Sleep comfort: Neoair Alternative?

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Aww :( share your wisdom with the rest of the class…

Richard kindly offered to let me borrow his Exped to try out. I asked him for some opinions, maybe he'll share them here.

I'm definitely considering the Exped Synmat UL 7 in LW (still wishing a manufacturer would make a regular length wide mat), and/or a Downmat.

I'm curious how the inflated specs line up, because the extra width of the stated specs could really mean a lot for me.

I'm also really curious to get some data on the R values and warmth. i.e. could I get by with a Synmat UL 7 in winter by adding a thin layer of CCF above or below?

I have comfortably used a Big Agnes Aircore pad with 1/4" CCF pad underneath (I think the consensus is that on top is even better) on snow several times. The Aircore is about R-1.5 and the Synmat UL 7 is R-3.1. Seems like it should work. And the Synmat UL7 is pretty highly thought of for summertime use.

Javan
The mat is 25" wide when inflated. Same with the Downmat UL. I have not used a Neoair but have used a Nemo Cosmo with horizontal baffles and I do prefer the vertical ones on the Exped. I do have my eye on the Synmat UL9 as it is thicker (3.5" vs 2.8") just to see if it is any more comfortable for side sleeping. The weight of the Synmat UL9 is pretty close to the DownMat UL and the R values are very close. I do have an Exped MegaMat 10 for car camping and love it but would have to hire someone to carry it for me if I wanted to use it in the back country.

Quite surprised with your experience. I have found the xtherm to be a little slice of heaven, comfortable and by far the warmest pad I have used. Please post what you end up using in the end. Very curious how it differs in design.

I've got no complaints about the R-value of the Xtherm, except that maybe it's too warm for summer.

I think the issue I'm having is the narrower than advertised width, and the even narrower bottom. I'm mostly on my side, but I toss and turn. I keep feeling like I'm going to fall off the xtherm, but also, the lateral baffle tubes dont seem to let me find a low spot for my hip, even with it half-deflated, that combined with not being able to spread my legs at the bottom is killing my back.

To be fair, I favor a "soft" mattress too, or at least something soft on top of firm. If I could consistently sleep on my back that may change, but thus far, the hammock is the only place I can keep from rolling on my side or stomach.

I'm going to give the Exped Synmat UL 7 a try I think. I'll let you guys know how that works out.

I've used both the synmat UL 7 and the downmat UL 7 and I love love love them. I like the vertical tubes, the fabric is comfy to sleep on, and the downmat is great for shoulder seasons with a quilt and a cold sleeper such as myself.

I like the slightly thicker side tubes that kind of cradle you in the middle of the pad…I am a very active, rotisserie sleeper and I never seem to fall off.

Javan,

Two more pads with vertical baffles: the REI Stratus and the Big Agnes Air Core Insulated. I haven't used either, just pointing them out, as they may meet your needs as both are (I believer) cheaper than the Exped.

I had the reverse comfort. A couple years ago before my WY Wind River trip, for giggles, I tried my GG Nightlight torso pad on a weekend bp trip. I was so sore because it was so hard and did not sleep well the one night out. I was trying to save weight since the Nightlight was my SMD packs support. I use a original NeoAir small and bought a XTherm last Spring for the coming snow camping season. I still don't sleep well, I'm a tosser, turner side sleeper. Good luck.
Duane

Along those lines, i have a BAACI pad in great shape, that i would be willing to sell for 33 dollars. If interested, p.m. me. I can send pics etc. I find it pretty comfortable, but it is a somewhat heavier pad.

Javan, re: " I'm mostly on my side, but I toss and turn." + other info in your OP.

Me too, maybe moreso. I can't sleep on air mattresses because I feel like I'm lying on a bubble. All the bells and whistles, like on the NeoAirs, don't make any difference. And thin, closed cell foam pads don't cushion enough and leave me sore.

The alternative is the so-called 'self-inflating' pads, although they don't really self inflate anymore because the foam is perforated or partial in others ways to cut weight, and won't expand enough to inflate the mattress by itself in a short time. So I'll just call them hybrids – part inflatable & part foam.

