Air Pads vs Foam Pads

I have heard that air filled pads work better in warmer weather rather than cold weather. While on the other hand foam pads work great year round. Off personal experience I think inflate able pads work great during winter camping. Post your opinions please.
-Nate-

I don't know where you heard that but inflatables like the NeoAir are much warmer than the thin blue CCF foam pads you'll find at Wal-Mart, and they're much more comfortable. Plus, they pack much smaller and are lighter.

On the downside, inflatables can spring a leak and when that happens they're no better than a ground cloth.

I used foam pads when I was younger but soon realized that air pads are sooooo much smaller in size and weight. I use now the Klymit Inertia X Frame it shrinks down to the size of a soda can and I slide it inside my sleeping bag so it stays warm.

Insulation is the key here. If the inflatable isn't insulated, then yes, it will be colder. Most inflatables sold for camping are made from PVC, sold at big box stores, and used for car camping. They don't have insulation inside them. Most backpacking inflatables have insulation inside (some don't though). An insulated inflatable will generally be warmer because the thickness adds to the R value.

by that logic, does that mean that they are also cooler in the summer?

In short: no

The R-value is a measurement of insulation, you are preventing heat loss to the ground. When it gets hot out, the ground is at nearly the same temperature as you, so heat will not transfer regardless of the amount of insulation. That is why people in warm climates still sleep on thick mattresses at home which have much higher R-value than most backpacking mattresses.

When people in hot climates think there pad is heating them up, they are really getting hot because there backside is not breathing. The best advice in those situations is to get up off the ground (in a hammock) so that your back can breath.

Nope, not true. What you are looking for is the R value like others have said. Higher values means better insulation with respect to the ground.

Backpacking Engineer

Ummm...Eng, could you elaborate? Will a higher R value keep me cooler in the summer or not?

No.

I've used both over the years and tend to favor foam because of the simplicity. I use a shortened Ridgerest in my hammocks. The military uses foam....hard foam at that and not comfortable. (i have a military foam pad I keep in the car.)
I used to swear by Thermorest air pads but the slow leaks allowed the pads to crush over night which got cold, especially in hammocks. I've never been cold with a foam pad, they can't puncture or leak, and they are lighter than air pads. Plus, my Ridgerest doubles as my pack frame in my G4.

I use a combination of both. I have an 8-oz Thermarest Prolite x-small that provides padding for hips and shoulders. Then I have two 3-foot sections of REI blue foam pads. Sometimes I only take one of the blue pads (3 oz each), sometimes both. I like to have a foam pad that doubles for a "sit pad" outside the tent. I also like to have a back-up in case the inflatable gets a leak. When I take both pads, I put one under the Prolite and then use the other for knees-to-feet. I like this system because I am a curl-up fetal side sleeper so I can skew the foot pad any direction for my knees to feet. I never am comfortable on one long straight pad.

The Prolite and one blue pad fit inside my pack. If I take a second blue pad, I just strap it to the side of my pack.

I used foam for about forty years. Then I took a nap on my wife's Neoair a couple of years ago. Drove right to the store on the way home from the trip and bought myself one.

I am not sure what you think I said is not true. Please elaborate.

I have used Ridge Rest (closed cell foam), Thermarest base camp and prolite versions (open cell foam plus air), and no pad over the years.

For camping in summer temps, I recommend the closed cell foam.
For camping in fall and on truly hard/ uncomfortable surfaces, I recommend the open cell foam plus air. The next pad I buy will be an air-only pad, for winter camping. I have admired my friends' air only pads for their superiority on snow - the greater height above the snow means that no matter which way you sleep, you won't be touching it and losing heat through conduction.

You'll want air AND insulation on snow, since you'll freeze to death with air only.

You'd be cold on the ground with an air only pad.

I recommend the pad with adequate R value for the temps you'll be out in, that's comfortable so you can sleep. Foam only doesn't do it for me - it's a recipe for sore hips and no sleep, and being cranky and exhausted all day the next day.

Agreed. A combination of ccf (closed cell foam) and inflatable work best for me, allowing a lot of flexibility to go from no ccf (for most trips right now) and only an inflatable, to adding just a thin ccf pad for typical shoulder season (1/8"), to a 1/4" ccf when appropriate, or up to a 3/8" ccf pad.

In fact, I'll choose a different inflatable pad too in colder conditions; I have a short neo air for summer months, using my empty backpack under my legs. My wife doesn't care to hike when it's cold out, so generally her size regular neo air is available to me on colder trips.

The idea of a single inflatable to handle all conditions might make sense if you in fact own two different types of inflatable pad, or if you only hike in warm summer conditions. For me, mixing and matching ccf and inflatable pads helps keep the comfort & warmth up while keeping the weight and bulk down.

I think he was talking to the OP, not you.

That would explain my confusion.

I too use the Klymit, but add a foam ground pad in winter