Sleeping Pads for Bike Touring

Exped’s line of sleeping mats just received a major overhaul, featuring new names, colors, packaging, and fabrics. Learn more about the new Exped Ultra, Dura, and Versa series here…

Forever on the hunt for a better night’s sleep, Miles takes a closer look at the Exped AirMat UL and AirMat HL—one rectangular and long, the other tapered and more packable—to see which one he prefers. Find his thoughts on each here, along with photos and complete specs…

To our surprise, one of our favorite sleeping mats now comes with a minimal pump bag integrated right into the stuff sack…

Klymit V Ultralite SL may not exactly roll of the tongue, but considering its weight, thickness, and pack size, you likely won’t care what it’s called. It’s the perfect example of an ultralight sleeping pad that doesn’t skimp on overall comfort. Best of all, Klymit manages all of this without hiking the price tag into astronomical realms. Here are our impressions after a summer and fall of bikepacking campouts…

Nemo equipment launches the Switchback, claiming the first innovation in closed cell foam sleeping pads in nearly two decades…

Big Agnes has released their lightest and most compact sleeping pad yet, the AXL Air and Insulated AXL Air. With a new proprietary ripstop fabric, ‘The Mother of Comfort’ also claims they are 25% tougher…

We often pay a price for choosing the lightest and most compressible camping gear. Narrow and tapered, paper thin fabrics, and UL doesn’t always jive with heavier riders, those with broad shoulders, or those just looking for maximum comfort. Nemo’s new Tensor Field Insulated line of sleeping pads are incredibly plush, offer increased durability, and will definitely appeal to those venturing off the beaten path during the fall and winter months.

Thermarest’s Corus HD Quilt and NeoAir Xlite Max SV mattress promise lightweight, packable, luxurious comfort. For six months, we put them to the test…

Rockgeist just announced the Animalist, a featherlight sleeping pad with a bag that can be mounted to the handlebars. In addition, they re-released the Gondola dropper-post seat pack…

Big Agnes’ Q-Core SLX sleeping pad is one of the company’s lightest insulated pads to date. It’s also luxuriously thick. We take one to the desert Southwest and along the Colorado Trail to see how we sleep…

Treating your air mattress and sleeping bag as a complete system, rather than two separate entities, frees up a considerable amount of space on your bikepacking rig. It also helps trim back valuable weight. We head into the hills with Sea To Summit’s Ember Eb1 quilt and UltraLight Insulated Mattress, to find out if this lean setup is enough for a comfortable night’s sleep.

If you’re reading this, you probably appreciate the benefits of a comfy sleeping pad after a long, hard day in the saddle. These days, they can take all shapes and forms, from simple foam mats to technology laden air affairs. For those who prefer to pamper their spines, here’s our thoughts on some of the best ultralight inflatable mattresses available.