What’s the Best Sleeping Pad Out There?

     I’ve tried sleeping on a variety of pads in the Boundary Waters but I haven’t found a sleeping pad I love. A number of them are OK but none are perfect and I’d love to find the perfect sleeping pad.

     What is the perfect sleeping pad for a trip into the BWCA? I’ll tell you what it isn’t.  It isn’t an air mattress used for floating on the water. If you’ve ever tried that then I’m sure you had a miserable night’s rest and a hard time inflating and deflating it. It also isn’t one of those big mattresses that need a pump to inflate. While those are quite comfortable they are heavy and don’t pack down very small.  Foam pads are lightweight and can fold up nicely but they aren’t very comfortable. I have one from Therm-a-Rest that doubles as a camp chair and it’s nice that it is dual purpose but my hips ache by morning.  We have a Big Agnes sleeping pad that Mike likes but I don’t like having to blow air into it.

     My favorite sleeping pad is the ones we use for outfitting. It’s a basic Therm-a-Rest self-inflating pad that packs up quite nicely.  It doesn’t weigh too much, provides good comfort, has ample insulation and isn’t too difficult to roll up.

     If I get a new pad then I’m thinking about purchasing a pad just for women. They are shorter and weigh less than the typical pads. Therm-a-Rest has one that gets high reviews and only weighs 11 ounces, it’s the NeoAir XLite. If you know of a great sleeping pad then share your knowledge with me and my readers because I’m looking for the best sleeping pad for the Boundary Waters.

Sweet Dreams!