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Sleeping Pad R Values

Measuring Insulation

If you’re a home owner, you are probably familiar with the concept of an R-Value. If not, it’s a measure used in the building and construction industry to rate the thermal resistance of building insulation under specific test conditions. The higher the R value, the more effective it is.

R value performance testing is done in a 70 F environment with no air movement. As such, it doesn’t reflect many real world conditions where you’d use a sleeping pad, so I highly recommend that you augment any gear selection that you make based on it with field testing.

If you are interested in sleeping pads for early spring, late autumn or winter conditions, R-Value is additive. When it gets cold, I like to use two pads, a closed cell foam pad and an insulated inflatable one with a combined R-Value of at least 5.

For purposes of backpacking, you also need to factor in weight, comfort, compressibility, and rigidity when you make a sleeping pad selection. In addition, side sleepers may not receive the full R-value of benefit of an inflatable insulated pad because their bodies are not in full contact with the surface of the pad. This is particularly true for insulated sleeping pads that depend on your body heat to warm them up, including the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir product line, Exped’s DownMats and Big Agnes’ Insulated Pads.

Sleeping Pad R-Value Comparison

The following table provides a side by side comparison of the major sleeping pads available in the US market. The pad weights listed are sized for 72″ long x 20″ wide pads, though there are a few exceptions below. The R-Value of a pad should still remain the same if you select a longer, shorter, or wider variation of the pad. If a sleeping pad has a R-Value of “Not Available”, it’s because the manufacturer has not supplied one or R-value testing has not been performed. sectionhiker

Mfg	Lowest Price (Click)	R-Value	Weight (oz)	Thickness	Type
Big Agnes	Green Ridge	1.5	17	2.5	Inflatable
Big Agnes	Air Core	1.5	21	3.25	Inflatable
Big Agnes	Insulated Aircore	4.1	22	3.25	Inflatable
Big Agnes	Double Stuffed Double Z	5.8	24	4	Inflatable
Big Agnes	Insulated Q-Core	5	27	4	Inflatable
Big Agnes	Insulated Q-Core SL	4.5	17	3.5	Inflatable
Big Agnes	Double Z	1.5	17	4	Inflatable
Big Agnes	Two Track	5.5	36	2	Self-Inflating
Big Agnes	Hinman	5.5	36	1.5	Self-Inflating
Klymit	Inertia X Frame	NA	9.1	1.5	Inflatable
Klymit	Static V	1.3	18.1	2.5	Inflatable
Klymit	Inertia XL	NA	17	1.5	Inflatable
Klymit	Insulated Static V	4.4	25	2.5	Inflatable
Klymit	Inertia X-Lite	NA	6.1	1.5	Inflatable
Klymit	Inertia O Zone	NA	12.2	1.75	Inflatable
Klymit	Static V2	1.3	16.33	2.5	Inflatable
Klymit	X Wave	NA	10.5	1.5	Inflatable
Klymit	Static V Luxe	1.3	26.5	3	Inflatable
Klymit	Insulated Static V	4.4	25	2.5	Inflatable
Sea-to-Summit	Comfort Light Mat	1	16	2.5	Inflatable
Sea-to-Summit	Comfort Light Insulated Mat	4.2	20.5	2.5	Inflatable
Sea-to-Summit	Comfort Plus Mat	2.5	20	2.5	Inflatable
Sea-to-Summit	Comfort Plus Insulated Mat	5	25.5	2.5	Inflatable
Sea-to-Summit	Ultralight Mat	0.7	12.5	2	Inflatable
Sea-to-Summit	Ultralight Insulated Mat	3.3	15.5	2	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	Z-lite SOL	2.6	14	0.75	Closed Cell
Therm-a-Rest	Z Shield	1.5	12	0.38	Closed Cell
Therm-a-Rest	Prolite	2.4	17	1	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Prolite Womens	3.0	17	1.0	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir XLite	3.2	12	2.5	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir XLite Womens	3.9	12	2.5	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir XTherm	5.7	15	2.5	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir XLite Max SV	3.2	16	2.5	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir All Season	4.9	19	2.5	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir Trekker	3	17	2.5	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	Ridgerest Solar	3.5	19	0.79	Closed Cell
Therm-a-Rest	Ridgerest SOLite	2.8	14	1.5	Closed Cell
Therma-Rest	Prolite Plus	3.4	20	1.5	Self-Inflating
Therma-Rest	Prolite Plus Womens	4.2	20	1.5	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir Venutre WV	1.8	24	2	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	Trail Pro	4	30	2	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Womens Trail Pro	4.8	30	2	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Trail Lite	3.4	28	1.5	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Womens Trail Lite	4.9	28	1.5	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Trail Scout	3.4	22	1	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Zonker	4.4	41	1.75	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	RidgeRest Classic	2.6	14	0.625	Closed Cell
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir Dream	6	66	4	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir Camper	2.2	24	3	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	MondoKing	11.4	75	4	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Luxury MAP	6.8	52	3	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Basecamp	5	38	2	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Evolite Plus	3.2	20	2.5	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Evolite	2.0	12	2	Self-Inflating
Therm-a-Rest	Lair Air	2.2	32	2	Inflatable
Therm-a-Rest	NeoAir Voyager	2.2	23	2.5	Inflatable
Exped	Downmat Lite 5	4.1	21	2	Inflatable
Exped	SynMat Lite 5	3.8	23.1	2	Inflatable
Exped	Downmat 7	5.9	29.8	2.8	Inflatable
Exped	Downmat UL 7	5.9	20.5	2.8	Inflatable
Exped	Downmat 9	8	34	3.5	Inflatable
Exped	Synmat 7	4.9	29.9	2.8	Inflatable
Exped	Synmat UL 7	3.1	15.8	2.8	Inflatable
Exped	Synmat 9	6	25.4	3.5	Inflatable
Exped	Synmat Hyperlite	3.3	12.3	2.5	Inflatable
Exped	Synmat Winterlite	4.9	14.3	3.5	Inflatable
Exped	Downmat Winterlite	7	16.8	3.5	Inflatable
Exped	Synmat 12	6	52	4.7	Inflatable
Exped	Syncell 5	2.9	25.6	2	Inflatable
Gossamer Gear	Nightlight	2.27	4.9	0.75	Closed Cell
Gossamer Gear	Air Beam Sleepers	NA	10.1	2.5	Inflatable
NEMO	Astro Air	NA	20	2.5	Inflatable
NEMO	Astro Insulated	NA	19	2.5	Inflatable
NEMO	Tensor	NA	13.5	3	Inflatable
NEMO	Tensor Insulated	NA	15	3	Inflatable
NEMO	Vector Insulated	NA	20	3	Inflatable
NEMO	Astro Insulated Lite	NA	13	3	Inflatable
NEMO	Cosmo Air	NA	23	3	Inflatable
NEMO	Cosmo Air Lite	NA	17	3	Inflatable
NEMO	Cosmo Insulated	NA	29	2.5	Inflatable
NEMO	Cosmo Insulated Lite	NA	21	3	Inflatable
NEMO	ZOR-R	NA	14	1	Self-inflating
NEMO	ZOR-S	NA	10	1	Self-inflating
NEMO	ORA-R	NA	20	1	Self-inflating
NEMO	ORA-S	NA	13.5	1	Self-inflating
REI	Flash Insulated	3.2	16	2.5	Inflatable
REI	Air Rail 1.5	4.2	26	1.5	Self-inflating
REI	Trekker	5.6	40	1.75	Self-inflating
Wenzel	Blue Foam Pad	1.4	7.5	0.38	Closed Cell
REI	Cirrus Insulated	2.8	23	2.5	Inflatable