Campman Outdoor Gear & Apparel

You know that moment on night three of a big route when you wake up at 2 a.m. and can't tell if you're cold because of your bag or cold because your pad has been slowly losing the battle against frozen ground all night? That's the moment a sleeping pad either earns its place in your kit or gets left at home.

The NEMO Eclipse dropped in early 2026, and the Exped Ultra is arguably the most beloved in the backcountry. Both are warm, both are packable, and both land close enough in price to make the decision genuinely difficult. Here's how they compare.

Comfort

The NEMO Eclipse is the most comfort-forward pad NEMO has ever built. At 4 inches thick, it's the tallest air pad in their lineup, with longitudinal Spaceframe baffles that use low-stretch trusses to eliminate springiness and distribute weight evenly. The surface is subtly contoured, creating a cradle effect that keeps you centered through the night. Side sleepers especially will notice the difference — hip and shoulder pressure that would wake you up on a thinner pad simply doesn't happen here.

The Exped Ultra 6.5R comes in at 3.5 inches thick with a horizontal baffle construction and raised Comfort Cradle side rails that act as a lateral buffer. It's a flatter, more uniform sleep surface — excellent for back sleepers who prefer a stable platform. Both pads are genuinely comfortable, but the Eclipse's extra loft gives it the edge for pressure-point sleepers.

The Eclipse is also quieter than the Ultra, which greatly improves a comfier backcountry sleeping experience.

Advantage: NEMO Eclipse

Versatility

The Eclipse comes in three rectangular sizes (Regular, Regular Wide, Long Wide) and a single R-Value, which covers most body types and sleep styles. The Exped Ultra 6.5R goes further — six configurations total, with mummy and rectangle shapes in medium, medium-wide, and long-wide, plus a duo option for shared tent footprints on ski traverses or basecamp trips. Plus, the Ultra is available in multiple R-values for winter and 3-season use. That lineup depth gives the Exped a real advantage for people with specific needs, and the mummy shape is a better fit for tight single-person alpine tents.

Advantage: Exped Ultra

Inflation

Both pads include pump bags that keep moisture out of the interior — important for long-term insulation performance. NEMO's Vortex pump sack inflates the Eclipse in about 5–6 fills, and the Laylow valve sits flush with the pad surface for easy micro-adjustments without snagging your sleeping bag. The Exped's Schnozzel Pumpbag doubles as a waterproof compression sack, which is a genuine bonus at the end of a cold night. Its FlatValve system uses separate IN and OUT ports — slightly more intuitive than a single valve, especially with gloves on.

Advantage: Draw — NEMO is faster to inflate; Exped's pump bag pulls double duty.

R-Value

The Eclipse uses two suspended layers of NEMO's Thermal Mirror reflective film inside each Spaceframe baffle to hit its R-6.2 rating — warmer than NEMO's own Tensor All-Season (R-5.4) and solidly in four-season territory. The Exped Ultra 6.5R uses SynMat Plus Technology, pairing recycled Texpedloft synthetic microfiber with reflective foil layers for an R-6.5 rating. The hybrid construction is also noticeably quieter than pure foil designs, which matters when you're sharing a small tent. If you're regularly camping in single-digit temps or on snow, that extra insulation headroom is worth having.

Advantage: Exped Ultra 6.5R

Weight

Rectangle-to-rectangle, these pads are essentially tied — the Eclipse Regular comes in at 1 lb 0 oz, the Exped Medium Rectangle at 1 lb 0.4 oz. Where the Exped separates itself is in the mummy configuration: the medium mummy weighs just 12 oz, making it one of the lightest ways to get this level of warmth into the mountains. The Eclipse is rectangular only, so if you're willing to sleep in a mummy shape, the Exped has a real weight advantage.

Advantage: Exped Ultra 6.5R — dead heat on rectangles, clear win in the mummy.

Packed Size

The Eclipse rolls down to roughly 9.5" x 4.5" — about the size of a tall Nalgene. Impressive for a 4-inch pad. The Exped packs down slightly smaller at approximately 9" x 4" in the medium rectangle, and smaller still in the mummy. When you're already carrying crampons, an ice axe, and a bivy, every inch counts. Neither pad will dominate your pack, but the Exped has the edge when space is tight.

Advantage: Exped Ultra 6.5R

Conclusion

These are two of the best all-season sleeping pads available right now, and the right choice comes down to what you're optimizing for.

If comfort is the priority — if you're a side sleeper, if long days leave your hips and shoulders talking, or if you just want to feel genuinely rested in the backcountry — the NEMO Eclipse is the move. The 4-inch loft and contoured baffles are hard to beat at this weight class, and at $160 it's the better value for three-season-plus backpackers.

If you're pushing into serious cold — ski traverses, shoulder-season alpine objectives, or anywhere the temps regularly hit single digits — the Exped Ultra is the smarter investment. The higher R-value ceiling, quieter insulation, mummy option, and lifetime warranty make it the right tool for the job. It's $200, but it earns it.

NEMO Eclipse All-Season Sleeping Pad

Exped Ultra 6.5R Sleeping Pad

About the Author

Derek Newman

Born in the Wasatch, Derek has had an affinity for mountain life since day one. He was on skis the year he learned to walk, and as a high school graduation present he gifted himself rock climbing lessons. Nearly two decades later, Derek spends most of his time climbing up and/or skiing down most of the mountains around Salt Lake City, and he's traveled around the world multiple times for the sole purpose of peak exploration. When he isn't a man about camp, he's working in Campman's content marketing crew writing up blogs about backcountry skiing or rock climbing as well as describing products that he's used personally. He's climbed in most climbing shoes, toured on most backcountry skis, and ridden the resort on skis, snowboards, and even some evac sleds.