Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Sleeping Pad

This is a classic and very comfortable pad with vertical baffles, which some testers definitely didn’t prefer. High quality material and craftsmanship gave us a pad that held up without fray or wear after lots of testing outdoors. At 3.5 inches thick, it’s the picture of comfort that packs down to just a little bigger than a Nalgene bottle. 

This Big Agnes sleeping pad is not new but it hasn’t gone away either, as a three-season pad with I-beam construction (BA’s vertical channels running the length of the pad), and outer air chambers that keep you confident on your pad and reduce roll-off potential. 

It has a soft top and is designed to work with Big Agnes’ Sleep System sleeping bags, where the pad and bag become an integrated system, keeping your insulation on top of you and not underneath. The top and bottom are diamond rip-stop nylon, which proves light and durable, especially with its PU coating. 

Universal Attributes

Performance: 4
Anything from Big Agnes is going to be built to last, but this is a 4 out of 5 in terms of fighting for weight savings, maintaining warmth, balancing durability, and packability, coming in at under $100. PrimaLoft is laminated to the top inside of the pad. 

Design: 5
The shape is angled instead of the traditional curved mummy shape to remove excess material.

Durability: 4
It definitely felt like a durable pad, though testers felt more confidence on some of its competition.

Innovation: 4
Again, the angled material instead of the mummy shape is an innovation you won’t find in every pad.

Features: 3 
The BA Air Core offers good insulation for the total weight of the pad.

Universal Tests

Comfort test: Extremely comfortable compared to every other pad, as long as the vertical baffles don’t bother you – it’s totally personal preference.

Weighted overnight test: No leakage

Durability test: This pad in particular proves quite durable. 

Re-pack test: Not a problem…deflates relatively quickly with a little body weight and folds and rolls back into its provided pouch. 

Inflation speed test: 45 blows to fully inflate, give or take 15. 

Packed size test: This BA sleeping pad packs up to about the size of a coffee can, the company says, although it’s more like a tall coffee can. Either way, it’s a small and lightweight package that you’ll find worth its weight in Z’s.