Neo air Xlite’s appear to be shipping

I should add that they also have an air tap that turns your stuff sack or pack liner/trash compacter bag into a large capacity lung, which I will probably need with this 25" wide pad. I also got the compact chair 25". I'm afraid I'm not going to want to hike much now, I'll just want to stay in bed or sit around camp drinking coffee, in my Thermarest Lazy Boy :).

I'd just use a camptek microburst to air up the wide pad…

http://www.camp-tek.com/

I'll take the 2oz penalty for the ease of use.

I'd kind of like to have the Xlite size regular, but spending $159.95 to save 2 ounces and a breath or two compared to my original rectangular size regular doesn't seem to be a great deal. I might buy one when my current original model dies. It would fit nicer in my bivy though.

No way man, that's two more ounces! I already splurged and added three ounces to my current set up :). But seriously, I'll give this bag bellows deal a try first, before I add anything else. Thanks for the heads up though Dan, I hadn't seen that before.

It takes less than the reported 3 minutes to inflate my 20×72 rectangular NeoAir by mouth. Something like 15 deep breaths and about 1 minute. I really don't see the need for another gadget.

instaflator is cheaper at 3.99 and doesn't break as easily, dosent take batteries, and is multiuse.

http://www.themillair.com/order.php

Check out this demo video for the Micro Burst:

http://www.camp-tek.com/media-video.html

The last 20 seconds are solid gold. The Micro Burst fills up the pad with air, but it's no where near firm enough. The guy in the video pulls off the Micro Burst, closes the valve and then very gingerly pats the obviously limp mattress and claims it's 'nice and firm'. Cracked me up…you'd need to top that pad off with a breath or two for sure.

The Micro Burst is kinda neat, but it would be way cooler if they made it a lot higher output. If it could fill my pack raft in 30 seconds then I may be interested.

How does the Instaflator attach nicely to a pad? I wouldn't mind using something to keep the moisture out of my Exped Synmat UL.

I used the Microburst to fill my NeoAir large. Didn't fill it to 'tight firm,' but filled it to the firmness I like. I didn't need to add any more air to it.

A side benefit for me, it also makes it much easier to 'inflate' my Karo quilt.

I really like this thing. An unnecessary gadget, to be sure, but one that will increase my enjoyment of my backpacking trips.

I'm sure it can, but in the video the guy seems to pull it off pretty early. Here's what the pad looks like when he pulls it off and claims it's 'nice and firm':

Wow, thanks for the heads up. I have been checking backcountry every once in awhile to see when they get them in… I went there, they had 8 smalls left, I added it to my cart and went back to the product page and they were all gone. Fortunately it saved the one I had in my cart and I was able to buy it.

I will write up a quick review when I get it and try it out. I already have a normal NeoAir, but for me it was worth the $$ for the additional warmth (R 3.2 vs 2.5). Also, my wife doesn't have a lightweight pad, so she will most likely inherit the older one (or if she doesn't like it, I'll put it up on gear swap)

I'm looking forward to seeing the reviews on the Neoair Xlite.

"but in the video"

I don't watch videos that don't include bathing suits.

That looks brilliant! Not sure I'd ever buy it, but cool idea.

instaflator is cheaper at 3.99 and doesn't break as easily, dosent take batteries, and is multiuse.

http://www.themillair.com/order.php

So, what would be the other uses for this thing?

At least with the Thermarest air tap, I can turn my pack liner into a big fat instaflater and it still works as a pack liner, when I'm done.

You can use your pack liner as an inflater without any other gadget. Just fill up the bag and hold it around the valve. Takes a little practice but it's easy as can be once you get the hang of it. Been doing it for years.

Well Douglas I'm looking forward to some solo hiking videos from you in the trip report section!

"I'm looking forward to some solo hiking videos from you in the trip report section!"

Anna, trust me, you're not…… ;-)

dan, it just attaches with a small narrow piece of clear plastic tubing that stretches over the neoair valve. whole thing weighs 45 grams and can be used for emergency water bag, straw, sling, tourniquet, vapor hat, or whatever else you can think of for a long narrow bag and plastic tubing.

here is a pic of it stuffed in my 12oz rei mug:
over 20 uses and going strong by the way

Was sorry to see that they don't offer a non tapered version. No regular Neoairs either. Definitely the best nights sleep in the backcountry other than my hammock. Dare I say equally as comfortable. +1 on the 30 year wait.

Thanks Adam for the informative pic & explanation.

The Instaflator seems like a neat idea. Do you inflate your pad from outside or inside of your shelter? From the video on their site, the instaflator looks pretty long, so you'd probably have to stand outside your tent and inflate it through the vestibule……which would be fine as long as it's not pouring rain.

It would be really appealing to me if I could make it work to inflate my packraft too, but the pack raft has a much larger opening, so some sort of custom adapter would be needed it seems. It's also hard to say if the instaflator has a large enough volume of air to inflate the raft in a reasonable number of cycles. The inflation bag that comes with the raft holds quite a large volume.

I misspoke (mistyped?). It wasn't my Neoair large I inflated with the Microburst, it was my Stephenson's DAM (which is the reason I bought the Microburst, the Instaflator just doesn't work well with the Stephenson's DAM. I know, I tried…..). It filled the DAM to reasonable firmness with no issue.

I just tried filling the Neoair. No go. I mean, it'll get it to about 3-4 breaths from completely full, but it just won't 'fill' that last 3-4 breaths' worth on its own, FWIW.

The instaflator is good but it is not super durable. I have put too much pressure on the bag twice and split it open. (It was raining and I was in a hurry)

Fortunately it has been near the nozzle and I was able to cut out the damage and still use it.

For a few more ounces I went with the Micro burst for 2 person trips or a DAM.
I like that you can do other stuff while your pads are inflating.
For solo I do what Brendan does with a pack liner.

With the Microburst you can inflate your pad while in the tent. Or do something else while your pad is inflating.

I wonder what we will see in the next 5 years from Therm a rest? Been pretty busy of late.

I'll have the Microburst at the GGG. Will race Jacob and his Instaflator.

I've used my small, original NeoAir with a ccf pad snow camping, not the best insulation as I could see where I had slept for two nights by some icing of the snow I slept over. This should work better or I could get the better model with more "R" value.
Duane