Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Best backpacking pad for side sleeper?

I’m in my mid 50’s and my wife became an obsessive backpacker once the kids grew up, which I also enjoy, so I’ve spent a lot of nights sleeping on a pad in the last few years. I had to address comfort to be able to do it- my old Thermarest was torture. I’m a side sleeper too, and it would just kill my hips and shoulders. I used a Big Agnes Q-core SLX on the JMT (230+ miles) a couple years ago, then a lighter version of the same luxuriously thick pad from Tahoe to Yosemite (150 miles) last summer, plus lots of shorter hikes. So about 50 nights/500 miles on the two pads. Never a puncture.

With a thicker pad like that, if you get the inflation just right your hips and shoulders are just off the ground. It’s a lot of cushy. Makes a huge difference for my old bones.

Inflation sacks...this hasn't come up yet. Blowing up a large pad takes a lot of time and air. At high altitudes, that air can be hard to come by. The sacks really do work. The problem is that every brand has it's own valves and the sacks have to match the valve. Some valves just don't lend themselves to any brand of sack. If your pad comes with an air sack or if they sell one to match the valve, I highly recommend it.

True that. I didn’t have one on the JMT and blowing up that huge thing was a daily chore I loathed. High altitude doesn’t help, also correct. I got the correct sack from BA for both my pads (different valves, but the same inflation sack works) for the TTY hike last year, and it was awesome. 👍

The really cool inflation sacks double as a dry-bag, I believe. Mine doesn’t. It was still weight worth carrying. My sleeping comfort is really critical on long hikes like that. We did some big days in the high Sierra, it would whup my butt. Get camp set up... take my Vitamin I, some CBD, get a good nights sleep on my thick pad, and I’m back in the game in the morning. Rinse wash repeat for 23 days (on the JMT) and those decently comfortable nights are just huge....

.....like my pad.... lol... my wife pitches me a lot of crap about it. It takes up more than half the Duplex, for sure.

It was pretty up there....

Was a serious back packer, in my high school and college days.... we did a lot of distance hiking in Boy Scouts in those days...

I've hiked the entire Appalachian Trail back during the 60s and early 70s....the Long Trail the length of the State of Vermont,
and the Pacific Crest Trail from the Canadian border, down to about Bend Oregon area when I was in the Army and Stationed at Madigan AMC on Ft Lewis, in the late 70s..

I've always been a side sleeper, and curl up like a baby when its real cold outside...

I always use a thin mattress pad, that was easy to carry... for padding, I used what was locally found on the ground...
like pine needles or leaves.... push them up into a mattress pile with my foot, lay a tarp over them... put down the mattress pad, then sleeping bag..

if the weather was bad, used a tube tent set up... real light to carry also...easy to set up and easy to tear down...tube tent cost me $3.00 in those days..

I've bought some of them for my scouts in our troop, within the last 10 to 15 years of so... the price has tripled since the late 60s and early 70s... they are up to $10 now...

two of those lasted me 10 to 12 years.... so $6.00 on tents.... and then surplus army poncho, to put over the tent entrance.. to keep back pack dry etc...

no one taught me this stuff... just learned it on my own... travel light, use your local resources....considering hiking 15 miles or so in a day.. sometimes more..

OP here. Thanks for the input guys. Don't think the hammock would work for me. Looks like it is going to be one of the air pads. Lots of people like the Therma rest and Big Agnes pads , and I have seen good reviews on Sea to Summit as well. Good to know about the inflation sacks.

Another to look at is the Nemo stuff. We have a couple of them and as a life long side sleeper they have been game changers compared to older self inflators or z-rest types. I like the Astro ultralight insulated for a good sweet spot of weight/price/comfort. It also comes with one of the inflation sacks which is very nice to have.

^this .... Expend Downmat 9 has been my most comfortable. I use Thermarest Neoair xtherm max now - it is lighter weight and works great for side sleeper.... just not quite as comfortable as the Exped dm 9.

Thanks. It looks like the Exped downmat 9 has been discontinued. They have the ultra and dura. I plan on emailing the company to see which model is most comparable.
It looks like all the brands have some negative reviews regarding leaks, I guess the company with the best warranty will be a big factor as well.

If that's the case, then you should just get the NeoAir XTherm MAX.

Thermarest All Season. Inflate to ~95%.

Add Thermarest Ridge pad in Winter or cold temps.

beinga big guy, and a side sleeper, so far the best system I have found is the Big agnes Qcore deluxe on top of a closed cell foam pad, i find that extremely comfortable. i also break tradition and take the pillows from my bed,,,i absolute despise the little camping pillows

I agree, pillows high enough for side sleepers are another big problem. It's a pain in the neck (pun intended) stuffing your clothes into a stuff sack trying to get the height just right.

https://www.amazon.com/KLYMIT-Insulated-Sleeping-Camping-Backpacking/dp/B07YP8TPX9/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=1UDCGG1S6UN1U&keywords=klymit+sleep+pad&qid=1651938379&sprefix=klym%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-4


I'm 6'4" 235 and this is the stuff for side sleeping. Can't speak to the durability( just picked it up) but the other 2 klymits I've had have held up very well for 30-40 nights of sleep so far.