How to Choose a Sleeping Pad for your Camping Trip

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Bruce Lessels from Zoar Outdoor for expertvillage.com talking about camping. While your sleeping bag takes care of the comforter and the sheets and that blanket that you wear at night, your sleeping pad is going to take care of the mattress. This is really the insulation between you and the ground. Probably the most commonly used sleeping pads now are Thermarest type pads, which have an encased foam core and the foam core is encased in a nylon that’s sealed to the air, so you can inflate with air and it will actually keep its loft. The great thing about these pads are, they won’t absorb water and they are really comfortable, you can actually blow them up a little bit to make them a little bit firmer. The other great thing about them is when you release the valve on them they roll down to a nice small size because you can compress the air all the way out of them. Then when you tighten the valve up again, they pretty much hold their shape and they don’t want to get any bigger. Another option is a closed or open cell pattern, in this case a pad that’s a combination of both. This is closed cell foam laminated to open cell foam, this might be a pretty comfortable pad but the concern here is going to be that the open cell foam is going to absorb water. So if you’re in wetter conditions this pad is going to get wet and its not going to be as comfortable or as light and eventually its going to loose a lot of its insulating capability because of the foam absorbing so much water. So a clearly closed cell pad is also a good idea but again the thermarest is probably the easiest type of pad to get and the most comfortable."