Hi Dan and others

(Dan: thank you very much for such clear and objective information.)

Well, well, well. So it seems that our prediction that the width we were given to test would be too narrow has been totally justified in the market place. CD have done exactly what we said was needed, and increased the width to bring the inflated mat up to a functional width.

Why did they not let us know while we were writing the review???? A very good question. A failure to adequately communicate by CD has left us with a partially wrong review, and will do CD no good either. Sigh.

But I still say it's noisy! … Unless they have altered the fabric finish slightly as well … um …

Well, at least now we know what the *production* width is.

Cheers

I have used my NeoAir regular for two nights. I am mostly a side sleeper but do sleep on my back some of the time. As noted above, the NeoAir has a narrow effective width. With this pad I have only used my WM Ultralight, overfill. The bag is narrow enough that my elbows are held off the "floor". The comfort, side sleeping, is such an improvement over my Prolite3 Womens that I got the best night's sleep (backpacking) I can remember.

Roger notes that the "non-skid" finish keeps the pad in place on slippery tent floors. My experience is that the pad "waltzed" all around my Sublite floor. This in spite of the fact that the Sublite has Silnet stripes. I'll may be adding some Silnet stripes to the bottom of the NeoAir.
I have been wondering if the movement of the pad is a result of the thickness and flexibility of the pad, causing an "inchworm" type of flexure as I toss about.

The thickness of the NeoAir has required me to review pillow options. The old rolled up jacket was ok with the Prolite but I need to increase the loft of my pillow.

By the way, there was some discussion, on another thread, regarding inflatable pillows. Someone mentioned the bladder from a Starbuck's "coffee box". In Starbuck's, last Saturday, I asked to buy an empty coffee box. They didn't have a way to ring it up and just gave me the box. The bladder lid leaks a bit but I'm fooling with gasket options.

Like most other folks, I initially wondered about the NeoAir's thickness causing issues for pillow height and my legs hanging off the end of a short.

But then I was reminded of the old standard practice when using inflatable air mattresses … they were most comfortable when inflated only enough to keep you barely off the ground.

Any reason to not do that with the Neoair?

Johannes, when I used mine (a short) last week there was no problem with the thickness: the pillow went on top of the pad with plenty of length left over and my pack went under my legs.

I'm confused. The text and overall impression of the written review is that the NeoAir doesn't rate. Width seems to have been addressed: the samples I have are as wide as normal 20" wide pads. I find that the NeoAir feels wider than BA or Exped Air pads, given that I have support out to the edges, instead of the rounded drop-off of the long tubes.

The reviewers objectively test r-value, then in the text effectively poo-poo it, saying it's probably not really as warm as reported. How is that objective?

Sleeping surface: virtually all bag users would probably prefer a somewhat tackier sleeping surface so their bags don't slide off the pad.

If the main sticking point of reviewers with this pad comes down to price, consider that the BPL 1.3L Ti pot costs $89.99, whereas MSRP on the Evernew 1.3L is about $50. The weight difference is ~0.75 ounce. By comparison, I'd say the NeoAir is a significantly lighter, significantly more comfortable, huge leap different than the other closest options out there. But maybe that's just me…

As far as price goes, I think you guys in the US are getting a bargain. The regular neo air has just been released in Australia for $350! At todays exchange rate that's $263.68US!!!

"For some reason they don't seem to understand that we can order things from the US and save a third or more of the Australian price. I guess there are enough Aussies who still pay the inflated price to make it worthwhile. Sigh."

As H. L. Mencken once observed: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the American(Australian??) public". People are people, methinks.

One competitor to the NeoAir that hasn't been mentioned yet is MEC's Kelvin Summer Pad (www.MEC.ca). The Kelvin pad (19.6oz) is 4.8oz heavier than the regular NeoAir but it has several significant advantages:

1)Price: The Kelvin pad sells for $40 Cdn (about $32 US).
2)Durability: 50D top, 75D bottom (vs. 30D for the NeoAir).
3)Thickness: 3.1" thick!
4)Quiet: Mine is silent to roll about on.

I just inflated mine and it measures a true 20.5" of usable width when inflated normally. Deflated it measures 3.5" x 9".

The disadvantages with the Kelvin pad are:
1)It weighs as much as the size large NeoAir
2)Likely has a lower R-value

Hi, Mike-

Thanks for your thoughtfulness in reviews and response.

Purely for the sake of discussion, I'd have to wonder what other than the reflective layer would contribute to the R-value? For example, I may have (probably did) miss this, but is the honeycomb material made out of impermeable material that would restrict airflow within the pad, or is it permeable and would allow airflow at will?

Brad writes:

"…is the honeycomb material made out of impermeable material that would restrict airflow within the pad, or is it permeable and would allow airflow at will?"

I don't believe that the honeycomb fabric is completely impermeable — it doesn't have a PU coating or anything. But as there is no wind pressure inside the pad, even something like tissue paper would provide a substantial convective current barrier. FWIW, the reflective layer is likely less permeable than the other inner layers.

@ Dan Cunnigham

I haven't used this pad in cold conditions yet….maybe 40 F. I got it last fall so I've only had it on one 7 day trip.

When I go winter camping next I'm going to bring this pad plus my Therarest Ridgerest to get both comfort and a high R-value.

This pad is super comfortable. At over 3" of loft the comfort is unreal. If MEC reduced the thickness to 2.5" like the NeoAir and changed the fabric to a similar 30D then I expect the weight would be very comparable. The difference would then be the NeoAir costs 5x as much but likely has a higher R-value. MEC doesn't publish an R-value for the Kelvin summer pad but it's probably not very high since they call this a 'summer pad'.

The NeoAir is appealing for the 4-5 oz saved but that's not worth the radically higher cost to me. I also think having the baffles run the long way down the pad makes you feel more stable on it. I laid on a NeoAir in the store and it feels easier to roll off with the perpendicular baffles.

Oh I should mention, on those 40 F nights, I wasn't sleeping in a tent and I was still super comfy and warm with this and my 32 F sleeping bag….so whatever that's worth. My wife wasn't along for this trip and the forecast looked good so we gambled and left the tent at home.

Callahan,
Unless something has changed, don't be expecting a stuff sack.
Yes it's pictured on the box. No, it's not part of the product. Just like the non-existent Patch Kit, CD feels customers "should have options" on what to purchase.

I contacted CD, cajoled, and got a stuff sack sent, free of charge. They did acknowledged the discrepancy between the box graphics and the delivered product so maybe you're in luck. If that's the case, hats off to CD for responsiveness.

I got back from 7 days in the Grand Canyon three weeks ago. I had a regular sized NeoAir under my Montbel UL SS #3 down bag inside a Alpinlite Bug bivy and a GG Spinshelter 2.

I slept great!!!

I noticed NO particular noise.
Mine got (I think it had it from the factory) a real slow leak. 2 – 3 breaths to re-inflate it at 3 AM. No big deal, and the leak was so slow I could not find it in the field.
If I got it the first night, I did not find whatever made the pin hole. I patched it with an REI patch kit, and it seems to be holding air. The ONLY negative thing I found was that if you tuched ground through the pad, the insulation went from warm to none immediately.

Conditions…
1 night on the S. Rim – bare ground and snow, with lows around 26
6 nights below the rim lows around 35 with varying winds, snow, and clear nights.

Guess which is mine ! On the last day, nearing the rim, I was asked by someone just starting down if I was on a day hike!

Edited for that speling thing