Thermarest Neoair

[Dana]

I was in EMS yesterday buying fivefingers for my daughter, and while wandering around I saw the Thermarest Neoair sleeping pads, which I hadn't seen before. Impressive! Unfortunately, so is the price...

Anybody used one of these? All of the reviews I saw were mostly from people who used them once or twice. They look like they'd be insanely comfortable, but they look delicate, too... though the reviews (except for a few) don't mention too much trouble with leaks. It's getting about time to retire my ancient military ultralite thermarest (the old style, before the waffle foam). About the only drawback I can see (other than the price) is that if it does spring a leak, there's no residual foam between you and the ground. Of course, I always bring a closed cell pad along with the thermarest for winter trips, and the thermarest goes inside my bivy sack, giving it some more protection.

 

[John H Swanson]

I bought one and used it for one weekend. Too noisy. Sold it.

The are reviews that say they are robust

 

[Summerset]

There are several flavors (and colors) of the Neoair. The two I'm most familiar with are the XLite and Trekker. The yellow ones (the XLite) are the lightest in weight, thinnest in material, priciest and unfortunately, are the nosiest. The green ones, the Neoair Trekkers, are a good compromise between carry weight and durability. We've got two of the Trekkers, and used them every night on the Long Trail last summer with no problems. We did stay a shelter one night with someone who had an XLite and it was crinkle, crinkle, crinkle every time the person rolled over or moved. There is going to be a bit of noise whenever you're shifting around, but the XLites seems to be louder than anything else.

As far as comfort level, we were able to inflate or deflate to make the sleeping pad comfortable. My son likes the thing fully inflated, I like a little give, so I never fully inflate it.

You're right, once one of these things springs a leak, it is just you and the cold hard ground or shelter floor. You can get patch repair kits for Neoairs - a little insurance just in case, but then you'd have to find the leak before fixing it. We just bought the thicker ones, and didn't have to worry as much about how delicate the thing was. Considering my son was 12, and isn't always the most conscious about his gear, he didn't destroy it and that was good enough.

 

[JCarter]

I bought my first NeoAir All-Season for last winter, and loved it. Small, light, and warm. Most of my other pads (various self-inflating REI and CampMor and insulated Big Agnes) have sprung leaks and become impossible to keep repaired, and my kids kept coveting my NeoAir, so this winter I bought 2 more. The NeoAir electric pump is very nice (2 AAA batteries), the stupid "pump sack" malarkey is a waste of effort.

They seem durable enough so far, haven't had to patch any of them. That said, I treat my pads pretty carefully (all those leaks are age-related seam leaks and similar, no actual "punctures"), always a a footprint under my tent, etc.

I don't notice noise from the All-Season model. But I guess when I'm outdoors playing, I sleep pretty hard. I've somewhat-successfully used this pad in a hammock by only partially inflating it.

 

[backpackingengineer]

I have an all-season for below 30 deg. F weather. Otherwise I use a Big Agnes QSL. For me, the Neoair is a little less comfortable, but what I really dislike is the noise. The all-season is less noisy than other Neoair's but is still noisy. I personally am not bothered by the noise my pad makes, but my wife sure hates it! Likewise I hate the noise her pad makes!

 

[JCarter]

I have an all-season for below 30 deg. F weather. Otherwise I use a Big Agnes QSL. For me, the Neoair is a little less comfortable, but what I really dislike is the noise. The all-season is less noisy than other Neoair's but is still noisy. I personally am not bothered by the noise my pad makes, but my wife sure hates it! Likewise I hate the noise her pad makes!

Nobody else complains about my NeoAir because the snoring drowns it out