Sea to Summit Camp Self-Inflating Foam Sleeping Pad — 4-Season, 1.5" Thick, R-Value 4.2

I debated between 3 or 4 stars for this, and I (somewhat grudgingly) decided on 4.

This is one of the few quality pads that's only 1.5" thick. There are tons of super cheap $30 pads from no name brands out there (I tried a couple and they were horrible), and there are tons of 3-4" thick giant monstrosities out there for $200+ that are wonderful, but take up massive room and don't pack down at all. There's not a lot in between. Except this.

I used this pad for two seasons and towards the end of the second , it would no longer hold air through the night. At least twice per night I'd be able to feel my body touching the ground and I'd need to put a couple breaths in it. Although it would not stay deflated. I'd have it rolled up and put away nicely, and within a few hours it'd have blown itself back up to full size.

I looked for a replacement and came to realize that as I mentioned above, my choices were basically either a super cheap junky pad, or a massive and expensive Exped or similar. Yeah I'm car camping, but still space isn't unlimited. So I grudgingly bought this again.

So far the new pad is doing fine, but I also only have a few nights on it. Time will tell. I'm willing to give it a second chance. In a few months I'll need to purchase a second one for my kid for an international trip we're taking. Which is another benefit - these fold down quite small and will easy fit into a suitcase for airline travel.

I'm never able to get products back into their packaging, but I didn't have any trouble getting this back into it's carrying bag. It did require a small battery powered pump though. Without that, I'm not sure you'll be able to get all the air out. The pump isn't really necessary for inflation. I found that by the time I located the pump and got it set up, I could have just used my breath and been done.

So yeah I'm giving it a second chance and am cautiously hopeful. Fingers crossed that it holds up well and I'll buy a third one for my kid.

It only took me 10.8 billion years to find a proper, warm backpacking pad that is a sweet spot between a minimalist ccf pad (which feels like sleeping on the ground with moderate insulation) and 3.5” $200 air pads (which feel like a bounce house). I sleep on my stomach and have learned that air pads are NOT for me (sleeping on my stomach on an air pad slopes my spine uncomfortably upwards towards my head or can feel like an elevated brick). Self-inflating pads are the perfect solution: foam mattress feel & low enough to the ground to feel extremely stable. It would be nice if it could pack just a tad smaller but then it wouldn’t be a proper comfortable SI pad so it’s a worthy tradeoff. Fun fact, SI pads self inflate by their compressed internal foam expanding, hence sucking air in. Do not use a pump on SI pads! be patient or give it a few manual blows, it doesn’t take much. I’m happy with the weight of the item as well, much more backpack worthy than my other SI pad which weighs a full pound more and is more car camping oriented. I still intend to use my ccf pads on longer backpacks where weight is more critical, but very happy with this product for shorter outings / cold conditions / when I want to prioritize comfort in the backcountry. I strongly recommend stomach sleepers to try SI pads, this one is a winner!

I have used it for a couple backpacking trips now. It is really confortable and warm!
It s big enough so I don't find myself in the cold floor in the middle of the night. I slept like a log using this pad.
This is not ultralight gear... but I don't mind the little extra weight and space in the backpack. A good night of leep is definitely worth it!

Great sleeping mat.
Rolls up tight, inflates and insulates well. Solid deal. Just wish it came in a darker green for work reasons.

Finally a wide, light, comfy, warm pad!. Surprised how comfortable it is. Large rolled up in the stuffsack, but lightweight! Glad I opted for this instead of something like 3x as much. Seems very durable, looking forward to sleeping on it actually.