opinions on NeoAirs

[Thomas Conly]

I’m curious to know other people’s opinions on NeoAirs. I bought an XTherm last year for winter camping and I was really surprised to find that I just didn’t like it. It seems so weird though, because NeoAirs generally get really good reviews. I found that, no matter how much air I let out of the mat, it still felt as hard as a rock after a few hours. My arm would constantly fall asleep and I had to keep rolling from side to side. I also found that it felt much narrower than other mats. The tapered shape is rather aggressive, and the sides collapse if you get too close to the edge. It made my 20” mat feel like it was 16” wide.

 

Also, the mat felt warm when I went to sleep, but if I started to get cold, I felt like the mat got colder too. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that our bodies produce radiant heat, but the amount of radiant heat is proportional to how warm we feel. So, if we feel warm, a radiant barrier will keep us warm, but if we’re feeling cold, a radiant won’t be as effective. Because XTherms rely heavily on radiant barriers, is it possible that they aren’t as effective if you start to feel chilled overnight?

 

Am I the only one who doesn’t like NeoAir’s? I recently replaced my XTherm with a Sea to Summit Comfort Plus Insulated, and it feels way more comfortable so far. I’ve yet to try it outside though.

[Erik G]

I’m right there with you – I’ve had an Xlite and an Xtherm and thought both were uncomfortable in exactly the way you describe. I replaced them with an Exped Synmat, plus a Zlite sol. Much heavier indeed (blasphemy I know!) but SO much more comfortable. I think that a foam pad on top of an inflatable is the bee’s knees in terms of comfort. Also provides some redundancy in case of an inflatable failure.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I do find the Exped’s more comfortable, but the SynMat UL is also heavier and less durable so I go back and forth.

[Ben C]

Love mine.  I do always have a 1/8″ foam pad under mine since I camp floorless.

[John Vance]

I went through a number of pads and really liked the Exped syn and down mats but had delamination problems and a leaking valve.
I have two xtherm pads now, a large and a large shortened to 60”. I am 5’9” 170lbs but I really like a wide pad. For those interested, the shortened xtherm is 15.9oz. I would prefer a shortened large xlite but I had the xtherm and went with that.

[Brad W]

I have never had as good a nights sleep as I have on my neoair-this coming from a side sleeper with shoulders and back that are finicky.

[Ken Thompson]

I too never got a good nights sleep on one. Sleep like the dead on the Exped UL7LW. Those horizontal baffles always had me sliding off. They could make one for two ounces and I would not be tempted.

[Lester Moore]

The Neoair X-lite works fine for me – just fine, not great. I sleep pretty well on the size small and noticeably a little better on the size medium. It’s all a balancing act between acceptable comfort and weight. For short trips in mid-summer, the weight savings of the small x-lite are worth a slight reduction in comfort. For longer summer trips, the medium gets taken instead. Both pads require shoes to be placed under the elbows for best sleeping comfort when laying on my back.

For more comfort when weight is less concerning I like a full sized 3″ thick Big Agnes insulated air core (25 ounces). For car camping where weight is irrelevant the Big Agnes gets topped with the 3/4″ thick memory foam Little Giant topper (43 more ounces) for near-home like comfort.

[Steofan M]

Like Ben C. above, I use a 1/8 inch pad with a NeoAir Trekker and get a great night’s sleep. I tried a tapered pad for a while but I could never get my legs trained to stay on the narrowed end.

[Five Star]

I had the same experience with NeoAirs, and finally sucked up some extra ounces to try an S2S Ultralight Insulated pad.  At 21+ ounces it had to have been really, really good sleep…..and it was.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Really like my xtherm for snow camping. I got the large to keep my elbows on the pad better, and glad i did. Comfy and warm.

I have an original neoair for the summer, in 3/4 length. Nice, but it is the first pad I’ve had that is thick enough that i feel the dropoff at the end sometimes.

 

[AK Granola]

I still prefer my Prolite to the noisy Neoair. It doesn’t seem like it would be more comfortable because it is thinner, but it just feels better to me. Wish it were lighter. But it’s also darned sturdy – many nights and quite a few on gravel or wooden benches or platforms. No issues.

[Erica R]

I really like the Neoairs. Have an X-lite and a X-therm. When a friend asked which she should buy I said the Xtherm is more durable and warmer and has enough friction that things don’t slide around.

I had to apply maybe 1 oz seam seal to the Xlite to make it less slippery, so there is just a 3 oz difference between the Xlite and the Xtherm. The Xlite has 2 patches and the Xtherm has none.

Thermarest is a great company – they replaced the X-Therm for free when it developed a slow leak we couldn’t find.

