CrazyMat (Neo Air Booster)

[Franco Darioli]

This is an idea I had in mind for some time so took the opportunity to make it for my end of season two nights in the Alps.


It is meant to be a booster/safety net for something like the Neo Air in the same way some use a thin mat, but lighter and smaller (folded) than a blue mat.

I make no claims whatsoever about R rating , but maybe worth a try.
I have used that for a couple of nights on my lawn at around 8-10c, so it was warm then.
The two nights in the bush had minimum temps at about -5 c the first and around 0 the second however it felt about the same as I was on iced snow and the second night was windy (not that it should affect the mat but temp inside the tent)
Sleep system : Crazy Mat/Neo Air (66")/WM Ultralite
Note : Tyvek face on floor, blue tiles against Neo Air bottom
First night in the Moment, second night in the Scarp.

It is made with "tiles" cut from a blue foam mat glued on a piece of Tyvek
135 g , 58" long/20" wide/0.39" high open
20" long, 4" wide, 3" high folded

The "straps" are unnecessary since it stays "glued" to the Neo and two of the Velcro strips peeled off anyway.

the blue mat is 225 g

the Z Lite Short is 290g, 20x4x5.5"
Franco

[Ross Bleakney]

Very clever. If I understand you correctly, the NeoAir goes above the Crazy Mat. That is interesting, in that, generally speaking, you get better warmth out of a NeoAir/foam combination by putting the foam on top. However, in the winter, when camping on ice or snow, I think foam on the bottom makes a lot of sense. In fact, it might make the most sense in the spring, when you might camp on melting snow, but the ambient temperature might be quite a bit warmer. Not only would this reduce the heat transfer down to the ground, but it might allow (relatively) warmer air to flow in through the sides.

For cold weather use, I've though about a foam envelope. Basically, it would encapsulate an entire NeoAir. I'm not sure how best to make it, though. I want it to be easy to roll, and easy to wrap around a NeoAir (or easy to insert the NeoAir into it). Incorporating something like this on the bottom would certainly lessen the bulk.

[Franco Darioli]

Ross
My main criteria was packet size and to be able to stick to the Neo.
As I found out it seems to grab the Neo without the "straps" and when folded is the same size of the Z Lite small but half as high.
How it actually works as far as insulation is incidental to the above.
Removing the "straps' has taken the weight down to 4 oz.
This is what it looks like upside down

Franco

[todd]

Ross,

A few years back Sgt. Rock made a CCF "envelope" as you describe. Search his site or hammockforums.net.

I think he use contact cement to create the envelope from 2 CCF pads.

Todd

[Chris H]

Neat idea, Franco!

I think I'd like to give this a try as something to back up my BAIAC/Prolite.

I wonder if there would be any benefit of using small sections of Reflectix between the foam sections. It would raise the weight for sure, but might give a small boost with the lack of foam sections.

C

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