Best sleeping pads for 2025 | Tested and reviewed for a comfortable night’s sleep

Rookie campers may think that sleeping pads are all pretty much the same – but in fact they vary enormously. From simple foam rollout mats to highly engineered insulated options for trekking in winter, sleeping pads are as varied in style and price as coats, tents and boots.

Arguably, your sleeping pad is one of the most important things to get right in your camping kit. Before you start getting into portable coffee makers and foldable solar panels, your sleep setup comes first, and a good pad is as important as a good sleeping bag.

It immensely improves your comfort and insulates your sleeping body from the cold ground. Not to mention, aesthetically, a nice mat can really tie the whole room – or tent – together.

When buying a sleeping pad, you need to consider your body, your sleeping habits, and of course, your budget. Like every area of outdoor gear, the ceiling for both price and quality is staggeringly high.

But luckily, there are some very respectable pads with reasonable prices out there. You just need a group of dedicated campers to try them all out and let you know what's what. And that's where we come in.

Best sleeping pads at a glance

Best sleeping pad overall: Big Agnes Zoom UL Insulated

Best value sleeping pad: Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated

Highly rated: Near Zero Feather Insulated Inflatable Sleeping Pad

Best sleeping pad for ultralight adventures: Nemo Tensor Elite

Best sleeping pad for car camping: Therm-a-Rest NeoLoft

Best sleeping pad for winter camping: Nemo Tensor Extreme Conditions

How we tested

Our team is constantly hitting the hills, either for easy backcountry camping adventures or mad mountain bivvy expeditions. All of these outings demand the use of sleeping pads, so the ones we test always receive a huge dose of real-world use in order for us to reach our verdicts.

Those recommended here were mainly tested by Ben Weeks and James Forrest. Ben is our gear editor and has been with Trail magazine and LFTO for over 10 years. James has climbed every mountain in the UK and Ireland, and is a prolific backcountry camper.

When testing each sleeping pad, we focused on five key criteria. Comfort was a top priority – we looked at how well each pad contributed to a good night’s sleep. We also considered weight, portability, warmth and durability. Finally, we examined value by comparing overall performance to price.

Curious as to how we get products in for review? Read more about how we test here.

The best sleeping pads reviewed:

What to look for in a sleeping pad

A good sleeping pad is essential for a comfortable night’s sleep in the great outdoors. Whether you're a casual campsite tourist, a hardcore backcountry camper or a long-distance thru-hiker, choosing the right pad can make a huge difference. This guide will help you understand the key factors to consider when purchasing a camping sleeping pad.

Type

Pads fall into one of three categories:

Foam mats are lightweight, cheaper and weather-resistant, but provide minimum cushioning and are bulky to carry. They are not very thick and, in terms of comfort, they are far inferior to inflatable mats. But their real benefit is that they are effectively indestructible.

While an inflatable mat can easily be punctured, a foam mat is utterly bombproof – hence they are often favored by long-distance hikers who need reliable, robust kit that will last for months on trail.

Self-inflating pads contain foam that expands and pulls in air when the valve is opened, thus self-inflating. This foam traps air, providing insulation and cushioning.

They come in various shapes and sizes to balance insulation, packability and comfort. Pros include minimal inflation effort, lightweight designs and an excellent warmth-to-weight ratio.

However, they tend to be heavier, bulkier, pricier and less cushioned than regular inflatable mats, and can be prone to punctures—though they are easily repaired. You perhaps need to take the term “self-inflating” with a pinch of salt too.

They don’t always inflate particularly quickly or fully and may require manual topping up.

Inflatable air-filled pads are like compact air beds for adventurers. Generally-speaking, they're the highest quality and most premium option for backcountry campers, offering the best balance between comfort, weight and all-round performance.

Inflatable air-filled pads require manual inflation, usually by blowing into the valve with your mouth or using a pump sack (a bag-like tool which fills with air, attaches to the valve, and then inflates the pad).

Compared to self-inflating pads, regular inflatable air-filled pads are lighter, more packable, thicker, and more comfortable, particularly because the firmness of your mat can be fine-tuned to your preference. However unless they have some kind of insulation inside, they can be cold.

Consequently, many pads feature insulation such as down or reflective materials to increase warmth. Other cons of inflatable air-filled pads include the time and effort required to inflate them, and the inherent risk of punctures.

R-value

R-value is a measure of thermal resistance; the higher the R-value, the warmer the mat. As of 2020, a new industry standard was adopted by most brands to standardise the measurement of R-value – the ASTM FF3340-18 R-value standard.

