New thermarest

Wow! Looks extremely interesting. This looks like a great solution for those of us who like a cushy mattress but want a minimal weight. I like the way the tubes appear to run horizontally rather than vertically. It seems that would be more comfortable.

I don't want to wait until spring of 2009!

Sounds like it's still not as warm as an insulatedair core. Should be good for all but winter though.

> Sounds like it's still not as warm as an insulatedair core. Should be good for all but winter though.

That's what we review gear for. :-)

cheers

Pray tell, how thick is this air pad?

This is fantastic. Is the $150 price accurate? Does anyone know what sizes will be available? Should I stop hyperventilating and read all of the comments herein, and answer my own questions? If it's as warm as the women's 66" ProLite 3, I want one. If I can afford one of Steve Evans Carbon Fiber/Titanium ice axes, I can afford to have the new Thermarest NeoAir.

That's true Roger. The 3 times warmer than any other non-insulated pad says to me if a BA Clearview has an R of 1 then this should have an R of 3. The BA insulated Air Core has an R of 4.1. 3 is really good for the weight though.

Hi All

Clearly I should have included the whole press release rather than just the top half. OK, herewith.
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As you can see, the thickness is 2.5" and the R value 2.5.
The thickness is nice: even thicker than my Therm-a-Rest Deluxe Limited Edition (LE) at 2". The R value is lower, so winter use has yet to be field tested. The big drawback is that you have to blow it up yourself: it isn't self-inflating.

Cheers

Per these weight specs, the Neoair in size Small is the same weight as my RidgeRest of the same length and width.

Blowing it up is what I don't like about the BA mats but it all comes down to how much mileage I've put in. A 10-12 mile day and I have plenty of wind left to blow up some mattresses. After 20+ miles it starts to suck.

>>The big drawback is that you have to blow it up yourself: it isn't self-inflating.<<

When "isn't self-inflating" becomes a big drawback, or anything out of the ordinary, I do hope someone will report on it.

The price alone is enough to stop me.

However, I'm curious about the effect of all that internal structure on the ease of inflating and deflating the thing.

My Big Agnes Insulated Air Core fills reasonably easily, even though I have to blow it up manually, and is easy to deflate in the morning – just open the valve, roll over and go back to sleep until you get uncomfortable enough to wake up. By then, your wife should have breakfast ready.

Thanks Roger.
Note the 25" wide "Large" size, very unusual . I am sure that a comfy 77" long, 25" wide 1 lb 3 oz insulated mat will be very well received. And it looks like I will be able to save 10 oz (compared to my PO) with the medium size.
Franco

Bob
"The price alone is enough to stop me. "
Yeah right. Pull the other one

Why is the 25" wide large pad unusual? That's standard for their other pads. XL is 30" wide.

> Why is the 25" wide large pad unusual? That's standard for their other pads. XL is 30" wide.

I think 20" (51 cm) is the standard width for the Fast&Light series. Maybe the car caming mats are wider.

Cheers

The ProLite 4 is the only one of that series offered in large, if I remember correctly.

Combine the NeoAir with a GG ThinLight and you can achieve 3 or 4 season R-values of 3.0 to 4.0 (depending on chosen ThinLight thickness). Yeah!

"Why is the 25" unusual…"
Unusual in the context. Obviously there are wider mats out there, but I cannot think of another 2.5" thick pad that is around 1 pound and 25" wide. Can you ?
Not that it is relevant to me, but others have asked.
Franco

Same weight as a closed cell foam pad… but I'm imagining it will be approximately a million times more comfortable.

I'm sure 2.5" of air will be quite comfortable and the weight for that thickness is very good; definitely a better option than a prolite. However, I was expecting the r-value to be a little higher; a 47" ridgerest is still lighter and will give your torso more insulation. If the r-value was a little higher I'd be right on it; I'll wait and see what other companies offer as competition.

I, personally, can't imagine sleeping comfortably on a 2.5" thick, 3/4 length mat. Cushyness aside, the drop-off below the hips would be just too steep.

The medium or long version could work, and the NeoAir's weight looks comparable to that of a 3/4 length ProLite 3. Full-length mats do have their disadvantages, though, especially air mats.

Jason: As far as I can tell, the weight per size is identical to the ridgerest (http://www.thermarest.com/product_detail.aspx?pID=49&cID=2). The R-Value is very close (ridgerest = 2.6, NeoAir = 2.5).

That being said, this may fall into the category of luxury light. If you already use a closed cell mattress (ridge rest, GG NightLight, etc.) and are happy with it, the NeoAir won't save you any weight. It may add weight for couple reasons. First, you don't have the flexibility (you can cut a closed cell pad into any shape you want). Second, this may be too thick to easily combine with other stuff (sit pad, etc.) thus making you get a bigger NeoAir. For example, if the pad doesn't sit under your head, you now need 2.5 inches just to get up to the pillow stage (and more for the actual pillow).

That being said, all of this may be a small price to pay for the comfort. I've noticed that inflatable mattresses are one of the more common non-ultralight pieces of gear carried by ultralight knowledgeable hikers. The savings in bulk may also makeup for the added weight as well.

The "drop off" issue may depend on your height to some degree. I'm only 5'7" and I have a 3/4 length LuxuryLite cot (custom made)… and that's also a 2.5" drop… and it doesn't bother me at all. At 3/4 length… with the top edge of the cot under my shoulders (pillow for my head)… the bottom of edge of the cot hits right at mid-calf. It's very comfy… but of course offers zero insulation.

Also… maybe they will taper one end of the 3/4 length mat? That might make sense?

Also… I think we sometimes forget that ultralight is really more accurately described as ultra-efficient. For me… I don't sleep well on trail. I could never sleep on a foam mattress. I find it so uncomfortable that I just wouldn't sleep at all. For me… when it comes to foam mattresses… the energy I would save by carrying less weight is completely overwhelmed by the energy I would lose by not sleeping. So in my case, carrying MORE weight (i.e… an inflatable mattress) is actually MORE efficient.

I guess I was looking at the ridge rest deluxe r-value which is 3.1……that pad is much heavier and doesn't come in shorter length…….the r-values are pretty close sounds like a pretty good option then, I guess you could pair it with a 1/8" thinlight pad for winter. I don't think the 2.5 inch thickness would bother me; a 47" pad drops off for me at the knee which is perfectly fine; it would bother me at the hips. We'll see, maybe I can justify the price, maybe not; I like to use my pad unrolled for structure inside my pack; not sure if this will fit that bill or not.