Most backpackers choose an inflatable sleeping pad as the base of their sleep system. It makes sense; they’re the most comfortable option. But don’t overlook the closed-cell foam pad so quickly. They ...

Wes Siler is your guide to leading a more exciting life in the great outdoors. As Outside’s outdoor lifestyle columnist, he writes about the intersections of science, news, politics, gear, vehicles ...

In the early 1970s, two Boeing engineers used a sandwich press to put a slice of foam between two pieces of airtight fabric and invented the self-inflating sleeping pad for campers. Therm-A-Rest still ...