What is a good R-value? It all depends on the weather conditions and temperatures you’ll be camping in. To generalise, an R-value of 1-2 is considered suitable for summer camping in warmer weather, 2-4 is tailored for three-season use from spring to fall, and 4-6+ is designed for colder weather, with higher values suitable for sub-zero camping.

Weight

A sleeping pad will spend more time being carried in a pack than being slept on, so lighter is better, but toughness can diminish with weight, so there's a balance to be found.

We’d consider a weight of between 14 and 21 ounces (including accessories such as storage bag and pump sack) as a good target to aim for. Anything under 14oz would be classed as ultralight; 21oz+ is starting to get a little heavy, perhaps.

Mat size, shape, length and thickness

Pads from reputable brands often come in different lengths and widths, meaning you can choose one that best suits your body shape. Most campers will be fine with the regular size, but taller or plus-sized campers may prefer a long version, wide version, or long-wide version. Anyone particularly short in height may also be able to save weight by selecting a ¾-length mat.

In terms of shape, pads tend to come in two main designs: rectangular or mummy. Rectangular pads provide a bigger overall sleeping surface area, adding versatility and comfort for those who toss and turn at night – but they are usually heavier and bulkier.

Most backcountry campers, therefore, tend to opt for a mummy-style pad, which is tapered towards the foot end to provide a better balance between weight and comfort.

Not all pads come with the same thickness when inflated. The thicker a pad, the more comfortable, warm and insulating it will be; but it’ll be also be a bit heavier and bulkier.

Remember to check a pad’s inflated thickness before purchasing. Side-sleepers will tend to benefit most from a thicker mat, which will help prevent the sleeping surface collapsing inwards under your bodyweight.

Sleeping surface design

Above anything else, this might be the most important factor in terms of sleeping pad comfort. It’s a very personal, subjective thing too – will you prefer the feel of vertical baffles or horizontal ones, or will a quilted, textured surface suit you better?

Therefore, it’s always best to try before you buy in a shop, if you can. Horizontal baffles, which run at 90-degrees to the mat length, are billed as providing a stable sleeping surface with good weight distribution.

Vertical baffles, which run parallel to the mat length, create long air channels and, according to some, work better for side sleepers. Alternatively some campers favor a quilted surface, which has a contoured, grid-like texture rather than baffles. But, ultimately, it all comes down to personal preference.

Packed size

Pads with smaller packed sizes are easier to fit into a rucksack along with your other camping gear. Warmer pads tend to be bulkier, so really compact pads are best saved for summer.

Durability and materials

The type, cut and thickness of the materials used in a sleeping pad will affect how durable, tough and sturdy it is in the long-term. Nylon and polyester are common – and it’s also worth checking the denier rating of the materials used. The higher the denier, the more rugged it’ll be.

Repairability

Self-inflating and inflatable pads become unusable if punctured, so usually come with some kind of repair kit. Foam mats are far more resilient and continue to offer insulation even when wet.

Inflation, deflation, pump sacks and valves

Some old school sleeping pads are inflated by mouth, like a balloon, meaning you literally have to place your lips over the inflation valve and blow in.

But this method is largely out-dated now, partly for hygiene reasons and partly because this approach adds moisture to the inside of the pad, which can cause internal damage and deterioration over time.

These days most pads come with a pump sack – a bespoke bag with an integrated hose and nozzle that is used to inflate your pad. The pump sack looks a little like a dry bag or sleeping bag storage bag, but has a specialised nozzle at its base.

This nozzle attaches to the valve of your sleeping pad. The pump sack then fills with air, either by gently blowing into it from a distance or angling it towards the wind so that it fills up naturally. You can then close the sack and roll or compress it downwards, thus forcing air through the nozzle to inflate your sleeping pad. It’s an efficient, convenient system.

In terms of the inflation-deflation valves on your sleeping pad, it’s best to opt for a pad with a high-tech, modern valve. These valves have a clever design, usually with two caps layered over one hole. When you open the first cap, the valve is one-way only, meaning no air can flow outwards, but air can flow inwards.

This ensures you can efficiently inflate the mat without any risk of deflation or leakage via air flowing outwards. After your camp, opening both caps will enable the pad to deflate. Some pad also have an additional micro-adjustment system, which enables you to fine-tune the air pressure to your preference.

About the author

Ben Weeks has been with Trail for over 10 years and is our main point of contact for a lot of our gear reviews. As well as being a hugely talented writer and photographer, Ben is also a qualified Mountain Leader and climbing instructor.

Along with walking, scrambling and wild camping, he loves gnarly winter climbing routes so is a master at putting cold weather kit through its paces.

James Forrest is an experienced gear tester and widely respected outdoor journalist. Among his many accomplishments, James climbed all 1,001 mountains in the UK and Ireland in just two years, camping wild for over 100 nights during the challenge.