[bradmacmt]

I’ve got a couple Neoairs, been using them for 10 years. They’re revolutionary. Love mine…

[Jenny A]

I have a regular sized XTherm and think it is a great melding of comfort, warmth, and light weight.  I have other pads that are as comfortable, but they are heavier.  Relative comfort seems to be a very personal thing, I can be comfortable on almost anything that’s at least 2″ thick.  The XTherm would be perfect if it was available in a regular-wide size, as I too find my arms sometimes fall off the sides when lying on my back.  Not a deal-breaker.

[HkNewman]

I like the NeoAirs as a sidesleeper due to the horizontal baffles, but thought the Expeds were a bit more comfortable.  Love my horizontal baffled (older) Nemo Astro-whatever 20R similarly for colder weather, but it has a built in pillow.

[Thomas Conly]

Thanks for all the input. I also prefer even just a 1” thick prolite, even though it’s much thinner. I also agree with the folks who said that the exped pads were comfortable. My XTherm was replacing my downmat, which I loved. Unfortunately, their warranty is only 5 years, they’re much more expensive than when I bought mine, and I’ve heard lots of people say they delaminate or get holes. I thought mine delaminated at a baffle, but I opened it up to salvage the down and found that the inner baffle had actually torn. The baffles were made from plastic that didn’t feel too durable. I wouldn’t ever buy an exped again. So far, I’m liking the sea to summit pad.

[Myles B]

I habe to agree. I had the same issues with the all season. I toss and turn a bit, so that probably didnt help. In my research, I found the exped ul7 in medium wide. At the time, 3 years ago, this was not very popular. I sleep so well on that thing. Yes, it is heavier, but it is worth it.  It is also pretty thick. I appreciate the added width without the length. All I can assume is that the added thickness and width is what made it so much more enjoyable for me over the neoairs. In the winter, I just throw the zlite under it.

[Matt Dirksen]

My biggest issue with all of the “air-only” mattresses is that they are too squishy for my back and especially my side. That issue (with the “bouncy” sensation kept me tossing and turning.) By the 2nd or third day, my back was killing me – like clockwork.

The best way I have managed to keep using NeoRest pads after all these years is by adding the thin ccf foam pad on top. I concluded that my old-ish & achy body requires a firmer mattress. I had always used T-rests for decades and never had those issues, because all of the older pads I used had open celled foam inside of them – making them firm, yet a little squishy.

Like purchasing mattresses for the bed at home, some folks prefer them firm and some like them real soft. It’s a good idea to figure that one out on a handful of weekend trips before heading out for an extended trip. And if you really want to try something nice: Dreamtime XL.

But since this is BPL, that’s all I’ll say about it.

[Wild Exped]

I prefer the Klymit pad design over both horizontal and vertical baffles, their design gives a ‘planted’ feel over the others. I went back to a neoair recently for a night and it was like I was trying to balance in the middle.. ‘bouncy’.. horrible.  Klymit have proven as durable as any.

 

[Bruce Tolley]

@ the OP.
I got used to the stiffness and narrowness.

But found the Xtherm cold for winter camping on snow in my pyramid which I attributed to loss of heat from the large exposed surface area around the high edges. My sleeping bag is inside a bivy, but my pads lie directly on the snow.

I toss and turn maybe 5 or 6 times each night and with each turn, the pad seemed to get colder with each turn probably from the air being circulated inside the pad by mechanical action.

Cascade Designs/Thermarest recently upgraded the Xtherm to include a “convective matrix” which I assume addresses this issue. Putting a closed cell pad on top of the Xterm helps.

[Thomas Conly]

Bruce, I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who doesn’t find it warm enough on it’s own.

[Katherine .]

1. I sleep well on my Xlite, so was surprised to not feel the love for my Xtherm. For me it’s adequately comfortable, but not as conforming. Maybe something about stiffer, thicker fabric? (my xlite is L/W tapered, my xtherm is L/W square).
2. I think there are 3 types of pad sleeping preferences: vertical baffle, horizontal baffle, and 4-way (catch all for Klymt’s chevrons and the quilt-y type pads from BA and S2S). So like 80% of us will be happy in either Lone Peak Altras or Brooks Cascadias, 80% of us are gonna be fine on either a NeoAir or a SynMat. Maybe you’re just a vertical baffle guy?

[John W]

We have Xlite and XTherm. Don’t really like them very much. Uncomfortable for us, bouncy and something just starts hurting no matter how we tried to inflate them. Very easy to get feet off the pad due to the mummy shape. Some people also dislike the potato chips bag issue, more so if you can’t fall asleep on the thing and toss all night.

Decided to go for rectangular Nemo Tensor 2019, just need to figure out if our Duplex will fit 25″+20″ pads since the floor is smaller then the website promises.

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