The Best Wide Sleeping Pads of 2024: Tested

Backpacking often means ultralight, but that doesn't mean it should feel ultracramped. Thankfully, our favorite outdoor brands are finally realizing campers come in all shapes and sizes—and so should gear. What does that mean for you? More space to sprawl. "Standard" sleeping pads traditionally measure 20 inches wide and 72 inches long. But each backpacking pad on this list hits 24 inches wide, and almost all of them boast extended length options.  We know it’s difficult to sift through the numbers, so we did that for you. We worked with member-testers ranging in size from XL to 4XL to take out a bevy of wide (and sometimes also long) backpacking pads offered at REI. Our crew spent months sleeping under the stars and rolling through the dirt, all in an effort to bring you the best wide sleeping pads.Test ResultsFind our quick recommendations here or scroll to read the full reviews.Best All-Around Wide Backpacking Sleeping Pad & REI Editors' Choice Winner: NEMO Quasar 3D Insulated Air Sleeping PadBest Lightweight Wide Sleeping Pad for Backpackers: Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated Sleeping PadBest Ultralight Wide Sleeping Pad for Backpackers: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Sleeping PadBest Wide Sleeping Pad with Sustainability Features: NEMO Flyer Self-Inflating Sleeping PadBest Value Wide Backpacking Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest ProLite Apex Sleeping PadBest Long Sleeping Pad for Car Campers: REI Co-op AirRail Plus Sleeping PadShop All Sleeping PadsBuying AdviceHere’s a little-known fact: Your sleeping pad is just as important as a sleeping bag when it comes to keeping you warm at camp. That's because it helps insulate you from the cold ground, allowing you to maintain more of your body heat. We know it can feel confusing to wade through all the tech specs and industry jargon, so here are a few factors to consider when nabbing yourself a wide sleeping pad for backpacking.  Types of Pads You have three main sleeping-pad styles to choose from: air pads, self-inflating foam pads and closed-cell foam pads. Backpacking pads can be found in all three categories, but you’re most likely to see air pads. These types of pads are comfortable and can be more packable. They don’t self-inflate, but they often come with a pump or inflation bag since using our lungs takes a bit of work! The air inflation makes it easier and often quicker to inflate than the self-inflating pads, but it does mean they tend to soften in cooler temperatures.  The wide air pads in this guide are the NEMO Quasar 3D Insulated, Big Agnes Rapide SL and Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite sleeping pads. Self-inflating pads take less personalized work to inflate than air pads: Open the inflation valve and watch the magic happen. This will typically take around five minutes and may require a manual top-off with your mouth on the valve to get the pad to perfect plumpness. Self-inflating pads also use open-cell foam inside to add warmth. The more foam used, the warmer, heavier and larger the pad. For backpacking pads, it’s a fine line to walk between maintaining a low weight while also adding insulation for warmth. The wide self-inflating pads in this guide are the NEMO Flyer Self-Inflating, Therm-a-Rest ProLite Apex and REI Co-op AirRail Plus sleeping pads. Though there aren't any on this list, closed-cell foam pads are the third pad option. Made from dense foam tightly packed with tiny sealed-off air pockets, these pads are lightweight and affordable. Related reading: Closed-Cell vs. Self-Inflating Pads: Which Is Right for You?Pad R-Values R-value measures a pad’s resistance to heat flowing through it (hence the “R”). Higher R-values are warmer. Below are rough guidelines about temperature conditions for different R-value ranges: R-value less than 2.0: Warm-weather pads R-value 2.0 to 3.9: Cool-weather pads R-value 4.0 to 5.4: Cold-weather pads R-value 5.5 and greater: Extreme-cold-weather padsMost of the pads in this guide fal between 3 and 5.4 R-value. The lowest R-value pad included is the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite (R-value 2.3) The NEMO Quasar 3D and NEMO Flyer both have R-values of 3.3, followed by the Therm-a-Rest ProLite Apex (R-value 3.8) and REI Co-op AirRail (R-value 4.2). The Big Agnes Rapide SL is the warmest of the pads, with an R-value of 4.8. MethodologyWe culled this year’s REI inventory and distributed the best wide backpacking pads to a crew of plus-size testers from around the country (sizes XL to 4XL). Our team cowboy camped in California, sweltered through humid evenings in Kentucky and trekked along the Continental Divide in Colorado, logging nearly 100 nights of testing.  At the end of their outings, we asked each tester to evaluate the wide sleeping pads based on comfort, warmth, durability, packability and ease of setup. We then took their scores, found the averages and identified the top picks for you in this guide. The top overall scorer is the NEMO Quasar 3D Insulated Air (94). Following the Quasar, the Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated (93) Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite (92), NEMO Flyer Self-Inflating (92), Therm-a-Rest ProLite Apex (91) and REI Co-op AirRail Plus (91) sleeping pads scored high in most—but not all—categories.