonder I like the ridge rest. Seriously though, when it's cold and you don't want air underneath you or an air pad that deflates mysteriously (I swear it didn't do that at home when I tested it ;). ) A CCF pad can be your base sleeping pad and safety net if your air pad fails. On top of a cot it's like a little mattress. A bonus is if you are in the cold the R rating is additive to the pad you put on top of it. Also I'm a side sleeper, so doing this allows me not to wake up with hip pain either in the middle of the night or morning.

Yup. Ridge rest is better than inflatable pads in many ways, not just cost. Lighter Indestructible (no leaks) Easy to break out to sit on at rest stops. Quicker to stow.

I've not tried a thinlite over an inflatable, but I have used it as a dog sit pad. I found the material deceptively delicate. My 10 month pup stretched out and pulled her paws back, ripping a section (it's grippy and spongy). Personally, if I was going down this route I'd find something thinner but more durable to rips/tears from dog paws. I use a Thermarest Ridgecrest for her now. Like your dog, she prefers to sleep alongside me on an inflatable, but it was too much hassle and risk. She's now learning to stay on the ccf... it is easier to train a pup though.

I exclusively sleep on CCF mats. the best budget, packable and easily available option is the Decathlon MT500. The warmest is the Thermarest Ridgerest but it's bulky. The epxed flexmat, Thermarest Z lite and Nemo Switchback are all good but a bit more pricey. Don't get hung up on R values like you would with an inflatable pad. for some reason CCF mats always feel warmer, i think due to the density of the material. I've slept on ice in the alps with CCF mats. As always though it will depend on the person and you'd need to exercise caution with a young en.

and about as comfortable as most inflatables I've tried (not very). I'm much happier spending the $30 on my ridgerest.

I have the featherstone el cordion and it is every bit comparable in insulation and "padding" to a z-lite sol to me. however, I find the Nemo switchback slightly more comfortable than both. that said, the thermarest ridgerest, as obnoxious to carry as it is, wins in comfort for me (barely)

I bought a ridgerest and a nemo switchback. the ridge rest is more comfortable to me overnight but I still get a lot of numbness, and bones digging into the earth. that said, in my experience the CCF pads aren't drastically worse than the klymit and thermarest inflatables I've tried. however, the exped inflatable I tried was mindblowingly good. almost enough to get me out of a hammock.

I used a Thermarest Ridgerest for years as my only sleeping mat. I used the Z-Lite some too, but the Ridgerest was both more comfortable and warmer. The biggest issue with it was the bulk, but at the time I used a large frameless pack and packed "burrito" style rolling the Ridgerest loosely and packing everything in the middle of it.

Closed Cell Foam pads like the Ridgerest are actually quite lightweight and super durable compared to air mats - I think my full length Ridgerest was 12.7oz (listed at 14oz). I used a Ridgerest from \~2005 to 2015 and then switched to a Neo Air X-Therm as I was getting older. I'm not saying I'd go back, but I do miss the durability and simplicity of the Ridgerest. Durability will not be a concern over an inflatable mat at all.

Not all CCF is created equal. I always found the Ridgerest to be warmer and more comfortable than the Z-Lite. You could score it where it would fold up too, though not as compact as the Z-Lite. I just can't sleep on CCF pads anymore.

One classic trick is to have two Ridgerests (it has been the best R-value CCF, not sure am I up to date) and fold one of them in half. Your torso gets a triple layer, something like R 7,5 which is quite adequate. Also, it is a widely reported phenomenon that CCF pads feel warmer than their R rating would suggest when compared with inflatables.

You'll need something insulated for sure. Pad insulation is measured by "R-value" and I would suggest at least an R-value of 4 for those temps. 2 closed cell foam mats like the Thermarest Ridgerest would get you close.

I'm an all ways sleeper, but lean more towards side sleeping. For regular mattresses at home, I like maybe 2 inches of good, soft squish with a firm mattress underneath. So, I don't know if what works for me will work for you. My first closed foam was a Thermarest Ridgerest. It was worse than air pads. The next was the thermarest zlite. (zsol lite?) It was less bad. I keep it to lend people, and keep it attached to my no-warning disaster evacuation bag. I'm currently using the Goodnight EVA from Mountain Laurel Designs. It is only 1/8" thick. I have the 40 x 80 version, but they have various size options for 1/8" and 1/4". If the ground is damp and I'm using my tarp, the size I got keeps me and my stuff off the ground. If the ground is particularly rocky, I can fold in half or in quads, etc depending on what I need. The Goodnight Eva interacts with rocks and lumps differently than the zsolite, because their difference in stiffness. I assumed it would make for a worse sleeping experience with G. EVA, compared to the zsolite. But it turned out to be the opposite. My experience isn't universal. Some of us love the G. EVA, some feel meh, others actively hate it. I'm personally saving up for two more. I plan to put one with my disaster evac pack and another with my disaster first responder pack, so I can stop borrowing it from my backpacking pack. Here are 4 pictures of my sleeping pad to show various ways I use it. https://imgur.com/gallery/3Nu4yK1 Here is a 5th I forgot to upload with the previous album. This one shows room for storing gear next to me, on the pad. https://i.imgur.com/u4mn54g.jpeg Unfortunately, Goodnight EVA is made out of a specialized Evazote foam. (Not the same density as crafting EVA foam.) So it's more expensive than the Zsolite. The size I have is $59, not including shipping. I think their 20x60 version is half that though iirc. Hope this over-abundance of information helps!