Letter to a Friend to Help Choose the Best Sleeping Pad Right Now

With close-out pricing, this insulated, lightweight air mattress for backpacking and camping is hard to beat

Chris Maxcer··
Big Agnes Divide Insulated Sleeping Pad horizontal orientation.
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I recently received a plea for help from a friend who bought a sleeping pad for her son, who said the pad was uncomfortable. When she slept on it, she thought it was a travesty.

She wanted my recommendation for the best comfortable sleeping pad with a price range between $100-150 that checks these boxes:

  • light enough that a strong young man could take it backpacking
  • comfortable enough for camping
  • insulated for cold weather/winter camping

Yeah, so . . . like pretty much everything important all in one package. No problem.

If you’re looking for a sleeping pad to buy right now at a screaming deal, this might help you, too, so I’m going to share my response to my friend:

Hey SARA!*

Most of the really great options are going to price out over $150 these days. There’s been big price jumps in good outdoor gear, inflation, etc. However, if I were going to buy a comfortable, relatively lightweight sleeping pad for all-weather camping with some backpacking, particularly if I were a strong young man on a budget, this is one I’d buy right now because it offers the best overall bang for the buck:

Big Agnes Divide Insulated Sleeping Pad in the Regular/Wide size. (I’d personally get the long, but Sam* could save some weight and go with the slightly shorter option if he wants.)

Why not the non-wide regular version? I prioritize good sleep and no one I’ve ever met said, “Yeah, this is too wide. I wish I got the narrower version.” If someone did tell me that, I would stay away from them.

It’s 3.5” thick and has a 4 R-Value. If you’re sleeping on slightly uneven ground it can span small holes and has slightly raised rails to keep you on your pad. Plus it’s yellow, and who doesn’t like yellow? Only sickos dislike yellow.

Right now it’s 39% off the regular price of $170, coming in at $104 at Backcountry. It’s a freaking steal:

@ Backcountry

But it’s also on sale (at a higher price) at REI:

@ REI

Currently there isn’t a better option anywhere near these sale prices. Holler if you’re a sicko and hate yellow and I’ll give you some alternatives.

—Chris

* Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

 

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Chris Maxcer
Author, Editor and Publisher
Chris Maxcer is an avid fly fisher, camper, backpacker, public land hunter, and outdoor gear-loving expert. As an outdoor enthusiast, he has spent decades in the mountains and on rivers and lakes enjoying the great American outdoors. Maxcer has fly fished for coho salmon next to Kodiak brown bears in Alaska, backpacked among mountain goats, whitewater rafted the Middle Fork of the Salmon River through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, has chased bugles in rugged terrain while archery elk hunting in Idaho, and, perhaps most importantly, has cracked open cold beers in front of hundreds of campfires with friends and family. As the lead author and publisher of Man Makes Fire, he’s written hundreds of articles and outdoor gear reviews and buying guides, but what he enjoys most is testing and reviewing outdoor gear where it belongs — outside. To contact him via email, take a "firstinitiallastinitial" guess at ManMakesFire.com.
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