Best Sleeping Foam Mats for Backpacking of 2025

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For those who love backpacking, having a comfortable and lightweight sleeping mat is crucial for a good night's rest. Sleeping foam mats are an excellent choice for backpackers as they provide both comfort and insulation while being easy to pack and carry. These mats are made from high-density foam that conforms to the body's shape, providing a supportive surface to sleep on. They are also durable and can withstand rough terrain and weather conditions. If you're planning a backpacking trip, we highly advise considering investing in a sleeping foam mat to stabilise your sleep and make your experience more enjoyable.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 Sleeping Foam Mats for Backpacking
Lively Life Waterproof Camping Foam Mat
The Lively Life Foam Mat is crafted from lightweight, environmentally friendly IXPE foam, ensuring comfort without any unpleasant odours. Its upgraded warmth design features an aluminium film cover that reflects heat, making it ideal for spring, summer, and autumn camping. You will also appreciate the egg nest structure that traps warm air and keeps moisture away. Additionally, this portable mat is easily foldable and compact, weighing only 530g, making it convenient to carry on your outdoor adventures.
PATIKIL Insulated Closed Cell Sleeping Pad
The PATIKIL Sleeping Pad is designed for outdoor enthusiasts, measuring 185cm long and 55cm wide, making it spacious for restful nights. With an insulation rating of 2.1, it keeps you warm on chilly nights by reflecting your body heat. The egg-shaped design provides excellent support, ensuring comfort during your adventures. Additionally, weighing only 400g, this pad is lightweight and easily portable, fitting snugly into your backpack for effortless travel.
Therm-a-Rest RidgeRest Classic Sleeping Pad
The RidgeRest Classic Sleeping Pad is a lightweight and durable option for camping and backpacking. Its closed-cell foam design ensures you can easily carry it anywhere, weighing only 19 ounces. The supportive peaks and heat-trapping valleys provide excellent insulation and comfort, making your outdoor experience much more enjoyable. With an R-Value of 2.0, this pad helps keep you warm during chilly nights. Additionally, its virtually indestructible material protects you from rocky or uneven surfaces, allowing you to rest easy wherever you are.
THINTON Foldable Waterproof Camping Sleeping Mat
The THINTON Camping Sleeping Mat is a foldable and lightweight option, measuring 180601.8cm when open, making it ideal for ultralight backpacking and thru-hiking. Made from ergonomic closed cell foam, it supports your pressure points for a more comfortable sleep outdoors. With its insulated aluminium film, it effectively captures and circulates body heat, providing warmth during chilly nights. The mat is also waterproof and moisture-proof, ensuring you stay dry and comfortable, no matter the conditions.
REDCAMP 18mm Thick Closed Cell Foam Mat
The REDCAMP Foam Sleeping Mat is designed to provide you with extra warmth during your camping trips. Its thermal capture surface reflects heat, making your sleeping experience significantly cozier. The durable closed cell foam ensures that you have a soft and comfortable place to rest, while the space-saving accordion design allows for easy packing and transport. Weighing just 480g, this foldable camping pad balances thickness and lightweight convenience, ensuring you can carry it without hassle.
Mountain Warehouse Lightweight Trek Mat for Travel
The Mountain Warehouse Trek Mat is an excellent choice for travelling, festivals, and backpacking. Its lightweight design makes it easy to carry, allowing you to pack it away effortlessly when you're on the go. Moreover, its compact nature means you can store it conveniently when not in use, saving valuable space in your luggage. This mat is perfect for those who appreciate convenience and comfort during their outdoor adventures.
HOMBYS Waterproof Memory Foam Camping Mattress Pad
The HOMBYS Memory Foam Mattress offers a comfortable sleeping experience with its high elastic memory foam, designed to relieve muscle pain and provide support on hard surfaces. The waterproof and removable cover ensures your mattress stays clean and protected from the elements, making it perfect for outdoor use. Non-slip straps keep the mattress securely in place, so you can enjoy a restful night without any movement. Its portable design allows for easy storage and transport, ideal for camping trips or guest use.
BKS Foam Egg Crate Sleeping Folding Pad
The BKS Sleeping Folding Pad is designed for comfort and convenience during outdoor activities. With its unfolded size of 73 by 22 inches, you can enjoy a spacious and comfortable sleeping area. Made from soft IXPE foam, it offers excellent durability and flexibility, ensuring a restful night's sleep. The innovative egg slot design not only provides great support but also allows the pad to be compactly packed, saving space in your backpack. At just 14 ounces, this ultralight mat is easy to carry on your camping or hiking trips.
Trail Aluminium Foil Thermal Camping Mat
The Trail Camping Mat offers a comfortable sleeping solution for outdoor enthusiasts. With its reflective foil surface, you can enjoy warmth as it reflects your body heat back to you, making it ideal for winter camping. The 7mm thick EVA foam provides an insulating layer against cold, damp ground, ensuring a restful night. Plus, its lightweight and compact design makes it easy to carry on hiking or bikepacking trips, while the simple setup allows you to roll it out in seconds.
Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol Sleeping Pad
The Therm-a-Rest Z Lite is a lightweight and compact closed-cell foam camping mattress, perfect for sleeping on the ground. Its folding accordion-style design makes it easy to pack, ensuring you can take it anywhere. With a reflective ThermaCapture coating, the pad captures radiant heat, increasing warmth by 20 percent for a cosy night's sleep. The top foam layer is soft for comfort, while the denser bottom offers extra insulation and protection from the cold ground.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Are foam mats good for camping?
Lightweight and insulating Closed cell polyethylene foam is a brilliantly lightweight material that offers several benefits for use in the camping and travel market. Its closed cell structure provides a high level of insulation from the ground, as well as a flat and even surface.
2. Do you need a sleeping pad while backpacking?
So, do you need a sleeping pad for backpacking? It is highly recommended to take a sleeping pad with you on your backpacking trip. Not only do they give extra comfort for when you are curled up at night, they also provide insulation from the ground.
3. How thick should my sleeping pad be?
2.5 inches: The new standard for air pads and self-inflating pads. This thickness boosts you off the ground, allows lots of air for insulation, and isn't so high that it's bouncy. Many pads, especially air pads, fall into this category, and are quite comfortable.
4. What do you put under a sleeping pad?
Add a closed-cell foam pad beneath your regular sleeping pad for extra insulation. Stuff dry clothing inside your sleeping bag to fill empty spaces, reducing the area your body must heat. Put a warm water bottle close to the core of your body, since your core is your body's chief heat-generating zone.
During our sleeping foam mat for backpacking research, we found 86 sleeping foam mat for backpacking products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 38,318 customer reviews through our big data system to write the sleeping foam mats for backpacking list. We found that most customers choose sleeping foam mats for backpacking with an average price of £21.71.
The sleeping foam mats for backpacking are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of sleeping foam mats for backpacking, including Lively Life, PATIKIL, Therm-a-Rest, THINTON, REDCAMP. The seller of top 1 product has received honest feedback from 285 consumers with an average rating of 4.8.

Luke is a runner, a climber, hiker, hunter, and a lot more. Luke Dobson is Celtic-born and has lived most of his life in Scotland. However, his sporting endeavours have taken him to several countries around Europe. He serves as a tour guide for countless companies and owns a couple of gyms and recreational centres in Scotland. Luke Dobson is proficient in 7 different languages. He maintains many sport article columns where he shares his wealth of experience in the sport industry.