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Sleeping mats

The ground pulls heat — the most common false economy.

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Buying advice

What matters here

A sleeping mat is not about comfort, it is about warmth. Over a night the ground pulls more heat out of you than the air does — a good sleeping bag on a thin mat still leaves you cold.

In the Saldo camping mat test published by test.de on 8 June 2026, ten mats were examined. The winner was the Exped Dura 5R M with "very good", followed by the Therm-a-Rest Trail Pro R. The finding that concerns us most: according to the test, you only lie comfortably from around 110 euros upward.

That is more than any mat here costs — and it belongs in the open. For three festival nights in July a mat from this range is defensible; for two weeks of autumn trekking it is not. If festivals are all you do, watch the packed size and whether the mat inflates without lung power: after a five-hour journey, a foot pump is worth more than it looks.

Gear