Thermarest Neoair

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Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
They come with repair kits folks.......well the Exped ones do.
I don't think I've ever heard of one bursting with temperature change :confused:
I tell you though, it's not just the comfort factor, it's the warmth :D Worth every penny :D

cheers,
Toddy
 

trekkingnut

Settler
Jul 18, 2010
680
1
Wiltshire
Therma rests don't come with repair kits....

Self inflating ones won't generally burst because of the foam interior.

Neo airs have no foam so can be affected by changes in temperature and pressure.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
One of our old self inflating ones got munched on by a mouse :rolleyes:
It repaired fine with the stuff for bike tyres :D
It didn't stay inflated until I repaired it, it needed the mix of foam and trapped air to keep it's loft.

cheers,
Toddy
 

trekkingnut

Settler
Jul 18, 2010
680
1
Wiltshire
They do however retain some heat because the foam acts like a rollmat if it's not inflated.

Neo air has no foam at all and it's therefore useless if you can't fix the hole!

Good thrift work from the bicycle repair kit! Kudos!
 

Far_Wanderer

Full Member
Oct 29, 2009
161
3
Lancashire, England
Hi Guys, If your tempted by the neo air then you should look at the Pacific Outdoor Equipment Ether Elite 6 as they retail for around £45+ and in my opinion miles better than the neoair as I tried a neoair a month or so ago and couldnt help but feel like I was wanting to roll off it (due to the horizontal baffles) unlike the Ether that was very comfertable with the normal baffles.

On insulation the Neoair from memory uses a reflective barrier to aid insulation where as the Ether uses a patch of insulation on the area your core will be in contact with and the rest is empty which from my limited uses of the mat was still warm. The material of the Neoair feels very flimsy and seems like it would suffer a puncture quit easily compared to the Ether that even tho it is translucent seems to me to be alot more robust. The Pacific outdoors Valves are aluminium and I think have a life time warranty.

Neo Air
6.3cm thick
small 260g / medium 370g / regular 410g
R-value 2.5
small 51 width x 119 length
medium 51 width x 168 length
regular 51 width x 183 length

Pacific Outdoor Equipment Ether Elite 6
51 x 183 x 6.0 cm
Weight 396 g (14 oz)
Colour - Solar Orange
It does seem to pack quit small Ive managed to get mine smaller than the neoair.

Here is a link to the shop I got it from tho it was on offer at the time for £35 it has gone up since http://www.sporttek.co.uk/Sleeping_Bags_%252526_Mats/Mats/Pacific_Outdoor_Equipment_Ether_Elite_6.html?pid=0 (no link just satisfied customer)

Hope this is at all helpful
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
So what is the difference between the neo air and the exped down mats ?
There's nothing flimsy about the covering on the exped, F-W :)
Twice the price of Ether Elite right enough :(

cheers,
Toddy
 

trekkingnut

Settler
Jul 18, 2010
680
1
Wiltshire
So what is the difference between the neo air and the exped down mats ?
There's nothing flimsy about the covering on the exped, F-W :)
Twice the price of Ether Elite right enough :(

cheers,
Toddy

434grms appears to be the difference on the regular length models! thats huge!

ether elite 6 seems to be out of stock on that site and everywhere else its about 55-65 quid...

thermarests come with a life time guarentee.... not sure about the pacific ones, though i am very interested in them!

i can get a regular neo air for 70 quid.... so the saving is minimal... its just the trust factor i guess...
 
D

Deleted member 7976

Guest
I've been using a pair of Neoairs for myself and SHMBO, mainly for bike rallys (10 per year) plus camping since they were first released and available in shops. Before that I was using a pair of Exped Airmats, before that a pair of Thermarest Prolite 3's. I also have an Exped Downmat 7 DLX which is what I tend to use solo (too tight to buy a 2nd for SHMBO) and 4 Multimats (one an original Karrimat expedition). So I have quite a bit of experience with them all and can give a proper comparison.

For anyone who doesn't know how a Neoair works, they are ligtweight inflatable mats just under 2" thick which, unlike traditional Thermarests, have no foam insulation inside. Instead, to stop them getting cold like traditional lilos, they have a series of internal baffles to stop cold air circulating. Additionally these baffles are coated with reflectorised material to reflect body heat.

The major feature of the Neoairs that puts them in their own class is the packed size. The regular size packs down slightly smaller than a 32oz wide mouth Nalgene bottle, which volume wise is massively less than any of my filled mats and also noticable smaller than the Exped Airmats. As I carry camping gear for 2 on 1 bike this is a major plus, and on any camping trip sleeping gear tends to account for a large amount of the pack space. Even if I wanted to buy SHMBO an Exped Downmat I wouldn't, as when carrying for 2 the Neoairs are just superior.

