Camping Mat Buying Guide

A camping mat is a key piece of camping equipment. It stops the ground from sapping your body heat. Camping mats offer you more comfort than you would have if you were sleeping directly on the ground.

There are four different types of sleeping mats available: closed cell foam mats, self-inflating mats, air mats and air beds. Each excels in their areas of camping.

When choosing your sleeping mat, remember exactly what type of activity you want to use it for and how you’ll get it to your overnight location. This guide breaks down the features of each type of camping mat and some key considerations.

Will my sleeping mat keep me warm in winter?

The main function of your sleeping mat is to stop the ground from depleting your body heat leaving you cold. If you're camping in cold temperatures make sure you have a mat that has reflective detailing to help reflect your body heat back towards you.

You could choose to double up on sleeping mats. If you usually use a closed cell foam mat then adding another of the same style mat is easy and will offer more warmth. If you use a self-inflating or air mat then adding a closed cell foam mat underneath will make all the difference in below zero temperatures.

What is R-Value?

The R-Value of a product measures how resistant that product is to heat flowing through the material. The higher the R-Value is, the better the resistance and the warmer the sleeping mat will be.

While you may find the R-Value information on some products there is no agreed test to rate exactly how warm each sleeping mat is. Brands who do their own testing will do the same test for each mat in their range. It's helpful to choose a mat from within their range, but it wouldn’t be reliable to compare this to the R-Value of a different branded mat.