I read that a standard sleeping bag loses most of its heat through the ground, not the air

I was looking at a review for a new sleeping pad on OutdoorGearLab last night, and they said something like 75% of heat loss when you're sleeping outside happens through conduction into the ground. I always thought the bag itself was the main thing keeping me warm. It totally makes sense now why I was so cold that one night in Yosemite, even with my 20-degree bag. I was just on a thin foam pad. Has anyone else had a trip totally turned around by upgrading their sleeping pad first?

3 comments

3 Comments

benclark25d agoTop Commenter

That 75% figure from OutdoorGearLab is a real eye opener. My first few backpacking trips were miserable until I swapped my old foam pad for an insulated air one. The difference in sleep quality was honestly shocking.

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christopherwilson25d ago

Yeah, it's wild how much we focus on the bag and tent but skip the ground. That foam pad was fine for a kid in the backyard, but real cold ground just sucks the heat right out of you. I spent years thinking I just slept badly outside, turns out I was just cold. Getting a good pad changed everything, it's like the secret to actually wanting to go out again.

jessica_robinson2320d ago

Took me way too long to figure out I wasn't just bad at sleeping on the ground, I was just freezing. That old blue foam pad should come with a warning label.