Roger Caffin did an article here a year or two ago reviewing a number of the hybrids, including measurements of R value. As I recall, the Exped, Nemo Zor and the lightest Thermarest were the best rated, and the Exped had the best R value. Since I don't camp much in weather much below freezing, the Nemo Zor works best for me. The foam is less spongy and is much more comfortable for me than the Thermarest.
The Exped is heaviest, but the additional insulation would be needed for colder temps.

I just use a shorty, about 4 feet long, that covers me from shoulders to knees, a pillow made from a stuff bag and whatever I don't need to wear to keep warm in the bag, and light thinsulate booties that keep my feet warm. Because I'm constantly turning from one side to the other, I need a bag with a slick surface that will slide over the pad when I turn over, and so not require a pad much wider than 20". The MontBell spiral down bag is slick enough for this purpose, and the Nemo comes with silicone chevrons on the bottom to help keep it from sliding on the silnylon tent floor, so that has not been a problem.

I can have trouble sleeping due to all kinds of past injuries and arthritic pain (won't enumerate the parade of horribles), but the above arrangement works fine. Unlike trying to figure out how much to inflate the Thermarests, the Nemo works fine when inflated to its full shape without blowing in extra pressure. It only needs a few puffs.

At one time I had to use a hybrid Thermarest sandwiched in an outer cover with an open cell foam sheet just to get comfortable. Not only was it quite heavy to carry, but I don't need it now that I do stretching exercises learned in physical therapy, and refrain from inflammatory substances. In worst cases, I use an NSAID, Nabumetone because it has the least effect on the stomach, to keep inflammation at bay.

I understand that these types of pads can be miserable if the bond between the cover and the foam wears out. That hasn't happened with the Nemo so far.

Roger's article was excellent and I highly recommend it. If your membership doesn't cover access to articles, I think it would be worth the $20-25 annually. There are tons of articles in the archives that are just as valid today as the day they were written.

Hope this is helpful.

My first inflatable pad was a Big Agnes Insulated Air Core. Compared with the current generation of pads, it's heavy and doesn't insulate well despite the name. Below 40F I was starting to feel chilled.

I swapped it out for the original NeoAir, which was a revelation as it was almost half the weight. But the horizontal baffles would collapse at the edges and I couldn't get comfortable.

Since, I've become a convert to Exped's UL line. I bought the SynMat UL 7 LW for myself, thinking I needed the extra width, and the Medium for my wife. After a few trips I left my pad at home and grabbed my wife's. The vertical baffles are much more comfortable, and the outer two are just that bit larger which help keep me on the pad. I'm a restless sleeper but I didn't feel the need for the LW pad and so I sold it and replaced it with a Downmat UL7 in Medium.

The SynMat UL is good on its own to mid 30s. Below that I add a GG 1/8" thinlight pad for an extra 10F insulation. But if I expect temps to go below 25F I reach for my Downmat UL.

Goldilocks, ;)
Have you thought about combining an inflatable with a thin foam pad (e.g., 1/8" Gossamer Gear Thinlight)? It might provide a nice combination of warmth and cushion.
Tom

Below 40 degrees and you were getting chilled? The insulation in your pad must have degraded quite a bit by this time, because when mine was new, i took it out on some 20 degree nights and was fine with a sleeping bag and thermal clothes on (down jacket, warm pants). I am usually a warm sleeper though.

I do though, much prefer the Neo Air all season pad i primarily use now.

That was a new BAIAC circa 2009. I was using an optimistically rated 15F bag that I've since switched out for a WM Alpinlite, and wearing Cap 2, which is my normal sleep wear and the standard I should have mentioned in my above post for context. Wearing a down jacket will clearly boost the temperature of any sleep system.

Big Agnes Q-Core might be the ticket. If you are bothered by the horizontal baffles I'm not sure that vertical baffles would do you much better so the Q-Core has squarish baffles. It's a little on the heavy side (perhaps the Q-Core SL?) but super warm and inflates to 3" so you can get better depth and more comfort.

I really like mine, figured I would give it a shot since rei has a great warranty. 90 bux for the large pad, 1 lb 9 oz, vertical baffles, and a R value of 3. Probably a little heavy by bpl standards but I am like you I toss and turn and I sleep great on this pad.

