Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Pads

The Neoair arrived, and I can guarantee that it is Sandman approved! I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the trail. Back in the day I acquired an original 1.5" thick, short Thermarest, but when I became enlightened, I decided that even though it was comfortable to sleep on the 26 oz weight penalty was too much. So I upgraded to a short, 1" thick Prolite when they came out. Alas, just as the pad was 1/3 less, so was my sleep. But it was lighter! Then I went to the lighter Z-Rest…even less sleep. But that was ok 'cause it was lighter, right? Next up was the GG Nightlite, the lightest of all. Also the worst for getting a good night's sleep. So now I've come full circle and more than ready to accept a 5 oz weight penalty over the Nightlite for some sound sleep. Heck, at 9 oz it's still less than the other options.

Pros: packs small, light weight, inflates to 2.5" (i.e., deep sleep).

Cons: for some, slight crinkly noise; can't be used as a frame pad for frameless packs; could prove to be fragile.

Monty,
What is it about the Neoair that makes it where you can't use it in a frameless pack?
Jim

None of the inflatables have much rigidity. Closed cell foam doesn't do much but is certainly more rigid than air.

An underinflated neoair will work fine flat against the back panel to provide a little padding.

Thanks, Nia:
I was hoping I could use the one I've ordered in my ULA Conduit and Amp. I'd hate to have to rig something else up as a frame.
Jim

James,
I picked up my NeoAir yesterday so I haven't tested it yet as frame support in my pack but I think there are 2 key reasons why I won't be using it in that capacity:
1. The material is thin (seems fragile to me)and would be susceptible to puncture as opposed to being rolled and stored away.
2. To get any useful rigidity it would have to be left partially inflated and several inches thick, like 3 inches or more. This would consume pack space and push the center of gravity further from your body.

I'm wondering how to solve this myself and thinkng a GG Sitlite pad (1.5 oz) may provide adequate back padding and enough frame support for a light load. Anyone else use a GG Sitlite pad as frame support?

Thanks for the thoughts. I thought the new ProLite pads looked good for an 11 oz small, but it seems that the NeoAir will be much more comfortable. I wasn't even disappointed on the comfort of my old Thermarests, but even more comfy will be a bonus. My wife will definitely steal the first one if there's that much of a difference.

Cheers.
Matt

Mark,

The Sitlight is essentially a single section of the GG Nightlight torso pad which I use as a back panel in my ULA pack. The dimensions of the Sitlight are perfect but I'm not sure that the thickness would provide the kind of rigidity needed for this application. On the upswing, the pad is only $5 so you can probably afford to test the theory. I'm going to say 70/30% that it would work for loads under 25 lbs.

Woohoo! Just got my shipping notice from REI!

Gotta love the $14 total I paid with the 20% off any my dividend. :)

7 regulars at the berkeley REI, plus the display model if anyone is still looking for these.

It's 4:20 pm in Berkeley and REI only has a demo left. I tried it out and think the NeoAir will work fine for me. It's strange how little air it takes to be comfortable.

I've heard lots of comments to the Neoair is more comfortable than the z-rest, nightlight, etc., but then again, so is sleeping on hay. For side sleepers, how does the NeoAir compare to the BA Aircore? Is it able to support hips and shoulders while still remaining soft?

Hmm, at 2:30 they were in a box on the floor under the z-rest display.

James, Nia, Mark: my hesitation about using the Neo as a frame pad results from its apparent fragility. The material is a very lightweight ripstop nylon, much thinner that the ripstop used on the Prolite. Now, I have used the (uninflated) Prolite as a frame pad, but it has a substantial amount of foam inside, and when folded, provides a fair amount of structual integrity, though not as much as a Z-lite or Nightlite. There's nothing to the Neo, so it would be like using a rainjacket unless it were partially inflated, and even then it would provide little support IMHO.

What I have in mind to overcome this is to use a piece of the corrugated plastic material commonly used for real estate and campaign signs. A cut down piece for my Whisper weighs 60 gm. However, I may not even have to resort to this because of the way I stowe everything pretty tight in the pack.

My previous pad was an insulated aircore. I switched to the IAC after having to many restless nights on a nightlight.

Keep in mind I like a firm matress. While it's possible to let quite a bit of air out and not have my hips touch the ground there is a limit. If you like a really soft mattress you won't be able to match it and not hit the ground. The IAC has the same problem.

A fully inflated neoair has minimal deflection around my hips and shoulder. Just enough to get a comfortable position, but no more.

My initial "show room" floor test result is that the neoair is equally as supportive and more comfortable due to the more numerous horizontal baffles. It's hard to get all body parts on the same level with the IACs large dips between tubes when lying on my side. The neoair is effectively flat, so that's not a problem.

In terms of comfort it is a small improvement over the IAC. But if you really struggle on your side with the IAC the neoair is not likely to solve your problems. It's still the same air support.

Nathan – I will answer that question as soon as I can. :)

I can only sleep on my side (or some slight variation where my side is involved), and I had a BA Air Core that I loved. I've already parted with it in the gear swap, so there's no going back.

Monty. The neoair will provide basically no support, but I don't believe that any pads do much either. BPL has a previous test supporting this. For me either my frameless pack is fine (weights under 20lbs) or I need a real frame for heavier weights.

What the neoair, slightly inflated, or foam mat provides is some padding against my back.

As far as fragility I think that is over blown (so to speak). I inflated the neoair about half full. Than pressed down with my finger nail until it touched the ground. No wholes. This is a much sharper point than anything I'll store next to it, which are clothes and a food bag.

Knives, tent stakes, ice axes, machetes, etc. should probably not be packed directly against an air pad of any sort and the neoair is no exception.

I think it's better to use a pack with a frame than to carry an extra pad that's just for the pack frame. But that's just MHO.

You were right! The clerk I was talking to was rearanging msttress stock and had a box blocking the NeoAir shelf. He told me they were out. In fact, there are 7. Make that 6,(tee hee) as of 6:08 pm.

You can't get good help these days.

Mine showed up today…nice small packable size and light, though 3/4 oz over advertised weight for regular (72×20)! Will be messing around with it this weekend!

Thanks for the update Bill – that means mine will be here Monday or Tuesday. Hopefully mine is lighter than yours. ;)

can we get some pictures up from anyone who has received theirs already?

Here are a few, hot off the camera.

NeoAir folded for packing.

Twenty Eight breaths later.

NeoAir edge view.

Denis,

Is the fabric the same at top and bottom? Can the lime green side go on the bottom if I get tired of squinting at the glow?

Thanks for the pics Denis.

One thing I wonder about the NeoAir is whether my arms will fall off the side.

I currently have an Ether Thermo which has a rather neat feature… the dip between the outer-most tubes on either side of my body helps to keep my arms in place. If it was completely flat I suspect my arms would slip off the edge (as they used to with my original thermarest pad).

Anyone else have this problem who has tried the NeoAir?

Dave,
The bottom of the NeoAir is a silver reflective material – I'm thinking it's part of the design to keep the cold from rising upwards.

The fabrics are similarly "tacky" and would work either side up.