When you’re spending your days hiking around mountains, exploring vibrant green valleys or hoofing it along dramatic coastal trails, it’s important to get a good night’s sleep.
That shuteye is widely regarded by sports scientists to be up there as one of the best recovery tools we have, so it’s key to making sure you wake up fresh and ready to go again the next day.
And how do you ensure you get a good night’s sleep? Well, alongside a decent sleeping bag (and perhaps some earplugs), you need a good sleeping mat.
Of course, sleeping mats come in all shapes and sizes. Thick, lofty options that utilise foam can offer incredible comfort and warmth, but they’re often so bulky that they’re no good if you’re spending three days on the trail and need to carry all your kit.
Uber lightweight and packable sleeping mats, meanwhile, are perfect for wild camping trips or multiday hikes, but don’t give you the plush comfort you might like if you’re car camping.
As you can see, you may want more than one sleeping mat in your gear collection (though you may get by with one with something like the Therm-a-Rest’s NeoLoft).
Therm-a-Rest, part of the Cascade Designs group, is a brand that delivers excellent options for all eventualities. The company’s goal? To provide a more comfortable night outdoors.
Established in 1972, Therm-a-Rest was (and continues to be) at the forefront of innovation. The brand was behind the world’s first self-inflating camping mat when it launched and now produces a range of mats, plus sleeping bags, quilts, blankets, seats and pillows.
Quality and innovation is at the heart of everything the brand does, with much of the range still manufactured in the USA.
Let’s swing back round to sleeping mats. Therm-a-Rest offers a huge variety of options to suit car campers, ultralight backpackers and everything in between.
To show that there really is something for everyone, here are four key products that show what the brand has to offer…
4 sleeping mats for every type of camping trip
MondoKing 3D Sleeping Pad
For maximum comfort and luxury when car camping, you’ve got to look at the MondoKing 3D.
The sleeping pad comes in two sizes, large (64x196x11cm) and XXlarge (76x203x11cm). Whichever option you choose, you’ve got a spacious base to call home for the night.
Inflation and deflation are both a breeze thanks to two dedicated valves, while you also get a pump sack to help you inflate in a time efficient way.
A thickness of 11cm and the presence of premium foam help contribute to an R-value of 7, making this sleeping mat an option all year round.
Unlike some air-only mattresses, this one is designed to feel stable, while the stretch knit surface fabric provides both a breathable and plush base to lay your weary body.
Discover more about the MondoKing 3D so you can sleep in luxury.
NeoLoft Sleeping Pad
If you want some of the comfort you get with car camping mats like the MondoKing 3D but without the huge pack size and weight, the NeoLoft could be the sleeping pad you’ve been looking for.
In his review of this pad earlier in the year, LFTO gear tester James Forrest had this to say: “It feels as close to a real bed as you can get out in the mountains, and all in all it’s just ludicrously comfortable.”
So that’s a huge vote of confidence in the comfort scales. And, while not lightweight by backpacking standards, the regular size is quoted by Therm-a-Rest as weighing just 710g. Yes, you can get lighter (see the options below), but they won’t offer this level of comfort.
Pack size (24x14cm) is also suitable for backpacking and wild camping, as long as you’re prepared to sacrifice a bit of space for the added comfort.
Both the regular (56cm wide) and regular wide (66cm wide) are 185cm long, while the large (66cm wide) is 198cm in length.
All three come with a plush thickness of 11.7cm and an R-value of 4.7, making this line a warm three-season option.
Inflation and deflation come courtesy of the same TwinLock Valve system that you find on the MondoKing 3D, while a pump sack and repair kit also come as standard.
Added features include the ‘side rails’ (essentially raised edges), which help keep you centred on the mat, plus the soft, base-layer like stretch fabric on the outer.
NeoAir XLite NXT Sleeping Pad
Therm-a-Rest says this is “the most advanced all-season do-it-all ultralight air pad”. It’s designed to combine the warmth and thickness of a three-season mattress with the durability of a winter pad.
And yet, the regular option packs down to a size roughly comparable with a one-litre Nalgene bottle (23x12cm). Its weight is also very good, coming in at just 370g.
A loft of 7.6cm boosts comfort and support, while an R-value of 4.5 means this pad will see you right through spring, summer and autumn, plus on occasional winter camps when temperatures are mild.
Available sizes include regular short (51x168cm), regular (51x183cm), regular wide (64x183cm) and large (64x196cm), while Therm-a-Rest says the pad is now six times quieter than its predecessor, which can only be a good thing.
The WingLock Valve is designed to provide speedy one-way inflation and fast deflation, yet retains the ability to let out bits of air so you can get your perfect firmness.
No matter which size you choose, you’ll also get a pump sack, stuff sack and repair kit included as standard.
Oh, and did we mention this mat has won multiple industry awards in both the UK and the USA?
ProLite Apex
Looking for a bit of added plushness on your sleep outs? The ProLite Apex could be the one for you. It’s built to maximise comfort while keeping weight down.
Inside you’ll find Therm-a-Rest’s StrataCore Construction, which is essentially a continuous layer of thermal foam sandwiched between alternating ridges of air and foam.
This rugged foam not only adds to the comfort and warmth, but it also helps improve the durability and stability of the mat, too.
Thanks to its R-value of 3.8, this is a great three-season option. Despite the foam, the pack size (28x17cm) is still workable for multiday backpacking trips.
Impressively, the ProLite Apex achieves all of this while only being 5cm thick when inflated, while a weight of 620g (regular size) makes it one of the brand’s best products when it comes to its warmth-to-weight ratio.
Additional features include the WingLock Valve, designed to maximise airflow for quick and easy inflation and deflation, plus a stuff sack with compression straps.
Three sizes are available, including regular (51x183cm), regular wide (64x183cm) and large (64x196cm).
See Therm-a-Rest's full sleeping pad range for more detail and additional products.