Giving up on XTherm due to back pain, any recommended alternatives?

You may need to put a pillow under your knees (when on your back) or between your thighs (when on your side). I bring one of the 1 oz inflatable hospital pillows for this purpose, because I also have serious back pain.

As an early adopter of the Neoair, I had similar issues.  It appears that my back doesn’t play well with baffles that run across the pad.  Any of the other configurations work well for me. I can sleep well on lengthwise baffles, the Static V type or the Sea to Summit/REI Flash type, my favorite being the latter.  You may need to experiment a bit to find out which works best for your back.

Hey Dan,

Thanks for the tip. By “hospital pillow” do you mean the triangular ones they use to prop people up in bed?

How high do you elevate your legs? Sometimes I feel like I need to lift my my legs enough to curl my pelvis and lower back to feel comfortable.

Dondo,

I prefer firm mattresses. I assume those egg-crate-looking pads by Sea to summit and REI don’t deform too much?

I already have a Klymit on the way I found on sale. I think I’m gonna do some sleep tests.

By “hospital pillow” I just meant the inflatable pillows that they use in hospitals. The most common brand is Graham Medical. You inflate/deflate them with a straw. I think they are a pretty common thing to use among backpackers because they are very light and I have re-used the same one dozens of times, although in hospitals they are treated as disposable. I bought a pack of 50 at one point, so I’d be happy to send you one to try if you want. But the main thing is just to put something under/between your legs. My wife uses a foam pillow, which is obviously fine, but heavier. At home, I use a normal pillow, and it raises my knees enough to take the stress off of my back.

You might want to try the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated range a try. the manager and half the staff at my local outlet have bought them with their own £££, which says something…

Best baffle system I’ve ever used, and by some distance. Noticeably more stable than the other brands I’ve tried, and the edges don’t collapse. Also has a good method for attaching their pillow, which is another game changer. I’ve never slept so well in the 60 years I’ve been wild camping.

Shaping up to be the most reliable pad on the market too – they use a more upmarket welding system than other brands and last time I was in touch they were claiming zero blown baffles in use. Plus the all elements of the well designed valve are user-serviceable in the field.

But nothing comes for free – it’s not the lightest pad on the market and warmth-for-weight doesn’t match the Xtherm. For me, a good night’s sleep is priceless so I’m happy with the tradeoff.

Yeah, Mateo, that’s exactly what I like about them.  Blown up all the way, the egg crate cells provide firm support to all parts of your body.  But I think you’ll like the Static V too.  The V-shaped baffles provide good support and the edges keep you centered on the pad, making it less likely you’ll roll off in the night.

I have a theory… sleeping on your back while camping is going to be more uncomfortable for people with more pronounced backsides.

Similarly, it might be why no-butt-Nick (random name, not a BPL member lol)  is plenty comfortable sleeping on a foam pad or GG 1/8” thinlight. I remember the days when I could do that… before I… you know… gained a few (dozen) pounds.

Hey, Christian.  Hope those few dozen pounds didn’t all go to your butt.  But, then again, there are those who like big butts.

Dan,

Using a disposable pillow is a neat trick! I use a pillow sleeve stuffed with a down jacket for my head. I also do moderate travel so maybe I should look into an inflatable pillow to complete the Layover Look when I have to sleep on the floor of an airplane terminal.

Geoff,

I will look into that product.

I too splurge on the sleeping tools, so I think if I move to a lower r-value pad I’ll add a foam pad or reflective sheet to the winter kit.

Last trip I didn’t bring an extra pillow so I put my backpack under my knees.  Worked great – my old back was quiet for 10 hours!

Try getting off the ground and switching to a hammock. It takes all the pressure points off your body when laying down.. i use a Dutch Chameleon hammock.. oh boy.. can sleep for 12 hours no problems or aches at all.

I had precisely the same issue with the Neorest back when it first came out. (And I had never had this issue with old-school self-inflating Thermarests.) After lots trial and error, I concluded my back pain was due entirely to the lack of firmness in the mattress, and it’s inability to “absorb” my weight. Due to my conclusion I also speculated that I would experience the same issue with any air-only mattress.  My solution: I added a thin ccf foam pad on top of the NeoRest and I’ve never had any issues since. I’ve now use X-Lite and X-Therm without any issues either. As a side sleeper, I had always used a Flex Air pillow between my thighs, but this still wasn’t enough support on the NeoRest to help my back. I simply needed something firmer and something which could better distribute my 185lb frame.

