The cheapest way to get a warm nights sleep

[chris]

If you use a foam pad for sleeping on, make sure to replace it when it begins to wear down. As the pad compresses, it does a worse and worse job of insulating you from the ground. On a cold night, this is where you will lose most of your warmth: There is no loft from the sleeping bag to warm you up. The pad is the only insulation you have for your backside. How do you know when your pad needs to be replaced? Squeeze it between your fingers. If your fingers touch easily, buy a new pad. Or, just buy a new one after roughly 100-150 nights. It depends on how heavy you are, on what kind of ground you sleep, and the type of pad. I slept alot warmer after ditching my 3 year old Z-rest for a brand new one.

[gravityman]

z-rests are also pretty poor insolators. Even the thermarests are better. Ridge rest are some of the best insolators.

These are measured by an R-value. The z-rest is 2.2, thermarest ultralight is 2.6 and ridgerest is 2.6 for regular, 3.1 for deluxe. The ridgerest is the best weight to warmth ratio!


Gravity Man

[chris]

Agreed. Ridgerests are more comfortable than Z-rests to boot. But, I use a Z-rest as the frame for my pack and have gotten used to sleeping on it. I don't really need cushionning any longer, just insulation.