Klymit

The insulated version of the Static V, and a much more interesting product: R-value 4.2 for $100, which is half what most pads with that rating cost. It gets there with both reflective film and Klymalite synthetic fill, and it keeps the 75-denier polyester and the 23-inch width. The compromises are the ones you would expect at the price — 22 ounces, only two and a half inches of loft, and a flip valve you inflate by mouth.

Best for: Three-season backpacking on a real budget

A foam topper bonded over I-beam air chambers, which is a genuinely good idea: the foam takes the pressure points and the air takes the load. It is comfortable in a way that pure air pads are not. The thing to read carefully is the R-value — 2.4 is a summer number on a pad that looks and feels like a winter mattress, because the foam layer is comfort foam, not insulation. On a 40-degree campground night this will feel colder than its four inches of plush suggest.

Best for: Warm-weather car camping where comfort beats warmth

Fifty dollars, 23 inches wide, and R-value 1.3 — which is the honest reason it costs fifty dollars. There is no insulation in it at all; the V-chamber pattern reduces air movement inside the pad, which helps a little, but on cold ground this loses heat fast. What it is good at is being cheap, wide, tough (75-denier polyester) and small enough to pack. For summer, for a spare, for a guest, or stacked on top of a foam pad, it earns its place. As a three-season pad it does not.

Best for: Warm-weather trips, spare pads and guests