Gear Doctors Self Inflating Camping Sleeping Pad for Camping 4.3 R Insulated Camping mats-1.5 in Must Haves Inflatable Foam air Sleep mat Self Inflating air Mattress for Camping cot pad Tent Floors

I purchased this sleeping pad in 2022 after having spinal fusion surgery. I’ve found this pad to be very comfortable and supportive for my back. I used the pad two or three times and followed the recommendation of storing it flat with the valve open. Unfortunately, I recently discovered a defect in the valve, where the valve separated from the base material. I reached out to Gear Doctors about their lifetime warranty. The owner of the company was quick to respond with patience, kindness, and understanding. I sent him pictures of the defect and he issued me a replacement sleeping pad. I appreciated working with him and the opportunity to support a small, family-operated company. I’d recommend this product!

I have a high end self inflating mat that is 6x the cost of this one that I use for ultralight back packing.This one is about 8 oz. heavier and packs a bit bigger than the one I use for ultralight backpacking. But for the money, this pad is totally worth it.It's more comfortable than my high end pad.I bought two of these for my kids for car camping and my kids were totally happy with it. When they grow, I think they'll be able to make this work for backpacking trips.The self inflating, is pretty solid. I think I only needed about 10 breaths to top up the mat to get it to full inflation.Each night, I might top it up with one breath.Totally happy with it. Can't believe this is available at this price point.

I really, really, really want to give this five stars, but I have to mention my one complaint: the storage bag needs to be bigger so that it is easier to get the rolled up mattress back into it. It's hard to squeeze out all of the air, so a little bit of extra room in the storage bag would be magical.I greatly appreciated the video showing someone actually opening it up and using it for the first time. It's very easy because it inflates itself. Putting a few breaths of extra air in makes a big difference, so it's worth it.Folding it and squeezing the air out went well (the elastic bands were a big help), but I couldn't get the mat back in the first time I rolled it. After I had rolled it I sat on it to squeeze out as much as possible before closing the valve and trying to put it in the storage bag. But I still had to roll it again to make it smaller. Even then, I had trouble getting it into the storage bag. Hence my single criticism: the storage bag needs to be bigger.I bought this for when someone has to sleep on the floor at my house (which happens pretty frequently when Family is visiting). My 5' 10" 18 year old nephew used it last night and reported that it made a huge difference as to how comfortably he slept.

So I’ve purchased two of the self inflating pads and one of the Apollo Air pads. The self inflating pads my wife and I both find comfortable and like them a lot. The only issue I have with them is their packed size. We are getting into backpacking so weight and size matter. These pads pack down about the size of our sleeping bags but I’m sure for self inflating is probably normal. We are keeping them to use for shorter hikes or car camping since we do find them comfortable. What makes them really stand out is the customer service. One of the pads had a manufacturing defect. When I reached out to Gear Doctors, they promptly sent us a new one! Email from the owner of the company, on a Saturday! Great customer service!!The second pad, the Apollo Air, we had to return. Not because we didn’t find it comfortable, but it was not wide enough and since it’s a fairly thick pad, our arms would fall off of it. Also, while inflating, it made a horribly loud whistling noise that no matter what we did wouldn’t go away. The overall quality of the pad was good, wasn’t too loud to sleep on, and again we found it comfortable.

So far, so good! Seems to be well made and high quality. It's pretty heavy for backpacking, but for a short hike or car camping, it's perfect. I also have a closed cell foam, accordion style pad, to provide insulation and protection from the ground. I'm pretty happy with this self inflating pad. KEEP IN MIND that you'll need to let it sort of break in before you use it. Unpack, open the valve, and let it relax for a couple of hours. Then blow it up until it's a bit tight. Close the valve and allow it to relax again. Then you can open the valve and roll it up loosely, and close the valve. That's how I did mine, and I DON'T store it all smushed up in a tiny stuff sack. Sleep outside!!! 😎