Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Review

Hands down the most hyped piece of outdoor equipment of 2009, and likely the most hyped of the past 5 years, the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir gets a full review here.

I purchased the NeoAir Regular at the end of May 2009, almost immediately upon its release to market.  A considerable amount of hype had been preceding the mattress' release in print and online.  Discussion ranged from its purported unrivaled comfort and compact size when packed, to its noisiness and tendency to lose air during use, and of course its slightly stunning $150 price tag.  Of course some other inflatable mats carry a comparable price tag, such as the Exped DownMat line, but they also offer huge R ratings that make them feasible for year round use without supplemental closed cell foam mattresses.  The NeoAir offers a 2.5 R rating, making it suitable for mild weather only.  Hence why the price seems a little steep.

Advertised Specs (taken from the Therm-a-Rest website):

Weight: 14 oz / 410 g

Width:  20" / 51 cm

Length:  72" / 183 cm

Thickness:  2.5" / 6.3 cm

Stuff sack weight:  .5 oz / 14 g

Repair kit weight:  Not listed

My Measurements:

Weight (just the mattress): 13.6 oz / 385 g

Total weight (mat, stuff sack, repair kit):  14.8 oz / 420 g

Length:  70" / 178 cm

Width:  19" / 48 cm

Thickness:  2.75" / 7 cm

All of the measurements varied somewhat from the manufacturer's specs.  The optional stuff sack weighed in at 0.5 oz, and the 'Fast and Light' repair kit also measured 0.5 oz.  Pleasantly surprising was the actual weight of the mattress coming in below the advertised 14 ounces.  Sure, 0.4 of an ounce isn't very much, but it's not often that the real weight of an ultralight product is lower than advertised.  This almost fully offset the weight of the repair kit.

The dimensions were a little different from the official specs, but I think they must have measured the length and width while deflated.  The inflated specs place the length at 70", the width at 19", and thickness at somewhere around 2.75".  My assessment of the thickness was closer to 3", but I had difficulty deciding where to get my measurement from.  The configuration of the horizontal chambers created a series of high and low points, and I opted to take my measurement not from the absolute peak of each chamber.

Real Life Use:
My own experience with the NeoAir has been positive.  I have slept on it for four nights, one in early summer, two in late summer, and one in autumn.  I did not experience any of the loss of pressure/inflation which has been described by some.  Cascade Designs even mentions it in the instruction leaflet for the mattress.  Apparently changes in temperature or barometric pressure can cause a noticeable loss of inflation while the mattress is in use.  I did not encounter any deflation of note.  I was very comfortable, the most comfortable I've been on a backpacking mattress of any sort.  The NeoAir was much thicker than my Prolite 4, and gave a comfortable night's sleep particularly while sleeping on my side.  At times when I slept on my back I did notice that my arms hung off the sides of the mat, and ended up resting on the ground.  Perhaps the large size would have been the better option to give my arms somewhere to rest while sleeping on my back.  The only real negative I could describe is the 'bottoming-out' effect when sitting up to change clothing, or when shifting while sleeping.

My experience on the mat in autumn also highlighted its limited R value.  During a crisp night where the temperature dropped to about -5 celsius, I found my -9 celsius rated Marmot Helium did not keep me comfortable.  The same bag consistently delivers a comfortable night's sleep in -10 or colder when paired with my Prolite 4.  The NeoAir is really only recommended for mild weather, so I can hardly hold this against it.  It is something to be aware of, and is a good reminder of the importance of truly understanding what your equipment is capable of.

Overall, the NeoAir is a very impressive little package.  It's very compact, weighs in as advertised, and offers an unrivaled amount of comfort for its size and weight.  Personally, I feel the hefty price tag is fair value for this combination of benefits.

Upcoming Gear Reviews

A few of the items I'm currently working on reviewing:

Therm-a-rest Neo Air
Probably the most hyped piece of lightweight gear for 2009.

Tarptent Squall 2
Not new to the market, but new to my experience.

Atlas 1030 Snowshoes
Long-term report.

I'm hoping to have a video component for each item, watch for the reviews early in the new year.

Late Fall Overnighter

With such mild weather for November, Cait and I decided to do a quick overnight hike in Killarney Provincial Park, southwest of Sudbury, Ontario.  Along for the trip was our (nearly) fearless travelling buddy Panzer.

We arrived at the gate house around 1pm on Saturday, only to find the park office closed.  We filled out the self-serve registration envelope and hit the trail, knowing we had only a few hours of daylight.  The initial section of trail climbed steeply from the eastern edge of the George Lake campground, and emerged onto a granite ridge with great views.  The trail followed the ridge for some time, and eventually descended into nearby lowlands.  We encountered several very wet sections of trail once off of the ridge, but nothing that couldn't be avoided.

Having skipped lunch on our drive to the park, we stopped and Wagon Road Lake for a quick meal of pita and hummus, enjoying the warmth and sunshine.  After the break the trail crossed the lake via a substantial beaver dam, and then followed what appeared to have been a very old logging road for about 200 meters.  We again traveled through some very wet and muddy sections of trail, but soon emerged into a deciduous forest which had dropped all of its leaves.  The resulting carpet of bright yellow and orange leaves combined with the sunshine made for a refreshing change from the often enclosed mixed forest we left behind.  As the sun was quickly sinking, and the light failing, I was beginning to think this section of forest would make for a beautiful campsite if only we could find a water source.

However after another kilometer the forest abruptly changed to dark evergreens again.  We were very pleased to discover upon entering the evergreens that the next official campsite was at the their very edge, and overlooked a small shallow lake.  We immediately dropped our gear and began the quest to find decent firewood before the daylight failed completely.  We lucked out, as the open deciduous forest we had been walking through was just steps to the west of our campsite, with better light to see by, and lots of fallen deadwood for our fire.  After getting a healthy, comforting blaze going, we set up our MSR Hubba Hubba, unrolled all our bedding, and got Panzer some food.

We enjoyed a very relaxing evening under a clear sky next to a bright fire.  We both crashed before 10pm.  At one point in the night there was some rain, but it lasted only a few minutes and was very light.  The next morning we took our time packing up and making breakfast.  We hiked out at a quicker pace than the trip in, with the promise of a second breakfast at Perkins in Sudbury fueling our hike.