R-value carries the warmth; thickness decides whether your hip lands
People buy a warmer bag when the cold is coming from underneath. The mat is what separates you from the ground, and its one decisive figure is R-value, a measure of resistance to heat flow. Since ASTM F3340 gave the industry a common test, R-values from different makers can finally be compared directly, so check that the figure is quoted against that standard rather than invented in-house. R-value adds up: a foam mat under an inflatable one gives you the sum, which is why the thin closed-cell mat still exists. The second figure is thickness, and it answers a different question — whether a side sleeper's hip reaches the ground through a compressed mat. Then come the trade-offs everything else hangs on: packed size against weight, and width and length, where the regular sizes leave broad shoulders on the cold floor. Construction changes the feel more than the specification suggests: air mats are light and noisy, self-inflating mats are heavier and quieter, closed-cell foam never punctures and never packs small. Denier on the base fabric is worth reading, since that is the face against grit. Note also whether inflation is by pump sack, integrated pump or lungs. We compare stated R-value and the standard quoted, thickness, packed size and weight, width and length, fabric denier and inflation method.
Foam mat · 200 × 200 cm · double-sided aluminium foil · pearl-cotton core · no R-value, no thickness, no weight
A large foil-faced foam mat that publishes its two ground dimensions and nothing else: no R-value, no thickness, no weight.
Best for: A tent floor liner or a group ground sheet at a driven-to pitch, rather than a mat carried on a back.
≈ 15 €
531 g · 190 × 60 cm inflated and 225 × 70 cm flat · 40D material · inflated by breath · repair kit included · no R-value
A 531 g mat that publishes both its flat and its inflated dimensions — an honest distinction most listings skip — and no thickness and no R-value.
Best for: Lightweight trips where 531 g and a 190 cm sleeping length are the specification, and warmth comes from the bag.
≈ 40 €
200 × 83 × 12 cm · 32 × 14 × 10 cm packed · 50D spring nylon with TPU · foot pump, 80 s · 16.5 cm pillow · weight not published
The widest mat here at 83 cm, with every dimension published, a 50D fabric, three patches in the box — and no weight anywhere.
Best for: Restless and broad-shouldered sleepers with room in the tent, who value 83 cm of width over a published weight.
≈ £37 / 30 €
Self-inflating · R-value 4.8 stated · 200 × 63 × 5 cm · 19 × 19 × 33 cm packed · 1.85 kg · 190T polyester
The only mat in this group to publish an R-value — 4.8, with no standard named beside it — on a self-inflating foam core at 1.85 kg.
Best for: Cold-ground camping where an R-value on the page matters more than 1.85 kg in the pack.
≈ £46 / 45 €
195 × 70 × 9 cm · built-in foot pump, 60 s · 950 g · 33 × 14 cm packed · 75D nylon with TPU · no R-value
A wide air mat that publishes every dimension, its weight, its fabric and its inflation time — and no R-value, which is the figure a mat is chosen on.
Best for: Side sleepers who want 9 cm under the hip and a tougher 75D face, at pitches where 950 g is acceptable.
≈ 19 €
0.55 kg stated · 40D nylon with TPU · 10 to 15 breaths to inflate · inflatable pillow · no dimensions published at all
The lightest mat here at 550 g, and the one that publishes no length, no width, no thickness and no packed measurement.
Best for: Bikepacking and fast trips where 550 g is the number that decides, and the sleeping surface is taken on trust.
≈ £28 / 30 €
200 × 68 × 12 cm · 26 × 15 × 15 cm packed · 1 kg package weight · 40D nylon with TPU · foot pump, 60 s · no R-value
A 12 cm air mat that publishes its inflated box, its folded box and its inflation time — and weighs the package rather than the mat.
Best for: Campers who want 12 cm under them and a folded box small enough to be planned around, and who can live without a mat-only weight.
≈ 28 €
195 × 68 × 10 cm · 690 g · 40D nylon with TPU · foot pump, 30 to 60 s · packed size not published · no R-value
A 690 g air mat that publishes its inflated box, its fabric and its inflation time, and compares its packed size to a water bottle instead of measuring it.
Best for: Backpacking where 10 cm of thickness at 690 g is the target and the ground is not the cold part.
≈ £34 / 25 €
10 cm thick · 925 g · 10 × 28 cm packed · 40D ripstop nylon with TPU · integrated foot pump, one minute · no dimensions on the ground
A 925 g mat that publishes its thickness, its packed roll and its fabric, and never says how long or how wide it is.
Best for: Campers who want 10 cm and a small packed roll from a foot pump, and will confirm the sleeping dimensions before buying.
≈ £42 / 48 €
This family belongs to the sleeping out kit — see everything that has to work with it.
Prices in these summaries were read on the dates each review gives. The live figure sits beside every product.
