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Question about sleeping pad R-values: why do people keep rating them by thickness?
Last weekend I camped at a site near Bend and the overnight low dropped to 28 degrees, and my buddy showed up with this thick 3 inch pad he bragged about all week. He was shivering by 2am while I was fine on a thinner pad, because his had an R-value of 1.8 and mine was 4.4. People see that big fat pad in the store and assume it means warm, but thickness is mostly about comfort, not heat. The pad's job is to block cold from the ground pulling heat out of you, and that number is what actually matters. I've watched this play out on three trips now, and the guy with the puffiest pad is always the one who wakes up cold. So how do you all shop for pads, do you look at the R-value first or the comfort first? And does anyone have a good way to add warmth to a pad you already own without buying a new one?
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