# Survival > Survival Kits & Survival Products >  Sleeping Pad.

## trufleshufle13

Have done some research on sleeping pads and found that most are way more expensive then they need to be due to name brands. i'm not talking about the super thick extra feature ones, just the basic foam roll up mat.

So i was thinking and did some more research and found that yoga mats are a lot cheaper, usaully the same size and serve roughly the same purpose. they are not meant for the same thing but side by side you cant tell the difference.

i have one that i bought for pretty cheap and it is full length and would serve my needs the same way a more expensive "camping/survival mat" would.

i believe the price difference has to do with the use, camping/survival is much more niche then yoga now a days so the demand for yoga mats is higher. But people would just lay down a blanket if yoga mats were really expensive, so the marketers needed to keep them cheap. When looking for a survival mat, people know exactly what they are looking for and its hard to settle for something else so they can price it much higher due to the fact if people want it they have no other option.

the same way snare wire is much more expensive then picture hanging wire, but are pretty much the same thing.

Any thoughts, anybody ever use yoga mat as a sleeping pad? maybe there is something i am missing.

----------


## crashdive123

If it gives you the insulating qualities and comfort that you need, I think it is a great idea.  Another option might be some mil surplus vendors.  Where I live I'm fortunate to have several that frequent the gun shows.  One vendor sells the foam pads and inflatable (when he can get them) pads for around $5.  In lieu of that - good idea - most folks are all about saving money.

----------


## Rick

I bought a couple of Thermarest Military self inflating pads off ebay for something like $27 each including shipping. I see one on there now for $24.99 with free shipping. Most of the US Army are made by Thermarest. If you have a question then email the seller. I love mine but the yoga pad isn't a bad idea at all.

----------


## doren

Wal-Mart, $6, camping section.

----------


## Bibow

I used a yoga mat once for camping. Not as good as i thought it would be. the main problem that it soaked up moisture like crazy. Although i was only using a blanket so with a sleeping bag all the moisture would stay in the bag. I'm planning on buying a cheap wal-marts one . right now i just sleep on cardboard.

----------


## Ken

I have one of these:  http://www.rei.com/product/778146  It's only gone as far as the living room floor, but it's light, packs small, and is comfortable.  Paid for it with my REI dividends!   :clap:

----------


## Mountain Man

Thermarest Prolite 4

Is what I use and love.

I also have one of their none "air" pads too, and sometimes use both depending on what type of camping I am doing  :Smile: 

Insulates great on the snow! If you don't have a pad on the snow or at least some sort of buffer you will be cold, and the open-air-up mattresses are COLD on your backside in real cold/snow camping, that air constantly moving = no good.

----------


## endurance

Once I tried a thermarest, after almost two years with the four-ring circus camping out roughly 100 nights a year, I pitched my closed cell pad and bought a thermarest.  Of course I did that a bit too soon, as I discovered the next winter that closed cell is still superior to a thermarest (at least the 1988 generation of thermarest) when it come to insulative value when you're sleeping on snow (the combination of a thermarest on top of a closed cell pad is ideal for comfort and warmth).  I'd start with a cheap closed cell pad at an army surplus store or walmart if you can't afford a thermarest.  Even if you eventually upgrade, there's always a reason to keep the closed cell pad around for winter camping.

----------


## Mountain Man

Yeah, I have a Thermarest closed cell that I put under my prolite 4... it's the ultimate in comfy car camping where gear and weight don't matter.

For backpacking I am buying a NeoAir as the Prolite4 is pretty heavy.




> Ultralight & Compact: Weighs just 14oz. and packs down to the size of a 1-liter water bottle.


They actually don't make the ProLite 4 anymore I believe... it was replaced.

Either way, you can't go wrong with ThermaRest, well worth the money.

----------


## Yakov

Saw some military surplus czech air matresses for $7 at centerfiresystems.com

----------


## SARKY

First, the yoga mats aren't designed to take the abuse a thermarest or any other brand camping mat is designed for. For winter camping and car camping I use my camprest 2.5 inches between me and the ground. the rest of the time I use my ultra lite. The real key is to let them self inflate, them blow into them to get them a little firmer.

