Big Agnes Zoom UL Insulated Sleeping Pad Review: For the Dreamers

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By Miles Arbour

Associate Editor & Events Manager

2,297 Posts

Dissatisfied with narrow, ultralight sleeping pads, Miles and Emily turned to the Big Agnes Zoom UL Insulated sleeping pad to see if it could meet their high standards for camping comfort. Find their review here after sleeping on them throughout every night of bikepacking this year…

When Emily and I spent six weeks bikepacking around Australia a few years back, we made a team decision to prioritize comfort. We packed strategically, but not necessarily lightly, and we put a lot of thought into our camp setup to create something close to a home away from home. We logged well over 30 days on our Big Agnes Rapide SL double-wide sleeping pad during that trip, the most comfortable sleeping pad either of us had slept on in a tent. Upon returning home, I started looking for other lightweight double sleeping pads that would be suitable for bikepacking, and I put together my thoughts on three of them here.

Since then, we’ve continued to use a double sleeping pad on most of our bikepacking trips together unless pack size and weight are more important. As someone who prefers to keep my bag size and gear weight in check, primarily to preserve my bike’s natural ride quality, ditching the double pad for a far more packable single pad isn’t a difficult decision. However, since experiencing the game-changing comfort of a double pad, my usual sleeping pads just haven’t been cutting it.

Last winter, I did some digging to find a lightweight yet comfortable sleeping pad with the potential to recreate the bliss of sleeping on a double-wide pad. Some non-negotiables included an R-value suitable for chilly, shoulder-season campouts, something over three inches thick, and the option for a wide/non-tapered shape to mimic a double sleeping pad when used side-by-side. I landed on the Big Agnes Zoom UL, likely influenced by our time on the Big Agnes Rapide SL, as the brand’s newest, lightest, and most packable inflatable sleeping pad.

A Look at the Big Agnes Zoom UL Insulated

The Zoom UL Insulated is Big Agnes’ lightest, insulated air-chamber sleeping pad. It features an R-value of 4.3, making it suitable for early spring and fall conditions, and a step up from warm-weather pads with an R-value of 2 or lower. The pad is 3.25″ (8.2cm) thick, with 3.5″ (8.9cm) larger outer air chambers that are designer to keep you cradled in the middle of the pad.

It’s available in three rectangular sizes, which was a selling point for us after using a gigantic rectangular (non-tapered) sleeping pad in Australia. The sizes are: 20″ x 72″ (regular), 25″ x 72″ (regular wide), and 25″ x 78″ (regular long), which Big Agnes claims weigh 397 grams, 482 grams, and 510 grams, respectively. In reality, the two wide sizes we tested weigh 608 and 642 grams with the included stuff sack and inflation bag. We decided on the 25″ wide versions, Emily with the 72″ length, and me with the 78″ length. We figured most two-person tents are wide enough to accommodate two wide pads, and if not, it’s usually not an issue to cram them in for shorter trips.

The Zoom UL Insulated is made from GRS-certified (Global Recycled Standard) post-consumer recycled nylon ripstop with two layers of heat reflective film for insulation. It uses an O-beam baffle construction, which Big Agnes says minimizes weight and packed size while providing maximum stability and comfort. The pad is made using aviation-grade TPU lamination, is finished with an antimicrobial treatment, and uses a single port, dual-function valve for quick inflation and micro adjustments for customizable firmness. Each pad comes with a pad inflation sack, protective storage sack, replacement valve seal, and 3M repair patches.

Comfort is Everything… Sometimes

Emily and I generally don’t sleep that well on the first night out in a tent, but if that carries on to night two, we’re grumpy as all heck. The Big Agnes Rapide SL double sleeping pad really ruined things for us, because it’s so damn comfortable, but not particularly packable. We normally strap it onto the top deck of a rear rack, which is worth it on some trips, but we wanted to see how close we could get to its comfort with two single pads. Emily and I both agree that part of what makes double sleeping pads so comfortable is how they fill all of the floor space in the tent, making it impossible to slip off or hit the ground.

The two 25″ wide Big Agnes Zoom UL pads achieve this in most lightweight two-person tents, including the Hyperlite CrossPeak 2 (48″ wide at the head to 45″ at the feet), Hubba Hubba Bikepack 2-Person (50″ wide with no taper), and the recently updated Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 Bikepack tent (52″ at the head to 42″ at the feet) that we just got in for review. Despite the total width of two wide pads being more than the internal width of some of these tents, we’ve learned that there’s some flexibility in this due to the fabric construction of the tent and the pads. In fact, the tighter the fit, the less chance of the dreaded sleeping pad gap. Of course, the super tapered tents aren’t totally ideal for this setup, as they tend to bulge out the tent and mess around with the pitch.

Despite being slightly less thick than the Rapide SL, the Zoom UL sleeping pads reminded us both of our luxurious nights on a double sleeping pad. It’s easy to roll your eyes at over-inflated sleeping pad marketing jargon, but the taller perimeter air chambers really do help keep you centered in the middle, and whatever baffle design Big Agnes is using (O-beam on the Zoom, and I-beam on the Rapide), does a good job at feeling consistently stable and supportive.

Emily spends most of the night on her side, while I switch between my back and sides, and it was easy to dial in the pressure to achieve a comfortable night’s sleep. Paired with an R-value of 4.3, which is rated for proper three-season use, the Zoom UL has never been the limiting factor on nights hovering around freezing. That includes a week on the Monumental Loop in New Mexico last winter, scouting the Alberni Bam Bam on Vancouver Island over seven days this summer, a handful of shorter overnighters, and a late-season campout on the north end of Vancouver Island last weekend. It’s easy to get caught up in pack size and weight and forget about more important things, like whether you’re comfortable and warm. These days, those seem more important for Emily and me.

The 25″ wide Zoom UL isn’t a super packable sleeping pad by any means. It’s actually one of the largest single-person sleeping pads in our collection, but we can’t seem to grab anything else when packing up our bikes. On a recent fall overnighter, with a nighttime low dipping down near 7°C (45°F), I grabbed the new Nemo Tensor Elite in the regular mummy size to see if I’d notice any significant differences.

Despite being slightly less thick and half the R-value, I was surprisingly comfortable and warm, but it was the width, length, and raised edges that I really missed. I had to work to stay centered on the pad. Using the Zoom UL, especially with two side by side, there’s never been a situation where I felt like I didn’t have enough room. Despite this, it’s still a fairly large pad when packed up, and when certain trips call for the most compact sleep system, the Zoom UL won’t be coming along.

We’ve logged a good chunk of time on both the Big Agnes Rapide SL and our two Zoom UL sleeping pads, and none of them are showing signs of wear. We haven’t had any punctures, despite camping in some seriously pokey areas, and they continue to inflate and deflate as expected. The included inflation bag isn’t anything special, but it works and can inflate the pad in just a few minutes. The single valve means there’s no separate dump valve for packing, but the cap can be wedged into the valve to keep it open to easily let air out.

Insulated Rectangular Sleeping Pads Compared

A look at comparable insulated, rectangular sleeping pads shows very similar specs. To pick something that’s right for you, it’s probably a matter of comparing valve styles and availability. Keep in mind that some of these pads are also available in tapered versions, which will reduce pack size and total weight.

• Model Tested: Big Agnes Zoom UL, Reg Wide / Reg Long
• Actual Weight: 608 grams (21.5 oz) / 642 grams (22.6 oz)
• Place of Manufacture: TBD
• Price: $199-$249 at REI Backcountry
• Manufacturer’s Details: Big Agnes