Best way to inflate neoair xlite

"Where do you put the tape?"
Over the area where you punch the hole in for the nozzle to get through.
That type of plastic is very thin and rips easily, the tape is to prevent that.
(see the black mark for the hole in the first photo)
Apart from being very quick and easy to do , most would already have a similar bag and a rubber band at home, no other bits required.

Gary,
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/ie/therm-a-rest/accessories/neoair-airtap-pump/product
My wife has an Exped mat and I a neo lite so this helps us use the schnozzle for both.

It's not the lightest option at 2.6 oz's but I use the electric pump thermarest sells. It still won't prevent all condensation from entering my Neoair and Xtherm's but it helps and I consider it my favorite luxury item. (I hate the idea of messing with a pad after a long day hiking)

Batteries hold up for about 20 fills before I feel the need to change em.

Reading about the various methods for removing moisture from an inflatable makes me wonder whether those things will increase or decrease its useful life.

Eventually, a lightweight mattress is going to fail. Is the failure rate dependent on the amount of time it's inflated, the amount of time users are lying on it, exposure to abrasive or sharp things, or the number of times it's inflated? Probably a combination of all of the above, but if number of inflations is an important factor, repeated inflation and deflation to remove moisture could foreseeably shorten life more than the moisture would.

And what about UV exposure? Is putting it out in the sun for long periods to help drive evaporation of moisture going to hasten its decline due to UV exposure?

Just thinking out loud. Interested in thoughts as to whether any of this would matter.

Cheers,

Bill

The other consideration lost in this discussion is the euphoric and/or nostalgic value of manual inflation. I find fast inflation at high altitude similar to a hit of N2O. It also takes me back 40 years to blowing up air mattresses with Dad at Yosemite.

Another good thing about the electric pump is that you can do something else while the pad is inflating.

I see this thread is about the X-Lite, but I can't help but wonder why they didn't make it like the X-Therm. With my X-Therm, the stuff sack it comes with is also the "pump". It has a little gasket sealed hole under the handle of the sack, which you slip over the pad's valve. Then you just smash the bag down over and over with "room air" until the pad fills. I usually only have to put a couple breaths in at the end to make it more firm.

Sorry, I'm sure this is common knowledge for those with X-therms. I'm just wondering why they didn't make their other pad the same way.

OK, so I have an Exped Schnozzle (love it) and a neoair, and an airtap.

So…the airtap does not fit over, or in, the schnozzle. What am I doing wrong? ->

You didn't make a hole in the schnozzle bag to fit the airtap through like you would with a normal bag, did you? I would really rather not do that….since most of the time I wouldn't need the airtap (3 season I bring a UL7)

Don't know if it will work for you but you can soften and stretch plastic of that type (airtap) with hot water .
So you could try to immerse one end of the airtap in hot water and mold it over the Schnozzle outlet before it cools down.

+1 On the NeoAir Mini Pump. I've used the BA Pumphouse since 2007 and recently switched to the Mini Pump and love it. I can go off for a few minutes while the pump is doing it's thing and do some other camp chores. Mini Pump weight is 2.47 oz with battery's the Pumphouse is 1.59 oz. It's worth the ounce to me and I take a ounce very seriously. Down side it is pricey and it uses 3 AAA battery's.

John,
It appears from your picture that you have it set up backwards.The adapter snaps into the schnozzle and the tubing over the neo inlet.

Yep….I really hope I'm not the only one that screwed up the airtap/schnozzle combo.

I thought that I would only have to use the tubing…and not the "adapter" part. I never thought that the adapter plug would fit into the schnozzle connector….I wonder if Thermarest engineers intended to do that (i.e., to have it be compatible with a competitor's product) or if it was dumb luck (I tend to think the latter).

So yes …the airtap definitely works ->

The schnozzle is 2.2 oz..which is fine for a dry sack. The airtap weighs .4 oz (11g). For the fun of it, I decided to make my own adapter ala ->

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=83170

It definitely wasn't hard ->

Instead of polycryo I simply used packing tape…and taped 4 pieces together (2 on each side) to make a smooth tube. Then folded over the ends and put shockcord in it (like a drawcord sack). However…I was finding that the shockcord was cutting my tape "sleeve" at both ends…

So, I made another prototype….again, with packing tape. I then put masking tape at the ends to act as a fabric backer, and then quickly sewed Velcro cable ties that I have to the ends ->

Then taped it into an appropriately sized tube that can be tightened via the velcro ->

Weight…3g (.1oz), even with being overly long. Basically free. (airtap is $13 on amazon right now)

And, lastly…..as an advice on the schnozzle, I found much better success by doing the "packraft" method where you get air into the bag and then twist the top so you can grab it with one hand instead of "rolling" it forward (air would come out the sides). (watch the packraft instructional video to see what I'm talking about).

It literally takes 2 bag fulls of air to inflate my ul7 and xtherm….and considering how little everything weighs and dual use of the schnozzle, I don't see the reason to buy a battery operated pump. I can inflate 4 pads (which I have to do when going with the family) in no time.