Changed my mind about those cheap foam sleeping pads after a cold night in the Adirondacks

I always thought an R-value rating was just marketing, so I grabbed a $25 pad for a trip last fall. Woke up at 3 AM shivering on a 40-degree night because the ground sucked all the heat out. Looked it up later and that pad had an R-value of 1.5, while my buddy's pad with an R-value of 4.5 kept him totally warm. The number actually means something for real insulation. Anyone have a good budget pad that actually hits an R-value of 4 or higher?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryanf668d ago

Oof, that "woke up at 3 AM shivering" line hits hard. Been there, done that, and it's a miserable way to learn the lesson. I also learned the hard way that R-value is definitely not just marketing. That number is the difference between sleeping and just suffering through the night. For a budget option, I've had good luck with the Paria ReCharge XL. It's not super cheap, but it's way less than most and it actually gets an R-value over 4.

wyatt_fisher418d ago

Wait, you thought R-value was just marketing? lmao that's wild.