Inflatable sleeping pads

I just spent two nights testing a cheap ($40) inflatable "Sleepingo" sleeping pad from Amazon, and I am impressed! It is about 2 inches thick, so it is much more comfortable than my trusty old RidgeRest closed cell foam (especially for side sleeping). It is about the same weight (my scale says 14.3 ounces with bag), and it packs up much smaller (10" long, 2.5" diameter).

When I was a kid an inflatable mattress was made of vinyl, so it was heavy and likely to leak within a few uses. But the modern nylon fabric pads are very common so I assume they are reliable. Has anyone experienced a leak? Also the old ones took forever to inflate, but this one only takes me about 19 slow deep breaths.

I had two pads from REI that had their seams come apart after several years of use. REI replaced them free of charge. I'm too old now to sleep on a closed cell foam. The thing I would be concerned about with a cheap pad (besides sudden leaks) is insulation. Inflatables can be really cold if they are not insulated properly.

There is no comparison to sleeping on an air pad for a better nights sleep. Many years ago, before backpacking tech got so big, we used to go to a discount store an buy cheap $1.00 pool inflatable mattress, threw them away when done. Huge sleep difference.

Now I use, and love, the Therma Rest Neoair.

Most modern inflatables are fairly reliable.

However, what is the R value of your pad? Any insulation?

Neoair series is big now and offers varying amounts of insulation. The better models use a reflective scheme--I have short and full-length versions that are warm and comfortable, while being quite compact packed. The XLite is R 4.2.

Cheers,