Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Pads

>>Bill – what day did you order yours?<<

Hi Dan, it was on or about March 13. I'm at work now and don't have access to my home email order confirmation.

it's in! as soon as I get done with my chemistry lab i'll pick it up, weigh it, test it out, and take some pictures. first field test set for the 17th to the 19th at the olympics national park. : )

"first field test set for the 17th to the 19th at the olympics national park."

That's too long to wait! You must have a backyard, a deck, a fire escape, a roof, an alley, somewhere… :-)

Bill – I ordered on the 15th, so hopefully mine isn't too far behind. With my luck it'll be another month though.

I was down at the Seattle REI this afternoon and picked up a Neo Air size Regular. They had a total of 3 Regulars. 2 Regulars in the package (on the floor), of which I bought one, plus the demo one that was inflated. Not sure if they had any more in the back.

Didn't see any small or other sizes, just the regular.

Dan

The small size that I ordered over the weekend arrived at the Redmond REI store today so I picked it up on the way home from work. My postal scale says it weighs 9.1 oz, (advertised weight-9.0), and it took about 22 puffs to inflate. With just limited testing I already have no doubt that it will be more comfortable than the GG Nightlight torso pad that I've been using but that's a pretty low bar. I agree with another comment about the NeoAir having good side-to-side stability.

"That's too long to wait! You must have a backyard, a deck, a fire escape, a roof, an alley, somewhere… :-)"

Maybe I'll get a night on it this weekend, or Thursday night since I don't have any college courses first thing Friday morning… I'd have to clean up the dog messes my dad has in his yard if I'm going to pitch a tarp and sleep out in his yard. I'm really stoked to use it, just after laying on it in the house after i quarantined the cats away. It's comfortable.

but here is my preliminary look at it.
http://rooinater.blogspot.com

depends on which weight spec you look at. via the grams measurement (260grams which is really 9.17 ouces) it's under weight on mine by 4 grams and .05 oz over via an ounces measurement at 9.05 oz.

My size regular neo air is almost 1 oz over spec. 14.8 oz :(

I'm dying to see if the incremental weight savings on these are worth the doubling of cost. Although with 5 pages of "it's coming, it's coming", I fear everyone is too emotionally invested to tell the truth.

Backcountry.com has 4 of the smalls and 18 of the regulars in stock. Free shipping and no tax (outside Utah.) Not 20% off, but they've got them.

I'm not emotionally invested enough to not tell the truth, hence why i bought it from REI. If it doesn't work to what i want it to it will get returned. Initial weights before unsealing the aircap was 9.05oz, 256g, after multiple inflations the weight measures 9.1oz, 258g.

"My size regular neo air is almost 1 oz over spec. 14.8 oz :("

Actually that's not far off from spec. No one took the time to look at the metric weights and convert them. 410g which is 14.5 ounces. With production variance in actual amount of fabric and their applied nonslip coating… 0.3oz is not far off.

converted measurements from grams for AVERAGE weights…
small is 260g which is 9.17 oz
medium is 370g which is 13.05 oz
regular is 410g which is 14.45 oz
large is 550g which is 19.4 oz

" I fear everyone is too emotionally invested to tell the truth."
Very few purchases are made logically, regardless if we realise that or not , we buy emotionally.

Jared , you have left 2g of DNA in there…

I have seen one comment about some "emergency blanket" type noises from the mat.
Comments ?
Franco

"Very few purchases are made logically, regardless if we realise that or not , we buy emotionally."

Actually there's pretty conclusive proof that very little of what we do is logical.

In any case I'm replacing an IAC and saving about 8 oz and I believe with the horizontal baffles I'll be getting a more comfortable nights rest. Is that worth it? I have the money and I like it. So for me, yes.

"I have seen one comment about some "emergency blanket" type noises from the mat.
Comments ?
Franco

When it was filled firm i don't recall hearing any crumpling noise during the time i was napping on it. I can't just leave it out or my cats will turn it into a very expensive cat toy. When it's deflated or during deflation i definitely heard an emergency blanket crumpling sound and during inflation. I'll try to pay attention to it if I get out to camp in my backyard Thursday night or this weekend. It's supposed to get down to 37 degrees Thursday, that will test the supposed warmth a little. I hate loud crinkly noises when I sleep which is also why I quit using the BPL inflatable plastic pillows.

my purchase was emotional and logical, but that doesn't affect my opinion or reviewing it. I sleep like crap on foam mattress and especially on my z-rest. By purchasing at REI and only paying $38… I can return it if it doesn't work out, and it's a minimal initial investment if I like it and get better sleep.

The packed size of the neoairs is really another interesting aspect for me (read: family gear in my pack). Could anyone (read: Jared) post a pic of the packed NeoAir along with another common item. How am I going to justify (read: pay) for more than 1?

Thanks, (read: Cheers!)
Matt

"By purchasing at REI and only paying $38…"

There's that logic thing again. Of course you could have received a check for your dividend so you're not actually paying $38. Your opportunity cost is the retail price.

No offense intended Jared, I studied this stuff in college so I find it interesting. Of course I make the same sorts of justifications too.

But mostly I just use the "I want it" justification.

loosely repackaged next to a nalgene bottle. from the factory it nearly fit in the mount of the bottle, but not quite it needed to shrink several mm to do that.

initial pic directly out of the box.

i posted several pics on my blog of the small along with a few initial opinions.

rooinater.blogspot.com

the compact size is the other reason i wanted one. Half my pack volume is consumed by my zrest… my goal is to be in a modified Ion pack by summers end (side and back stretch mesh added) and the zrest wasn’t cutting it.

What about someone's comparison between the NeoAir and ProLite? Someone is going to have both

Here is a short NeoAir video from Backpacker mag.

Here’s another video on youtube… in czech, so not very useful to listen to (unless you speak czech!). But it at least shows you how small the pad rolls up.

"There's that logic thing again. Of course you could have received a check for your dividend so you're not actually paying $38. Your opportunity cost is the retail price.

No offense intended Jared, I studied this stuff in college so I find it interesting. Of course I make the same sorts of justifications too."

no offense taken

99% of my dividend was not procured by me, i don't buy full price at REI except small medical supplies and maybe one or 2 books and once and a blue moon a $6 green trails map. My girlfriend and dad do all of their purchasing through my membership and they don't shop for sales like I do, so they accumulate my dividend towards buying new gear. Yes, I could get a check, but then it wouldn't go towards the backpacking gear that I want to replace this season. Especially since there is not a lot of big purchases I would buy from REI anyhow. Yes i know all that lovely economics mumbo jumbo, I've taken several of those courses and will be taking another next quarter. still got 20% off before applying the dividend (which i didn't accure myself anyhow so it's free to me)

I impulse purchased a regular NeoAir yesterday. Went in to a local store to try out sleeping bags, and that was the demo mat. I originally decided not to get one, after hearing about them, but changed my mind after playing with it in person.

Mine weighed 13.8 oz, for the record.

Mine is 14.45 after I took out the paper documents that came with it.

I have a prolite small and the neoair regular. From the limited tests I have done, I am sure that neo will be fare more comfortable for the 3 oz. If it is not inflated all the way it does have a sound like an emergancy blanket. It is not slippery like my prolite and I feel that it will "stick to my tarptent better because of this.