RidgeRest Classic

Foam is a foam. Be it branded as ThermaRest, Decathlon or random Asian (the only difference I noticed with cheap asian stuff that costs <50% of the Decathlon's price was how quickly it gets permanently compressed). Great but bulky (more of an issue for bikers, not the hikers). I used good old Ridgerest in -5C temps with -5C sleeping bags with no issues (it was still too warm for me) but YMMV.

I'm 6'4" 360 lbs. I use this Teton sleeping pad [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P6DJ8O?th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P6DJ8O?th=1) and/or a Therm-a-rest pad [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HANOZRY?th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HANOZRY?th=1) The Teton pad is not small, but if you are just setting up camp near your car they are great. The Term-a-rest rolls up small enough with my wool blanket to strap on to my backpack and is easy to carry around. It just isn't as comfortable alone.

[https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/therm-a-rest-ridgerest-classic-sleeping-pad-15tarurdgrstclssccsl/15tarurdgrstclssccsl](https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/therm-a-rest-ridgerest-classic-sleeping-pad-15tarurdgrstclssccsl/15tarurdgrstclssccsl) This one is my go-to. I don't know what the bed of your truck calls for but this plus a few thick blankets makes a very comfortable pallet pretty much anywhere, ime.

[Exped FlexMat](https://www.exped.com/en/products/sleeping-mats/flexmat) and [FlexMat Plus](https://www.expedusa.com/products/flexmat-plus?variant=42267057029337)\* were available in LW size (77"x25"), now replaced by [Flex 1.5R](https://www.expedusa.com/products/flex-1-5r) and [Flex 3R](https://www.expedusa.com/products/flex-3r)\*, still in the same sizes. [Thermarest RidgeRest](https://cascadedesigns.com/products/ridgerest-classic-sleeping-pad?variant=41316889657478) Large is also 77x25" inches. [Seek Outside Matty McMatFace](https://seekoutside.com/matty-mcmat-face/) is 80x40". [Gossamer Gear Thinlight Rolled Wide](https://www.gossamergear.com/products/thinlight-foam-pad?variant=42879197511734) is 58x25". Mountain Laurel Design Goodnight is available in 80"x40" in both [1/8"](https://mountainlaureldesigns.com/product/goodnight-eva-1-8-foam-pad/) and [1/4"](https://mountainlaureldesigns.com/product/1-4-foam-pad/) EVA. (\*) The FlexMat Plus has large dimples that some people dislike when new. They flatten some with use, or can be covered by a thin EVA pad (Thinlight/GoodNight/Matty McMatFace).

Um, take another look at my post. The second item is the Thermarest RidgeRest. It's popular for a reason (just maybe not *ultralight* reasons). Thermarest also makes 23" wide pads in both CCF and self-inflating, like the ProLite series, for the military.

My dog's half-husky claws convinced me to switch to closed-cell foam. I frequently use two sheets - a smooth blue walmart foamie and a classic ridgerest. That cheap blue walmart foamie makes a great sled when you just don't want to downclimb from a winter summit attempt. I am more comfortable on inflatable pads, but I'll save it for base camp.

The thermodynamic properties of CCF have nothing to do with name brands- it's just about the density of the foam, and the shape its cast in. Comfort, weight, and warmth are going to have a triangular relationship. CCF is weight-competitive with inflatables up to about R4, which may or may not be an option for your use case depending on your personal needs. If you want an R4 foam pad, check out Oware's 1/2" thick CCF pads. It will be bulkier and less comfortable than a Z-Lite, but if you cut their 80" pad down to the standard 72", you'll come in at about 14oz, which is about the same as a NeoAir X-Lite. If you're shorter or taller than average, the fact that you can cut it to the exact length you need is a bonus. Any warmer than R4, and an inflatable is going to be better in terms of warmth-to-weight. At that point, it's worth it to go for an R7-8 pad and use the increased bottom insulation to go a little lighter on your quilt, as each oz of extra weight you pay for the pad makes it 10F warmer compared to about 3 oz. of down for top insulation. (This tradeoff obviously has limits, but works for a difference of about 10-20F in most cases.)

>R-4 for that half inch? Color me skeptical… It's not a bold claim. The insulation of CCF is directly proportional to its thickness when compressed under load. There's not much "technology" going on. Thermarest claims the Z-lite is ".75 in. thick" but most of that style of pad is actually 1/4" foam, cast into an egg-crate design that compresses flat when you lay on it so it's more comfortable. (That's why 14 layers of it are only 5 inches high when stacked) The Oware pad is *solid* 1/2" foam that doesn't really compress much when you lay on it, so it's essentially as warm as two Z-Lites stacked. (But as I said, this also means it's firmer and less comfortable.)

No, high-quality CCF is about R7 per inch, without a radiant reflector. A Z-lite is 1/4" thick when compressed and R2. If that claim is accurate, a 1/2" solid CCF pad should come in at or close to R4. Oware claims that's about accurate.

I'm getting my values from professional insulation contractors. Where are yours from? >Check the ridgerest > Much softer foam. Edit: Calling me "simply incorrect" and then blocking me without sourcing your information is not very convincing.

It's always going to be ball-park and results are always going to vary with environmental factors that are hard to control for, personal sleep experience, and sleep system proficiency, but I can report anecdotally that my quilt is *definitely* comfortable at lower temperatures on my wife's 8.5R Tensor Extreme than on my older R4.5 Tensor Insulated. As in, I was woken up by cold at 12F in a 10F HG Burrow, switched pads with my wife (who sleeps warmer than I do) and was pretty much immediately toasty warm and slept comfortably until morning. That's about as close to a controlled result as I can get on the trail. Her pad was only 3oz heavier than mine, and if you had put me back on my pad and added 3oz of down and the accompanying loft (which is about the difference in weight between a 10F and 0F), I doubt I would have been anywhere near as comfortable. I also noticed that I couldn't tell from *how* I felt cold that it was specifically the pad that was the weak link. It's wasn't like my back felt specifically cold. But it clearly WAS the pad. There is obviously going to be an intersection where the quilt's heat loss dominates over conductive loss to the ground and the pad's rating becomes wasteful. I don't think you can be comfortable in a summer quilt on a high-R pad at freezing temps or anything. But I personally believe that most UL hikers overestimate the quilt's impact, skimp on their pad, and use less size- and weight-efficient systems than they could be using.

Depends on your site selection. I prefer the classic ridgerest