A guy at REI told me my sleeping pad R-value was too low for 30 degrees and he was right

Susan Singh · 2026-10-12T04:05:04.03147+00:00

I bought a cheap pad off Amazon two winters back with an R-value of 1.8 and figured I would just layer up if it got cold. Then a guy at the REI in Denver looked at my setup before a trip and said flat out, 'You are going to be miserable at 9,000 feet with that thing.' I brushed him off but he was right, I shivered through two nights near Leadville at about 28 degrees and barely slept. I went back and got a pad with an R-value of 4.5 for $130 and used it in the same spot a few weeks later, and the difference was wild. Now I check R-value before anything else and I honestly feel dumb for not doing it sooner. Has anyone else had a store employee give them advice they ignored and later wished they had taken?

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A guy at REI told me my sleeping pad R-value was too low for 30 degrees and he was right | Camping Gear Reviews - Free To Speak