Why does nobody talk about how sleeping pad R-value changes in freezing temps

A guy in a Colorado trailhead parking lot told me my cheap foam pad was basically useless below 20F because the insulation compresses in the cold, and after testing it last winter in Rocky Mountain National Park I realized he was 100% right. Has anyone else found a pad that actually holds its warmth when temps drop that low?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia_gonzalez1mo ago

OH MAN, I used to be one of those people who thought R-value was just some random number on a tag. I had this cheap foam pad and figured "eh, foam is foam." Then I took it down to 15F one night in the Sierra and I woke up shivering so bad my whole body was shaking. Now I'm a TOTAL believer. The pad is EVERYTHING in the cold.

lewis.finley1mo ago

OH man, you are SO right. I had the same EXACT thing happen with my old foam pad in the Smokies last year. Temp dropped to around 18F and I literally felt the cold seeping up through the ground like a slow leak. Woke up with my hips and back totally numb. Now I'm super picky about R-value, I won't touch anything under 4 for real cold trips. That parking lot guy saved you a lot of misery.

uma_williams1mo ago

@patricia_gonzalez hit it right on the head. I had the same rude awakening last winter in the Whites (White Mountains, if you're not from New England) with a foam pad I swore by. Woke up with my back literally cold to the touch, and that's when I finally learned R-value isn't just a marketing number.