Mateo

I think if I move to a lower r-value pad I’ll add a foam pad or reflective sheet to the winter kit

Yup – that’s my plan too. If it’s too cold for the Ether Light’s rating, I’ll simply carry a torso-length closed cell pad to boost the insulation. Not much extra weight, and I like the pad well enough that I feel it would be worth the minor inconvenience.

Hi Alice,

I tried your tip and put a suitcase under my legs one evening as a test. I slept great without having to alter the pad, but I still had a minor tension in my back in the morning. I think elevating the legs and using a stiffer pad will do the trick!

Dirtbag,

I haven’t considered hammocks before, is there a good place to get info about researching that technique?

Hammockforums.net

Couple of thoughts—

I’ve tried the Neoairs and have the same issue.  Same with Ryan Jordan’s beloved Nemo Tensor which also has horizontal baffles.  When I go to ground I found the Exped Synmat UL to be the most comfortable pad I’ve used.  Vertical baffles.  Not exactly UL at 21 oz (LW), but comfort beats weight here.

Second, the idea to try a hammock is a good one.  I have a hammock set up as well and although it’s fairly on par weight-wise than my ground setup it’s noticeable more comfortable.  I use a Warbonnet Ridgerunner bridge style.

As suggested hammockforums.net is a good resource.  There’s an excellent book called “The Ultimate Hang 2” by Derek Hansen that you’d find helpful.  The vendor websites are helpful too..warbonnetoutdoors.com, dutchwaregear.com, dreamhammocks.com, Hammockgear.com, and simplylightdesigns.com to name just a few.  And don’t forget Youtube as a source.  Look up “Shug.”

Just try not to get too overwhelmed!

I also used to get bad sleep on the ground.  No back pain but I’d wake up all the time or toss and turn.  The hammock was a game changer for me for comfort.  Totally worth borrowing one for trying it out.  Watch Shug’s videos on YouTube entertaining as well as informative!

Hello All,

I tried out the Klymit Static V and Sea To Summit Ether Light XT on a couple of trips sleeping in my car and my back pain is now nonexistent. The stiffness of those pads really helped. I found both to be similar in support.

I’ll be selling my Neoair Xtherm now that I have determined how it was bothering me.

I’ll be sure to try hammocks when I get the chance.

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone.

I also get back pain or just don’t sleep that well on the NeoAirs. My analysis is that I need the pad quite firm to back sleep, because if my butt sinks into the pad then the pad also bulges up into my lumbar area where it creates pressure and soreness. A firm NeoAir works reasonably well, but then if I try to side sleep (since I toss & turn) then it’s too stiff. So to sleep well I end up needing to add/release air as I rotate, or just accept the soreness (common approach).

I sleep much better on the Exped Synmats. I really should go back to those, but I keep breaking the 15D fabrics. I’ve been meaning to try the Nemo Tensor but the similarity of the baffles to the NeoAir has me hesitant. And the EtherLight XT is just so much heavier.

Funny, the Xtherm actually helps relieve my back pain. It’s really a catch 22. On one hand a firm mat will ease back discomfort, however when you turn on your side it tends to bother one’s hips. Pick your poison I guess…

Dan

I chatted with one of the designers at StoS about the EtherLight before I bought it.

They say their aim was to build something where the baffles would never fail in the field. And they were claiming they had achieved this – no failures reported at the time.

They feel that the weld method used on standard lightweight pads is inherently fragile. So they use a higher-end medical/aerospace welding system that they claim is far more reliable.

They were advised that the fabric they use in the EtherLight was the lightest that would hold the weld.

The bonus is that each weld is somewhat like an independent spring on a conventional mattress – when you push down in one area, it doesn’t bulge up in another. It’s stable right to the edge, and so far I’ve never once woken up on the ground, in contrast to my Synmats.

Additional attractions are the comfort, the pillow attachment system and the superior valve design.

I’ve had Synmats fail on me twice – a valve and a baffle – and neither experience was fun.  Plus I never found them particularly comfortable.

StoS are saying that the EtherLight is as light as you can go with current technology if you want a truly reliable mat. For me the reliability and comfort is worth the extra weight.  A bad night’s sleep wrecks the next day, so it seems like a sensible investment. But when I was younger my priorities would have been different, so like everything in a sleep system it seems to be a very personal choice.