Review: Exped MegaMat 10

If you camp or sleep outdoors a lot, you’re familiar with the progression of sleeping pads. You’ll start with a foldable foam pad, eventually upgrade to a thin, inflatable pad once your hips and neck start hurting, and finally you’ll say screw it, and get the comfiest dang thing you can find. Well, Exped’s MegaMat 10 is exactly that. An inflatable pad with a four-inch compressible foam core, this thing provides the closest experience to sleeping in your own bed as is possible in the woods. The pad is mostly self-inflating, so just open up the inflation valve when you get to camp—there are separate, one-way inflation and deflation valves—then give it a little top off before bed. In addition to comfort, the surface material is quiet, too, so you won’t awaken your tentmate with crinkling sounds in the middle of the night. If only Exped could figure out a way to fix snoring, too…

Recently, I used the MegaMat on a weeklong road trip, laying it out on just about every surface the average camper will encounter. From cactus needles and jagged basalt rocks in the eastern Oregon rain shadow, to smooth river rocks on the bank of the Clark Fork (I may or may not have been camped legally), to the back of a truck bed; the pad stands up to any kind of surface—and is just as comfortable, to boot.

In terms of all-season utility, the MegaMat checks that box, too. With an R-value of 8.1, and a temperature rating of negative 40 degrees, the pad has no problem standing up to the rigors of hunting or ski-season camping in Montana. And, it rolls up tight for easy storage when space in limited in the back of a car. If you’re on the hunt for a more comfortable camping pad, look no further; you’ve met your match.

Exped also makes the MegaMat Auto, for the back of a car, and the MegaMat Duo 10, for sleeping two-abreast in a tent or in the back of a truck.

$260; available at expedusa.com.