How to Shorten Your Sleeping Pad in 6 Steps

Why Risk It?

Why should you shorten your inflatable sleeping pad? I don’t have a good answer for this. I just don’t want or need an extra 2 feet of sleeping pad to inflate and carry with me.

Disclaimer: if you do this, you will void your warranty, and if you mess it up, you have a big useless lump of fabric

Alright, you’ve done your research and you’ve found that the “perfect pad” just doesn’t exist. If you’re like me, an extremely small back-sleeper and cold at night, you will likely encounter the following struggles finding the perfect sleeping pad: its too narrow, so your arms flop off the sides; it’s far longer than necessary; or, it’s not warm enough. Where is the Short, Wide r>5 sleeping pad?

I don’t think it exists. So, here’s how I took matters into my own hands, in 6 easy steps.

1. Measure

First, fully inflate that expensive sleeping pad of yours, grab a sharpie, lay down on it, and lightly mark which baffle your heels come to.

Count 2 baffles down from your mark, and make another mark. In the event of a mistake, allotting extra room allows for you to try again.

2. Cut

Make a straight cut with scissors just short of the third baffle line from your heel mark. Now, you should have 2 pieces of sleeping pad. Your good one, and the scrap end piece.

3. Practice Steps 4 and 5

On the bit of scrap sleeping pad, practice steps 4 and 5.

4. Trim the Insulation

Fold back the outer layers (top and bottom) of the sleeping pad, exposing as much of the insulation as you can. Next, if you have a Thermarest NeoAir, you will find foil and fabric, remove as much of it with your scissors as you can, without cutting into the next baffle. If you have a Nemo Tensor, you will also find a thin filament of plastic in addition to the foil and fabric; Keep this plastic layer.

5. Heat Seal (Iron)

Remove any water from your household iron so it has no opportunity to steam. Then, plug your iron in and crank the heat as high as it can go. While the iron warms, unfold the top and bottom layer of the mat and ensure it lies perfectly flat on an iron safe surface, face up. Once the iron is hot, lightly tap the middle of the pad, pulling the iron off the edge (I do not recommend running it along the edge initially, as I have found it makes creases). Repeat until the entire edge has been tamped down. Once this is done, you can freely run the iron across the edge to ensure a good heat seal, working the corners especially.

6. Inspect and Test

Once completed you should have a seal that looks very similar, if not identical, to the other edges of the sleeping pad. To test the quality of the seal, fully inflate the pad and place weights on it overnight.

How far will you go to shave some weight?

Apparently, I’ll go as far as to sacrifice the longevity of my gear, while refusing to sacrifice my quality of sleep. This isn’t for everybody, but it is for me.

Bonus goat fact: the trimmed Thermarest NeoAir Xtherm Max Large is still heavier than the Xtherm long mummy style.

Go nuts!

-A Nameless Mountain Goat