Nemo Tensor Ultralight Sleeping Pad

Product Information

I owe apologies to tentmates awoken by the irritating noise emanating from my pad as I tossed and turned. Some pads are that noisy! Two Layers of Thermal Film Insulation– Thermal Film Insulation is lightweight and quieter than the competition. You’ll find the NEMO Tensor 20R in hot competition with many pads, including self-inflating pads and air pads, but we found it’s unique and dialed-in features top notch, while also being competitively priced. In short: The NEMO Tensor Ultralight Insulated Sleeping Pad proved to be both comfortable and warm, but the most obvious advantage was quietness. NEMO’s unique Spaceframe baffles allow suspension of two layers of an aluminized film within the air space of the pad, separating them from body movement. It provides silent nights and excellent support. NEMO Tensor Sleeping Pad Construction

The architecture of the design also helps to protect elbows and hips from poking through to the ground. As a founding member of the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) Climate Action Corps, NEMO has set aggressive goals for making more climate-friendly materials choices. The Tensor now uses Bluesign-approved, 100% recycled, luxury polyester on the top and bottom. In creating such a lightweight monster insulator, Nemo did have to cut some corners — namely in the comfort and useability departments. Warmth and an ultralight profile are prioritized here. The NEMO proprietary Spaceframe™ baffle construction offers quiet, supportive comfort along with excellent stability and weight distribution. The low-stretch, die-cut trusses help to eliminate ‘springiness’ meaning that you feel solidly settled when laying down on the pad and avoid the “waterbed” feeling that you get with a lot of pads.A small hole at the top of the pad allowed me to clip it to a sling in case the pad slipped from under me and flew away in the breeze. This also serves as an easy way to hang the pad up to dry if it gets wet. That was a simple added bonus that I haven’t seen on other pads. Standard length for Regular-sized sleeping pads. The Larges are longer, the Shorts shorter (obviously).

About the size of a standard Nalgene bottle. Really, really small. More on sleeping pad size in our Guide. From 2020, there is a new industry standard for measuring the R-value (level of insulation) of sleeping mats – ASTM F3340-18. This new standard is the sleeping mat equivalent to the EN rating for sleeping bags.

Value

The Tensor Insulated is an all-season sleeping mat with a focus on a silent night sleep. This particular model is the regular wide version, so it's brilliant for those wanting extra wriggle room. The Nemo Tensor sleeping pad mixed an ultralight carry with a well-insulated, comfortable performance. It is a great pad for hiking or camping during cooler climates and is reasonably priced for a product from one of the best camping brands. Finally, it comes with a lifetime guarantee so you can expect to get a lifetime of use from it. Metalized film in sleeping pads isn’t new. The effective, compact, light solution minimizes heat loss but usually means dealing with a loud, crinkly pad. I was told never to settle on three things in life: my mate, my career, and my mattress. Granted my parents told me the first two and a mattress salesman told me the third, but I still find guidance in those words today. I feel like I’ve got the first two dialed in, but the “perfect” sleeping pad eludes me to this day.

An air pad with twist and pull valve usually takes this many breaths to inflate. You’ll be huffing and puffing. After reinflation, I easily adjusted pressure in small increments. Accessing the adjuster without deflating the pad is a two-handed operation, a slight inconvenience compared to other valve designs. Through thermal modeling, NEMO engineers figured out how to interlace a piece of plastic TPU film throughout the pad to choke off the convective currents. (Previously, NEMO used aluminized film.) Its stand-out feature is its highly impressive 8.5 R-value, which makes the Extreme the warmest mat on the market and the mat with the best warmth-to-weight ratio. The regular mat, which weighs just 507g, outperforms other mats of a similar weight, some with R-values of less than 4, putting into perspective just how light and warm this mat is.

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You can now directly compare the R-value of mats rated using the ASTM F3340-18 with confidence that is a fair and accurate comparison between mats. In simple terms, the higher the R-value, the warmer the mat.