Since 74% of the population sleeps on their sides, we're willing to bet at least 74% of our readers are stoked to find the Quasar 3D. But a number of smart details add up to utter comfiness for sleepers of all kinds.

To fix a common complaint for those who don't sleep stock-still on their backs, NEMO created a body-mapped depression in the center of the 25-inch-wide pad that prevents campers from rolling off in the middle of the night. The built-in pillow at the top of the pad helps sleepers rest easy as their limbs and hips relax just like at home. Add in the 3.5-inch thickness—by far the cushiest in test—and our testing crew found themselves in dreamland. "My hips never once hit the ground," reports one Wisconsin tester. "Honestly, the Quasar is so comfy that I've been using it for naps on my living room floor." Yes, you read that right: It's replacing her mattress at home.

The plush-and-lush 30-denier polyester stretches over the top, adding sheetlike coziness to this rectangular pad. Synthetic insulation up-levels the warmth, making the Quasar a toasty pick for the worst of three-season conditions. Even with all these features, the pad still rolls up (stuff sack included) to the height of 1.5 Nalgene bottles. "I try to keep my pack weight at 12 to 18 pounds, but I'll still make this pad a priority," one tester reports after a trip to Wisconsin's Northern Highland American Legion State Forest. One tester proclaimed it "luxuriously thick" after camping in Leavenworth, Washington. "The pad itself is just wide enough and easy for me to toss and turn on," she adds. Bonus: The entire backpacking pad is made from 100% postconsumer recycled materials.

Roomily rectangular and thick enough to resemble a mattress, the Therm-a-Rest NeoLoft Sleeping Pad doesn’t look like it’s meant to be schlepped into the backcountry. Close your eyes and you wouldn’t believe you’re sleeping on a backpacking-friendly pad, either. (Especially once you’ve opened your eyes many hours later, well rested.) Our backpack editor struggles with chronic pain and insomnia but proclaimed: “This sleeping pad is among the coziest I've ever slept on. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say I had the best night's sleep while camping with this.”

Testers uniformly praised the NeoLoft’s cush factor, providing such thorough protection from the ground that our tester, who took it on a backpacking trip in Old Logger's Path in Pennsylvania, compared it to sleeping on a cloud. (This was also a plus for side sleepers, who found that their hips didn’t hit the ground like with thinner pads.) They also liked the velvety, stretchy knit fabric covering the pad, and the stability offered by its broad surface and slightly sloped edges—no risk of accidentally falling overboard here. 

“I own several Therm-a-Rest air sleeping pads because I love how light they are while still providing warmth,” said one Washington-based tester. “The NeoLoft is by far the plushiest, most comfortable and quietest of them.” The tradeoff? A pad that brings this much coziness is going to take up a bit of room. You’ll probably squish your tent-mate if you and your NeoLoft share a two-person shelter with them. And it’s on the heavier side for a backpacking pad, weighing up to 2 pounds for the largest size. Still, it’s fairly compact in its included stuff sack—around the size of a Nalgene bottle—and all testers said they would happily swap lighter pads for the comfort of the NeoLoft in most cases. Buy here.

It takes a lot to impress us, but the Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated pad checks all the boxes for backpackers who want to lighten their load while taking long walks through nature. For starters, it’s about as warm as a sleeping pad can get without being categorized as a winter product. Thanks to two layers of heat-reflective film inside the pad, the Rapide has an R-value of 4.8 (cold-weather pads start around 4 and extreme-cold-weather pads start at 5.5) and it sleeps that way. One tester ventured to Southern Utah to explore canyon country in mid November, and she was pleasantly surprised to wake up warm after overnight lows of roughly 40°F.

Comfort is still a priority, thanks to the whopping 3.5 inches of padding and 4.25-inch-thick side chambers. The center is cushy enough that you can roll around without your joints digging into the ground, and the plush side chambers cradle you like a pseudo-bassinet. (Note: The Rapide doesn’t have specific side rails like the REI Co-op AirRail does, but the substantial side chambers do helpcenter your body on the pad). 

The best part: All this warmth and coziness comes with only a small weight penalty. The regular wide version clocks in at 1 pound, 7 ounces and rolls up to be smaller than your water bottle.

Fossil fuels are hard to quit, but seeking out recycled materials are a good start. Many sleeping bags' outer fabric is polyester—a petroleum-derived material. In an effort to reduce their reliance on the fossil fuel industry and cut back on waste and greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing, the team at NEMO uses 100% recycled polyester for this pad's shell and stuff sack, reducing the need to tap into new polyester manufacturing. And the Flyer is the first bluesign®-certified NEMO product, which means the pad has been crafted with strict safety and environmental guidelines.

It performs well too. NEMO slashed 60% of the foam (compared with traditional self-inflating foam pad manufacturing) to cut weight, using air and horizontal foam chambers to create a cozy pad with 2-inch of thickness. “I could even sleep on my side without my hips hitting the ground,” reports one Utah-based tester. It’s reasonably light—though certainly not ultralight—and packs down to roughly the size of two Nalgene bottles.

Be prepared for slow inflation time, according to some member-testers. Others report that the Flyer never seems to fully inflate on its own, so you may need to top it off with a few breaths.

For campers with large bodies (as well as those who wiggle around a lot), simply staying on the pad all night can be a challenge. Luckily, it’s a problem easily remedied by the REI Co-op AirRail Plus. Inflatable rails along the side and top of the pad add a little buffer that gently keeps you on the pad while creating a cozy, nestled environment. “[The rails were] almost like having a little cuddle pillow,” says our New Hampshire tester after a weekend trip in the White Mountains. Tradeoff: The side rails don’t inflate separately from the 1.5-inch-thick pad, so a firmer pad means firmer side rails and a softer pad means floppier rails.

The pad's top and bottom are made from 75-denier polyester, which is quite rugged for a sleeping pad. Testers didn’t have any durability issues in testing, and they never used a groundcover beneath the tent. You can use the AirRail any time outside of winter thanks to its R-value of 4.2, and it makes a great pick for high-country camping when summer nights still get a bit breezy. As an added bonus, the AirRail is one of the more affordable picks on this list—and the price doesn’t increase if you need the long version.

Caveat: Like the NEMO Flyer, the self-inflation time is very slow. Testers never could get the AirRail to fully inflate on its own, so plan on using your own hot air to fill ’er up.