Neo Air Small

As long as you like to use a 3/4 mat, you will be fine. It will work perfect for your application.

if it were me…yes you'll be fine.

Yes

Be careful with the small. I tried one at first but the dropoff is significant enough to cause knee and lower back pain if you sleep on your stomach or back.

By dropoff… do you mean the drop from the end of the pad to the ground? As in, my booty falling off?

I am 5"10" so I figured I would be covered between the 47" of pad and the pack under my legs/feet would keep me off the ground… makes sense to me

No, I mean as in your legs. The pack won't come anywhere close to making up the 2.5 inches between the Neo and the ground. You wind up sleeping with your knees bent at a bad angle due to lack of support under the lower legs. After a couple of trips waking up with sore knees and a sore back I sold the small and got a regular. I'm 5'8 for comparative purposes.

ahhhh… I get what you are saying! Thank you!

Okay, So the medium at 66" weighs 13 oz. but the regular at 72" weighs only 1 more ounce? If I was going to go with the medium, then why not just get the regular and not even have to use the bag under the feet…. it's only a 1 ounce penalty… hmm.

…

The drop off is a key reason why I returned my NeoAir. I intially had one torso-sized, then got a large. Then I realized that for the size I needed to avoid discomfort in my back I could have two or more CCF pads which had less drop off, were lighter, and were warmer. Until the NeoAir tapers in thickness to correct for the drop, I'll pass on this innovation.

Yes, you should be fine. My NeoAir small was used in the way you are intending, in a TT Rainbow, and I was okay down into the high teens. At that temp, I could’ve used my GG 1/8″ nitelite, but I wasn’t about to freeze to death either.

I sleep on my stomach, and have not had back pain issues. Perhaps being 2″ taller than Chris means my legs hang off in a better spot, maybe it’s torso length, or something else. For me, it ends just above my knee. If it was 1″ longer, it’d be perfect.

At some point, when I’m rich, I’ll buy a medium, and trim it to 50″ (to be safe) via the Steve Evans Method

I'll be the dissenting voice and say "maybe."

Depends on how warm you like or need to sleep.

Obviously, several people feel like it's plenty warm for those conditions. Personally, I froze at around 40*F, a couple nights in the mid-high 30s. As I've mentioned in other threads, Richard Nisley's work and posts on this site regarding R-value are highly instructional. For comfort at freezing, IIRC, the target R-value is around 5 or 6. The "barely adequate" rating or whatever you'd call it was around 3. My personal experience is that those values are right on. It does depend a bit on the person.

You will be absolutely fine. The foam padding of the Vapor Trail is just the right thickness to make this a perfect combo, without any "drop off" issues. I used the Nimbus Meridian with a NeoAir small on a freezing night just a couple of weeks ago, no problem.

Hi Alexander,

I used a similar, but not identical setup this summer with good success, although I don't think I actually got to freezing. Neo small, 30-degree down bag, pillow of clothing, random stuff under feet. Was never cold and was always comfy. In my experience only overinflation leads to pad edge issues. The NeoAir requires less air than competing pads with lengthwise tubes (YMMV of course).

I think you're good to go, especially if you have a reserve warm garment to wear on the occasional 20-degree night.

Cheers,

Rick

I am gonna give the small a try!

Of course it doesn't come with a stuff sack… Jeez.

Alexander,
I called Customer Service and told them I didn't get the stuff sack "that is shown on the box". It was suggested to me that customers like the option of purchasing a stuff sack, or not. I explained that I did not get what I saw and what I paid for. I got a stuff sack mailed out that day.

Courtesey counts.

YMMV

Greg, I love it ;)

Save 1/2 an ounce (woohoo!) and leave the stuff sack at home. Mine came with one but I dont use it.

As for the 'drop-off effect'. It only exists if you blow the thing up to the firmness of a swimming pool inflateable toy! Blow it up to half capacity and it's good to go. So comfortable.

I found that sleeping on my side with the pad slightly deflated eliminated the drop off effect.

I used a small neoair and a ULA OHM with a 3/8" CCF "backpad" under my feet. Was comfortable and warm enough for me down to about 28 degrees a couple nights on my JMT hike this summer. The Vapor Trail has nice thick padding and should be good under your feet.

I agree, I think some of the difference in opinions on drop off are related to how firmly the Neo is inflated. I'm a side sleeper, 5' 8", and I've used the small Neo with a Vapor Trail and also just a GG Murmur under my legs/feet and I thought it was plenty comfy; I never felt like I needed more under my legs and this is the first torso length pad I've used. I usually inflate it to where it's pretty firm, place it in the tent, then once I'm on it I open the valve and back it off a little at a time until my hips ALMOST touch the ground. Works for me.

G

First, I sleep cold.
Early this week I was in the San Juans of Colorado at 10,700'. Night temps were below freezing, probably in the high 20s. I used a small Neo-Air with a Gossamer gear 1/8" thinlight under it, and my pack (foam frame) under my legs. This worked well with a 20 degree down bag and my MontBell synthetic insulated pants. I kept my insulated coat handy but did not need it for sleeping.
I usually use the thinlight under the neoair. It adds about 2oz but protects the air mat and doubles as a sit pad around camp.
Tim

I'll say no, you'll not be warm. I used my NeoAir S at 5°C during the night and was freezing on my back – my GoLite Ultra 20° kept me nicely warm on top. I would either combine it with a full length CCF mat under the NeoAir, or, what I did not having a CCF pad with me, is using my Rab eVent Jacket under me, this isolated me enough to not freeze.

The NeoAir is a summer pad, and if you want to use it in spring and autumn you need to supplement it with something else to boost its R-Value (I'm using a Z Lite). Fot the winter I would use something else, eg a Exped Downmat 7.