The Best Backpacking Sleeping Pads for Side Sleepers

On your back, your weight spreads across your shoulders, hips and heels. On your side, almost all of it goes through one hip and one shoulder. A 2.5 in pad that feels fine on your back bottoms out under a hip, which is the specific complaint that sends people looking for a side-sleeper pad. The fix is published inches of inflated thickness, and it is the one spec every maker on this page prints.

So the gate here is 3 in (7.6 cm) or more of maker-published thickness. Below that, a side sleeper on firm ground is touching down. Above it, the ranking is the usual one: grams saved against a mainstream self-inflating pad, per dollar of list price (full rules at our methodology page). Read the ranking and the thickness column together, because the lightest pad that clears the gate is not the thickest.

Why thickness is the side-sleeper number

Two secondary numbers matter. Width: a side sleeper takes up less width than a back sleeper but moves more, so a 55 cm pad like the Ether Light XR catches a roll that a 51 cm pad does not. Baffle shape: horizontal baffles cradle; flat-topped or air-sprung designs feel more like a mattress. Both Sea to Summit and Big Agnes publish their construction on the product page.

How we picked

The gate: at least 3 in (7.6 cm) of maker-published inflated thickness, with a published R-value and weight. The reference: the Therm-a-Rest Trail Scout (Regular) at 680 g (1 lb 8.0 oz), a mainstream self-inflating pad. Value 35%, weight 20%, warmth and comfort 25%, materials 10%, ease 10%. Regular-size figures throughout, because that is what most people buy.

The evidence side by side

The four thickest pads here, all 3.5 in or more.

The 3 in pads, which is where the lightest options live.

Note how little thickness and R-value track each other. The thickest pad here has an R-value of 4.8; the warmest has 7.3 and is three quarters of an inch thinner. They are independent specs and you have to shop for both.

Who each pick is for

1. Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT: the best value over 3 in

370 g (13.1 oz) at 3 in and R 4.5, which saves 310 g (10.9 oz) vs the Therm-a-Rest Trail Scout (Regular) against a mainstream self-inflating pad for a value figure of Value 2.5/10, the best on this page. It is the lightest pad here by a clear margin and it just clears the side-sleeper gate.

Buy it if you are a side sleeper with a base weight target. Skip it if 3 in has already bottomed out on you; the Rapide SL is 1.25 in thicker.

2. Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT: the warm one

Same 3 in thickness, R 7.3, at 440 g (15.5 oz). That is the highest R-value we track by a wide margin, and it is the pad to pair with a quilt on cold ground. The thickness is unchanged from the XLite, so the extra money buys warmth, not clearance.

Buy it if cold ground is as much of a problem as your hip. Skip it if you camp in summer; you are carrying insulation you will not use.

3. NEMO Tensor All-Season: the best combination

3.5 in and R 5.4 at 440 g (15.5 oz): half an inch more clearance than the Therm-a-Rests with most of the XTherm's warmth. For a side sleeper who also camps in the shoulder seasons, this is arguably the pad on this page that solves the most problems at once.

Buy it if you want thickness and warmth in one pad. Skip it if your nights are mild; the Tensor Trail is the same shape for less.

4. NEMO Tensor Trail: the lightest 3.5 in pad

The same 3.5 in of clearance as the All-Season at 395 g (13.9 oz) and a lower price, with R 2.8 instead of 5.4. As a summer side-sleeper pad it is the sharpest buy here on thickness per dollar.

Buy it if you sleep on your side in summer. Skip it if you use a quilt in the shoulder season; R 2.8 is not enough under one.

5. Sea to Summit Ether Light XR Insulated: the wide one

4 in thick and 55 cm wide at 470 g (1 lb 0.6 oz), with an ASTM-tested R 4.1. The width is the point: 55 cm against the 51 cm standard is the margin that keeps a roll on the pad instead of on the tent floor.

Buy it if you move around at night. Skip it if your tent floor is narrow; a 55 cm pad crowds a solo shelter.

6. Exped Ultra 3R: the cheapest over 3 in

3 in at R 3.2 and 454 g (1 lb 0.0 oz), at the lowest list price of any pad on this page. It asks a higher MSRP band less than the XTherm for the same thickness and less than half the R-value.

Buy it if you want the cheapest way past the 3 in gate. Skip it if you use a quilt below about 35F.

7. Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated: the thickest we track

Big Agnes's spec table lists 4.25 in (11 cm), the most clearance on this page, at R 4.8 and 510 g (1 lb 2.0 oz). Worth reading its card carefully: the feature list on the same page says 3.5 in with 4.25 in outer chambers, and we print both figures rather than picking the flattering one.

Buy it if everything thinner has bottomed out under your hip. Skip it if weight is the constraint; it is the heaviest pad here.

Reading the ranking against the thickness column

Our rubric ranks on grams saved per dollar, so the lightest pad that clears the gate tops the list. For a side sleeper, that is the right starting point but not the whole answer: if 3 in is not enough for your hip, no value figure makes it enough. Work down the list to the first pad thick enough for you, and buy that one.

What missed the cut

The Sea to Summit Ultralight XR Insulated is 2.56 in by Sea to Summit's own measurement, even though its size table rounds to 3 in. At 415 g (14.6 oz) it is a good pad and it is on the main pad ranking; it is just under this page's gate.

The Klymit Insulated Static V Peak is 2.5 in at R 4.2 and 620 g (1 lb 5.9 oz). Its V-chamber design is comfortable on your back and is exactly the thickness that bottoms out under a hip.

Every closed-cell foam pad. A Z Lite SOL is 0.75 in and a RidgeRest is 0.63 in. They are durable, cheap and puncture-proof, and they are the wrong tool for a side sleeper. See foam vs inflatable for the full comparison.

How to choose a sleeping pad if you sleep on your side

1. Start at 3 in and work up. Below 3 in, a side sleeper on firm ground will feel it. Between 3 in and 4.25 in is a real, noticeable range.
2. Do not substitute R-value for thickness. They are independent specs, and the warmest pad here is not the thickest.
3. Consider width if you roll. 55 cm against 51 cm is the difference between waking up on the pad and waking up beside it.
4. Check the baffle shape. Horizontal baffles cradle; flat air-sprung designs feel more like a mattress. Both are published on the product page.
5. Inflate to less than full. A rock-hard pad transmits pressure straight back into your hip. Most side sleepers find slightly under-inflated more comfortable, which also uses the thickness better.
6. Match the R-value to your quilt or bag. R 3 for summer, R 4 or better for three-season, and higher again if you sleep under a quilt. See R-value explained.

Mistakes to avoid

• Buying a warmer pad to fix a comfort problem. Cold and bottoming out feel different and have different fixes.
• Trusting a rounded thickness figure. The Sea to Summit Ultralight XR rounds 2.56 in to 3 in in its size table. Read the detailed spec.
• Over-inflating. A fully inflated pad is a firmer pad, which is the opposite of what a hip needs.
• Ignoring the tent floor width. A 55 cm pad in a 84 cm solo tent leaves very little room for anything else.