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 advisable 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 |
If you happen to solely camp in temperatures above freezing, a sleeping pad with an R-value of two or 3 will probably be ample. However what occurs should 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 employ 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 baggage. I knew they’d present me with a solution based mostly on information, not conjecture as a result of they’re all engineering nerds. Acquired to like out of doors nerds.
I requested Brandon Bowers, who’s the class supervisor for sleeping pads, whether or not you could possibly use an XTherm for tenting in sizzling climate. He advised me “Utilizing a excessive r-value pad in summer time is a method some individuals use to allow them to eradicate the necessity for a number of sleep pads. I might not advocate this if nighttime temps are above 75 levels, however this can be a private choice.”
Whereas there are certain to be particular person variations with that threshold, it supplies a superb baseline to assist decrease the amount of cash you spend on sleeping pads should you plan to camp in summer time and winter. Take me, for instance: I keep away from winter tenting in temperatures under zero as a result of it’s simply no enjoyable freezing your ass off exterior under that when melting snow for ingesting water, which might take some time. Zero levels, no drawback. However I’m over tenting in actually excessive chilly.
If you happen to’re like me and nil levels is the coldest winter climate you need 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 an affordable Thermarest Zlite Sol foam pad (R=2), for winter use (4.2+2=R6.2), since R-values are additive. You’ll be able to even use an inflatable sleeping pad with an R=3 ranking and a foam pad. You all the time need to carry a foam pad in winter anyway, so you’ve got insulation to sit down on when you’re cooking and melting snow or for an emergency.
In sizzling summer time climate, you’ll in all probability be superb with the XLite as much as nighttime temps of 85 levels (F) or so. If you happen to 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 in all probability be promoting my XTherm quickly.
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