Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe Camp Sleeping Pad Review

Bottom Line

The top half-dozen picks on our list of the best camping mattresses are all super-comfortable, but the Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe Camp is the thickest of the bunch. You can argue it’s the most comfortable, too. Our best night of sleep this spring came while testing the Captain Comfort down by White Sands National Park. 

The Captain Deluxe is a whopping 5 inches thick. This means it’s filled with more cushy foam than the other overstuffed sleeping pads on our list. After months of side-by-side comfort tests, this is one of the three camping mattresses whose comfort stood out the most. 

Thanks to an extra-thick air bladder filled with open-cell foam, the Big Agnes also has an obscene R-value of 8.3 to 9.9. If camping in below-zero temperatures is your idea of Type II fun, you’re in luck. 

As you might imagine, this mattress’s overindulgent build makes it bulkier to store and transport. Plus, you’ll have to roll it twice to squeeze it down tight enough to stuff it in its included storage sack. But comfort matters most in the campground, and the Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe may be the most comfortable camping mattress we’ve tested and reviewed.

Comfort

If you’re looking for the most luxurious sleeping pad for the campground, the Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe is on our short list. 

Over the years, we’ve found a strong correlation between comfort and the thickness of a camping mattress. Most of the luxury camping mattresses we recommend are 4 inches thick. The Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe is 5 inches thick. In a category of excesses, that extra inch makes a difference in comfort.

During our tests, we enjoyed sinking into Captain Comfort Deluxe at the end of the day. Its extra bit of foam makes for a soft but supportive sleeping surface that we found comfortable sleeping on our stomachs, backs, and sides. We have used the ExPed MegaPad for years but some testers have converted to the Big Agnes Comfort Deluxe.

It’s not head and shoulders above the competition in the comfort department. Some campers will prefer the soft, all-foam feel of the Hest Foamy mattress. But the Captain Comfort Deluxe is arguably the most comfortable self-inflating mattress we tested, thanks to its extra-thick foam core.

Ease of Use

The Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe was similar to the other self-inflating camping mattresses we tested in terms of ease of use. We timed how long it took to inflate, deflate, and pack up the Captain Comfort. Those numbers were in line with most of the camping mattresses on our list.

Because it’s thicker than other camping mattresses, the Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe needs to absorb more air to fully self-inflate. Having two valves (rather than one) helps offset this disadvantage. Pull out the orange tabs and wait 10 minutes. We did need to top it off with air with the included pump sack, which sometimes popped off the inflation valve if we rolled it too quickly. 

It takes an extra minute to deflate this extra-thick camping mattress. The key is to roll it from the bottom up with the valves open to push out air. Then plug the valves, unroll it, fold it in half, and roll it up again from the bottom to the top. We found that rolling it twice squeezed out enough air to wrangle it back into its stuff sack. The sack is side-loading, which gives you a little more room to stuff this beast where it belongs. 

As with most self-inflatable sleeping pads, you should unpack the Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe at least a day before your camping trip to allow its foam to decompress. That is, lay it out flat at home, open the two (orange) intake valves, and let it sit for 24 hours. This lets the foam recover from its factory packing, so it’s primed to suck in air at the campground. Likewise, we recommend rolling it up twice — folded in half the second time — to make it easier to pack up.

Warmth

Like most of the camping mattresses we recommend, the Captain Comfort Deluxe has an obscenely high R-value: 8.3 (smallest size) to 9.9 (largest size). This is important if you’re pitching a tent on the tundra. But it’s largely irrelevant to the average weekend warrior.

There are two important takeaways with the Captain Comfort’s R-value. One, you can sleep safely in extreme cold on this mattress (with the appropriate sleeping bag and layering). As a rule of thumb, any sleeping pad with an R-value of 5.5 or higher is appropriate for “extreme cold,” or below zero (Farenheight) temperatures. If you’re the rare camper heading out when it’s well below zero, the Captain Comfort Deluxe is a good choice for you.

You can also sleep comfortably on the Captain Comfort in summer, in spite of its high R-value. There’s some comfort advantage in choosing a camping mattress with a low R-value (1 to 2) for summer camping, especially if you sleep warm. However, a mattress with a high R-value — like the Captain Comfort Deluxe Camp — does not warm you up (as “warmth” suggests). 

R-value does not mean “warmth.” It means thermal resistance. Or, how an insulating layer slows the transfer of heat from a warm surface (your body) to a colder surface (the ground). Your body is the heat source, not the mattress itself. So, you’ll lose less body heat — not add more heat — by sleeping on a pad with a high R-value. 

In short, the Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe is appropriate for four-season camping, not only in bitterly cold conditions.

Packed Size

As you might imagine, the thickest sleeping pad we tested and reviewed is somewhat bulky to store at home or transport in your vehicle. We tested the smallest version of Big Agnes’s most comfortable sleeping pad (30 x 78 inches), which packed down to 17 x 11 inches (diameter). It’s roughly the packed size of an average sleeping bag.

As mentioned above, you need to roll this self-inflating mattress twice to compress it enough to fit in its storage sack. It helps that the stuff sack has a large side opening (versus a narrower top opening) to fit the mattress in. The Captain Comfort’s duffel-shaped storage sack has a handle that makes it easy to carry from your vehicle to your tent pad. 

Packed size matters more for backpacking than car camping. It’s a lot easier to carry your “bed” in a vehicle than on your back. That said, you may need to consider the packed dimensions of the Captain Comfort Deluxe if you drive a sub-compact or lack closet space in your apartment.

Should You Buy the Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe Camp sleeping pad?

If your goal is to buy the thickest camping mattress on the market, the Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe Camp is your choice. It’s an inch thicker than most luxury camp mattresses, which arguably makes it more comfortable than the competition, too. On a list with so many super-comfortable choices, this one’s at least in the top three, if not the most comfortable mattress we tested and reviewed. If you camp in extreme cold, the Captain’s high R-value also gives it a leg up on most sleeping pads.

The Captain Comfort Deluxe performed similarly to other camping mattresses in our evaluation of ease of use, warmth, and packed size. But we place the most weight on comfort when we’re car camping. If that’s also what’s most important to you, we think you’ll like the Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe Camp.

What Other Camping Mattresses Should You Consider?

If the Captain Comfort isn’t in your wheelhouse, consider some alternatives from our camping mattresses guide: 

Sea to Summit Comfort Deluxe Review: If the Captain Comfort Deluxe isn’t the most comfortable self-inflating mattress we tested, it’s the Sea to Summit Comfort Deluxe. 

ExPed MegaMat Review: For the classic campground comfort choice, check out the pioneer of self-inflated luxury camping mattresses — the MegaMat. 

NEMO Roamer Double Review: Are you looking for copious comfort for two? The Roamer Double is extra-thick, super-soft, and sized up for two people or a camper and a pet.