Tenting and backpacking sleeping pads have R-values that measure how a lot insulation they supply in opposition to the chilly floor. Sleeping pads designed for chilly climate use have excessive R-values whereas ones designed for hotter climate have low ones. That is illustrated on this desk which exhibits the R-values really helpful for various nighttime air temperatures.
| Air Temperature (F): | 50 | 30 | 25 | 10 | 0 | -15 | -25 | -40 |
| Minimal R-Worth | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Air Temperature (C): | 10 | -1 | -4 | -12 | -18 | -26 | -32 | -40 |
| Minimal R-Worth | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Should you solely camp in temperatures above freezing, a sleeping pad with an R-value of two or 3 can be ample. However what occurs when you purchase a sleeping pad with the next R-value for winter tenting, like a Thermarest NeoAir XTherm which has an R-value of 6.9. May you utilize it in hotter temperatures and with out overheating and sweating all evening?
To reply this query (initially posed by a reader), I reached out to my technical contacts at Thermarest as a result of they’ve an elaborate in-house temperature testing facility for sleeping pads and sleeping luggage. I knew they’d present me with a solution based mostly on information, not conjecture as a result of they’re all engineering nerds. Obtained to like out of doors nerds.
I requested Brandon Bowers, who’s the class supervisor for sleeping pads, whether or not you would use an XTherm for tenting in sizzling climate. He informed me “Utilizing a excessive r-value pad in summer time is a technique some individuals use to allow them to eradicate the necessity for a number of sleep pads. I’d not advocate this if nighttime temps are above 75 levels, however this can be a private desire.”
Whereas there are certain to be particular person variations with that threshold, it gives baseline to assist reduce the amount of cash you spend on sleeping pads when you plan to camp in summer time and winter. Take me, for instance: I keep away from winter tenting in temperatures beneath zero as a result of it’s simply no enjoyable freezing your ass off exterior beneath that when melting snow for ingesting water, which may take some time. Zero levels, no downside. However I’m over tenting in actually excessive chilly.
Should you’re like me and nil levels is the coldest winter climate you wish to gear up for, quite than shopping for a NeoAir XTherm (R=6.9), you’d be higher off shopping for a Thermarest NeoAir XLite (R=4.2) for three-season use and stacking it with a reasonable Thermarest Zlite Sol foam pad (R=2), for winter use (4.2+2=R6.2), since R-values are additive. You may even use an inflatable sleeping pad with an R=3 score and a foam pad. You at all times wish to carry a foam pad in winter anyway, so you have got insulation to sit down on when you’re cooking and melting snow or for an emergency.
In sizzling summer time climate, you’ll most likely be nice with the XLite as much as nighttime temps of 85 levels (F) or so. Should you do mix the XLite and ZLite for winter, you wouldn’t have to purchase an XTherm in any respect as a result of it’s actually solely good for very chilly climate use and never for summer time temperatures.
I suppose that’s type of a nerdy evaluation. I’ll most likely be promoting my XTherm quickly.
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