----------


## NCO

I use spruce branches on the ground and then just a thin blanket on them so that the spikes wont sting me. if ti is dry but soft ground and not too cold, I leave the branches.

----------


## red lake

> I use spruce branches on the ground and then just a thin blanket on them so that the spikes wont sting me. if ti is dry but soft ground and not too cold, I leave the branches.


Not an option many places in North America where people in large numbers live.

I use a Thermarest and it was a HUGE back saver. 

I will try the spruce boughs this fall because here it is an option

----------


## endurance

I tried spruce bows for the first time this year, without the benefit of a blanket between me and them and they were pretty uncomfortable. What did work well was 3-4" of dead dry needle litter (duff) gathered from the base of older trees.  Much more comfortable and you could adjust your bedding easily.  Too much pressure on your hips?  Just move some duff out from under your hips.  Knees too low, push some under your knees.  Worked great and I didn't have to de-branch an entire area to do it.  

Obviously this is less of an option with snow on the ground, but during the summer, it would be my second choice (after my thermarest, of course).

----------


## NCO

> Not an option many places in North America where people in large numbers live.


Ah, but I live in Finland...

TO:endurance
This is especially winter thing. My philosophy is to avoid all the unnecessary work you can. Thus, If I can sleep without the spruce bows I will.
One thing that you should note is that you should prefer young branches from young trees against older and bigger ones, as the young are softer and thus more comfortable than the old ones. Also how you place them counts a lot.

----------


## PineMartyn

One needs to distinguish between those cheap, lightweight closed-cell foam pads they sell in the camping departments (which are very effective) and the heavier, more rubbery yoga mats.

Closed-cell foam pads trap air within them which makes them quite good insulators against heat loss via ground conduction.  On the other hand, yoga mats are specialty items that roll up a little more tightly, but they are made of a rubbery material and so much heavier.  The rubbery material allows yoga mats to lie flat when lain out, whereas closed-cell foam pads remember their shape and tend to curl up unless you weigh them down, making them a nuisance when doing yoga unless one stores them flat.  But the most important difference is that the rubbery material of a yoga pad traps little air within it, and so it's not as good an insulator.   So a yoga mat is heavier than a close-cell foam pad and not nearly as good an insulator against heat loss through ground conduction.

In case it matters to anyone, I'm a winter camper who cold-camps in quinzhees and igloos and over the years I have tried various forms of sleeping pads, from expensive Therm-a-Rests, to cheap closed-cell foam pads of varying thicknesses and even Reflectex thermal duct insulation (which is really good, but slippery).  What I use when winter camping is a combination of both a closed-cell foam pad and a Therm-a-Rest pad (Prolite 4 model).  If I use only one or the other, I freeze from below.

Hope this helps,
- Martin

----------


## finallyME

This is an old thread that I didn't see a long time ago.  
But..Martin is spot on.  Yoga mats make poor sleeping mats.  They are great for yoga, and better than just the ground for camping, but the $6 blue mat at Walmart will work better than a yoga mat, and cost 1/4 of the price, and a 1/4 of the weight.

So, are sleeping mats really over priced because of brand names?  I used to think so, and still do for the blue mats at outdoor stores.  But not the rest of them.  The ridgerest and z-rest are in the $30 range, but they are far superior to any other CCF.  If you look at the cost of manufacturing them, they are priced right.  I have been looking at making my own sleeping pad.  I want a down filled, 4inch thick blow up pad.  The cheapest I have seen is $150.  Expeds go for around $200.  I figured, make my own and save money.  The material alone will cost me around $50.  The down will be around $60.  I already have a BA insulated air core, cost me $70.  Knowing how much the material costs, I don't think BA made much on brand mark up.

----------


## roar-k

I have used both the Walmart $5 blue pad and the green milsurplus mats.  They work for me and I have had no issues with them.

----------

