Closed cell foam or air mat?

Looking at the thermarest lines: Foam: Packed size (500x150x150) typical R rating (0.2-0.45) Weight (200-400g) Inflatables Packed size 230x100x100 typical R rating 3-6 Weight 300-500g So inflatable is far warmer. Bit heavier. Far smaller. On thr R ratings the foam has the equivalent insulation of a single glazed window (0.35) whereas the modern filled inflatables are equivalent of between 140 and 230mm of pink batts. I know which I'd prefer between me & frozen ground. I switched a year ago to the pro-lite regular (bought it for the missus then stole it back) from closed cell and all I can say is never never going back! Based on comfort & warmth. The size thing for me was less of an advantage as the foam wrapped round my tent & stored snugly in the base of my pack whereas the inflatable takes up useful space. Already had one puncture. So add reliability to the closed cell plus column. Take a patch kit if you go inflatable. Same patches can fix tent tears too.

I have a cheaper air mattress and I now sleep on it in preference to hut mattresses. It is that comfortable if you get the air right. However I doubt it rates as high as foam on the insulation scale. Its about the same size and weight as a bake bean can. I know the foam mat would weigh the same as 1 bake bean but still once you reach a certain age and have had a certain number of back issues foam just doesnt cut it any more.

Found this link https://sectionhiker.com/sleeping-pad-r-values/ for some details the insulation values of different sleeping mats. It suggests that the R-values for closed cell foams are more like 1.4 or greater. The inflatables on @Madpom's list can be split into two categories. The first is self-inflating, which use a piece of open cell foam to expand the mattress, hence inflate. A good example is the Thermarest Pro-lite. The second category are the inflatables that you either blow up or use a pump sack to inflate, think a lighter hi-tech lilo. Most of these pads have some sort of insulation in them. The Exped Synmat UL7 is an example. The self-inflating mattresses tend to be thinner and heavier than a similar dimensioned (length by width) inflatable mattress. One of the most common causes of feeling cold when sleeping is inadequate insulation from the ground, rather than inadequate insulation above. Another thing is when lying on a mat, you compress it so it's R-value decreases. Another useful thing to remember is that the R-values largely are additive so a 3-season inflatable (Exped Synmat UL7 with a R-value of 3) can be converted into a winter mat by laying an closed cell mat underneath (such as a Z-rest sol R-value of 2.5) to a total R-value of 5.5. This is the setup I use.

@madpom thanks for the advice. I looked at the Prolite decided to buy it along with the repair kit

@nzbazza With the mats that require manual inflation, wouldn't the warm air from your breath condensate and make the inside of the mat cold and damp?

@fdi4r978fg, Yes to a certain extent, as well as black mould/mildew. I use an inflation stuffsack/packliner for the Exped mat that gets around this issue, plus makes the mat easier to inflate. I find the inflatable mats so much more comfortable than the self-inflating or closed cell foam mats because of their extra thickness (getting old/soft). Only one hole in about 50 nights on my Exped mat, patch kit worked well.

@nzbazza I got the R values from an ultralite gear review site reviewing foam and inflatable Thermarests (that specific manufacturer) rather than from Thermarest themselves. They seem to be claiming that the manufacturer's values don't account for compression - which is more of an issye with non-inflatables. But no guarantees their numbers are accurate either. @fdi4r978fg sorry - I was not specifically recommending the pro-lite (just inflatables in general). When I bought it for the missus abt 5 years back it was the best I could afford. There may or may not be other better options out there today. That said it's changed tenting from something I do when as a fallback or last resort into something I enjoy again.

For me too, comfort WAS the big decider. From closed cell, to the 25mm self-inflating, if you don't want to bottom-out when lying on your side, inflatables (around 7cm of cusioning) are the way to go. As mentioned also, they're small & light to carry.

In the late 90's early 2000's when I was a young lad my uncle would used to take me out tramping and we would just use the cheap foam mat from the warehouse, old school itchy as hell woolen bush jersy and PVC jackets... Looking back at thoes days and with the invention of modern gear, it seems like we have become wusses