Javan,
I hear you with the comfortable sleeping thing being a big priority. It's the same for me. I too enjoy sleeping in a hammock, but rarely get to do it anymore since nearly all my current backpacking trips are with my wife (and I still haven't found a viable hammock camping solution for a couple).

Anyway, I recently purchased a Big Agnes Air Core SL and I really like it. For a super comfortable summer pad, it's hard to beat. It has a full 3.75 inch thickness and the fishbone baffling gives it a really nice ride (more like a bed). It's also not really crinkly like the neoairs.

It's only truly 19" wide when fully inflated (as compared to its stated width of 20"), but I actually find the width adequate for side sleeping. This is mainly because this pad has the largest usable width of any 20" wide pad I've ever tried out. You can actually get out right on the edge and it won't really collapse. Anyway, you could also try the long and wide version of the pad if you want extra width.

You might also try the Big Agnes Q-Core, as that's also a really comfortable pad that is more "bedlike" than neoairs due to the quilted baffling. I wouldn't recommend the Q-Core SL because it is much narrower than its stated width (by about 1.5 – 2 inches!). I just don't think that's gonna cut it for you as a side sleeper.

Good luck in your search for the right pad!

Sleeping pad comfort is a personal thing. Lots of people find the NeoAir comfortable because it is really thick and therefore reduces the chance that you will "hit bottom" (which is more likely to occur when on your side). On the other hand, when my wife tried mine, she hated it. She has stuck with a regular Thermarest. So that is definitely something to consider, especially since the weights of them have come down.

I also like the idea of adding a closed cell foam to the top of the pad. A very thin pad might be all you need, but consider a Z-Rest as well. I would try it with your X-Therm first (since you already own it). If you like it, I would switch to the lighter NeoAir XLite. This combination (Z-Rest and NeoAir XLite) is not the lightest out there, but would be super cushy, super warm and still pretty light compared to pads sold just a few years ago. Plus, the Z-Rest is extremely handy as a sit pad (it is really easy to fold into various sizes).

The neoair all season regular of mine weighs 19.1 ounces. The fabric on top is nice and soft, the bottom is sticky and doesn't slide around. It's my favorite pad, in the summer I will just take a Ridgerest.

I've been using the Neoair Xlite Large, trimmed to ~60in, for my last couple of outings. I have found that it is slightly less comfortable than the Synmat UL7 LW I previously had. However, I have had 3 Synmats leak on me now, 2 of them on their maiden voyages. I'm familiar with getting the valves seated properly, but too many slow leaks converted me to a Neoair.

Here's what I've found regarding comfort: the Neoair is MUCH more comfortable if I slightly prop it up, from underneath, at the head and near the knees/lower legs (like with a sit pad or piece of ccf, clothing, some leaves/duff in a trash bag, whatever). For some reason, this makes the pad much more comfortable for sleeping on back or side. I think it allows the horizontally-baffled pad to contour the body a little better. Like the OP, I found the Neoair on a flat surface rather board-like. But with the above tip, I sleep just as well as the few nights my UL7 didn't flatten. Since you already have an Xtherm, it'd be pretty easy to give it a try.

Also, FWIW, a large Xlite trimmed to 60in weighs 13oz, and I can fit my whole body on it when sleeping on my side. And it was very easy to trim.

Great info and suggestions guys, this is exactly the kind of input I was needing.

Erik, some great suggestions, I had already thought about using an xlite trimmed to torso length with a ccf pad for my lower body to drop my hips a bit lower, but yeah I think lifting up the front end could really help.

Honestly a 13oz trimmed xlite would allow me to carry another light ccf pad trimmed to the same size and still be in the same range as the xtherm, and probably just as warm with it on top, so I may consider that also.

Thanks everyone again.

I find the SynMat UL7 much more comfortable than the NeoAir. I used the NeoAir for 2 seasons and it was alright, but I sleep much better on the SynMat. I attribute it to the vertical baffles and the larger side tubes (and it's slightly thicker @ 2.7" thick).