Therm-a-RestRidgeRest Classic Foam Camping Sleeping Pad

The Therma-a-Rest RidgeRest has been a staple for backpackers and campers for decades. There are no moving parts, no inflation needed. It is very durable, very lightweight, easy to roll up and I just tie it up with a bit of twine or paracord, and usually attach it to the bottom of my backpack. I had one for years and years, and the material never wears out. I happened to lose it eventually, so I replaced it with the exact same model. It provides just enough padding and insulation to make for a more comfortable night's sleep against the little bumps of rocks and twigs and bumpy cool earth under your sleeping bag. Granted it's not rated for sub-zero Mount Everest type of snow camping, but for that type of camping, you know what you need. I've used the self-inflating type of sleeping pads, but they are cumbersome to pack, and I prefer the simplicity of this firm corrugated foam style that I can just roll up, tie up, and which is essentially indestructible, and lower cost than anything else.

This Therm-a-Rest is a solid mat. I used it once on a 3 night/4 day backpacking trip and it worked great! It was cold and windy at night and I definitely feel like it did help retain body heat. I've slept on your common, flat, yoga type mat that do okay for comfort but don't help as far as body heat goes. This one does! It's comfortable for me, but i can sleep just about anywhere.. a rock slab, slab of steel, most places so "comfort" isn't a major concern for me while backpacking and I was comfortable, warm, and slept well... and it's extremely light weight and durable. I backpacked in the Texas hill country/canyons and I'm definitely going to keep using it for now until it wears out. This is going back to the basics and I like that. A solid mat at a great price.

Bulkier than expected, it is a thick foam that you roll up. It’s pretty lightweight, but would seem too much for backpacking. We car camped this past weekend, so weight wasn’t a factor but it was another item that takes up space and it doesn’t compress at all. Weather was 30 degrees this weekend and I was sleeping with a two/three season tent with a sleeping bag rated for 10 degrees. I got really cold the last time we camped and I didn’t want to experience that again. I placed the ridgerest over a air mattress, below my sleeping bag and then put a couple of quilts on top of me. I tossed a few hot hands into the bag and they were still warm by morning. I slept in one layer of thermal underwear and a thin fleece jacket. I never got cold and did not have cold spots under me on contact spots with the air mattress like I usually seem to. I’m not sure if this product had the intended effect as my husband didn’t have one under him and did not get cold either. The product did not slip around as I had expected it to and stayed in place. I thought it would be uncomfortable to sleep on but it wasn’t at all and I couldn’t feel it. We are backpacking next month and I’m debating taking it since I won’t have the luxury of a mattress, however because of the size/shape seems like too much for my pack.

I purchased this product as a sleeping mat for my dog on a deep winter backpacking trip. I only used half the mat for that. I ended up replacing the back/ sit pad of my Gossamer Gear Meraposa pack with a section of this pad that I folded in half. That turned out to one of the best last minute decisions I've ever made. It was light weight and comfortable as a backpack pad. I slipped it under my Thermarest X-Therm sleeping pad for extra R-Value and puncture insurance while sleeping at night. Most importantly, it was a fantastic sit pad that kept my body warm and comfortable sitting or kneeling on snow, ice, frozen rock, whatever. Sometimes I would sit on my X-Therm and put my feet on the RidgeRest to keep them warm or stand on it while changing cloths. I guess that torso sized section could have served as an emergency sleeping pad if my X-Therm broke in the night. It would probably be a suck night, but I'd live. My dog was happy with it as a sleeping pad too. It's surprisingly warm for as thin as it is.

I was looking for a basic sleeping mat to keep myself off the ground. I went with the large (I'm 6'2") and it works well. I used this after a recent ultra endurance race and was still comfortable sleeping on it even with a very sore body. It is not soft by any means, but keeps you warm and provides just enough cushion to take the edge off. It's a bit bulky, but it weighs practically nothing. If I was a pickier sleepier I'd probably wish for something softer, but for my uses it works well.

I bought this for padding my kayak seat, at the recommendation of a friend who uses it. This foam is too hard for my seat, and I couldn't imagine using it as a sleeping pad. It is very lightweight. Maybe manufacturing control varies and the pad I got is firmer than usual. Now I use the piece I cut off for my seat to reshape my kayak's seat back, and it works well for that.