Warmth wise they are advertised as 3 season but they are very nice and warm. They have reflectorised baffles inside which a) stop heat circulating and b) reflect body heat back. If you lie on them inside without a bag you can feel the heat coming back up. In my opinion they are noticably warmer then the Thermarest Prolite 3's. The Airmats are essentially lilos and have no insulation so I only use on top of a closed cell mat. Nothing touches the Exped Downmat for wamth. I would also point out that SHMBO has given the Neoairs a big thumbs up from first use and all the way through the year. She usually sleeps cold and regularly informs of of this during trips :p

Comfort wise they also get a big thumbs up. I've generally found airbeds to be uncomfortable on the back, but these feel different. My gut feeling is that all those baffles give more structure to the mat limiting movement between the top and bottom. The air chambers also run laterally side to side rather than most mats which run top to bottom. Whatever the mechanics it seems to work. At almost 2 inches thick they are also more comfortable than the Prolites. As stated, possibly due to the baffles I find the neoairs more comfortable then the exped airmats which are about twice the thickness. Personally I think they may even be more comfortable than the Exped Downmat, although it's a close thing and due to the thickness of the Downmat it can cope with greater uneveness in the ground.

Durability is the only questionmark in my mind. I've been using these for over a year now and no sign of wear, damage or leaks. They are from the "fast and light" series though and the fabric does feel gossamer thin. I wouldn't use these to sleep on the forest floor or sharp rocks unprotected, but then I wouldn't use any inflatable mat without a closed cell mat or come other protection underneath.

They have always shipped with a grey stuffsack. There is an additional stuffsack accessory available in a matching material. They don't ship with a puncture repair kit. However as most repair kits state 24 hour drying time if you get a leak in the field the damage is done.

They don't burst in hot weather. There is a noticable expansion and contraction of air between noon and night, as there is with all of my other inflatable mats. Personally when I set up camp I inflate them but don't blow them up tight. Then when I turn in I add a final lung of air to get the pressure how I want. When I get up in the morning I let a squirt out (of the mat) to allow expansion. I don't know what would happen if I blew them up to 30psi in the cold of night and then left them the following day in the scoching sun, but it's a bit of a non-issue as I don't: I take care of my kit and do the same with all of my inflatable mats.

In summary, yes they are very very good, especially if you are wanting to travel light or space is at a premium. However if you need very rugged kit for hard use, maybe not first choice.
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,809
1,479
Stourton,UK
I've been using a pair of Neoairs for myself and SHMBO, mainly for bike rallys (10 per year) plus camping since they were first released and available in shops. Before that I was using a pair of Exped Airmats, before that a pair of Thermarest Prolite 3's. I also have an Exped Downmat 7 DLX which is what I tend to use solo (too tight to buy a 2nd for SHMBO) and 4 Multimats (one an original Karrimat expedition). So I have quite a bit of experience with them all and can give a proper comparison.

For anyone who doesn't know how a Neoair works, they are ligtweight inflatable mats just under 2" thick which, unlike traditional Thermarests, have no foam insulation inside. Instead, to stop them getting cold like traditional lilos, they have a series of internal baffles to stop cold air circulating. Additionally these baffles are coated with reflectorised material to reflect body heat.

The major feature of the Neoairs that puts them in their own class is the packed size. The regular size packs down slightly smaller than a 32oz wide mouth Nalgene bottle, which volume wise is massively less than any of my filled mats and also noticable smaller than the Exped Airmats. As I carry camping gear for 2 on 1 bike this is a major plus, and on any camping trip sleeping gear tends to account for a large amount of the pack space. Even if I wanted to buy SHMBO an Exped Downmat I wouldn't, as when carrying for 2 the Neoairs are just superior.

Warmth wise they are advertised as 3 season but they are very nice and warm. They have reflectorised baffles inside which a) stop heat circulating and b) reflect body heat back. If you lie on them inside without a bag you can feel the heat coming back up. In my opinion they are noticably warmer then the Thermarest Prolite 3's. The Airmats are essentially lilos and have no insulation so I only use on top of a closed cell mat. Nothing touches the Exped Downmat for wamth. I would also point out that SHMBO has given the Neoairs a big thumbs up from first use and all the way through the year. She usually sleeps cold and regularly informs of of this during trips :p

Comfort wise they also get a big thumbs up. I've generally found airbeds to be uncomfortable on the back, but these feel different. My gut feeling is that all those baffles give more structure to the mat limiting movement between the top and bottom. The air chambers also run laterally side to side rather than most mats which run top to bottom. Whatever the mechanics it seems to work. At almost 2 inches thick they are also more comfortable than the Prolites. As stated, possibly due to the baffles I find the neoairs more comfortable then the exped airmats which are about twice the thickness. Personally I think they may even be more comfortable than the Exped Downmat, although it's a close thing and due to the thickness of the Downmat it can cope with greater uneveness in the ground.

Durability is the only questionmark in my mind. I've been using these for over a year now and no sign of wear, damage or leaks. They are from the "fast and light" series though and the fabric does feel gossamer thin. I wouldn't use these to sleep on the forest floor or sharp rocks unprotected, but then I wouldn't use any inflatable mat without a closed cell mat or come other protection underneath.

They have always shipped with a grey stuffsack. There is an additional stuffsack accessory available in a matching material. They don't ship with a puncture repair kit. However as most repair kits state 24 hour drying time if you get a leak in the field the damage is done.

They don't burst in hot weather. There is a noticable expansion and contraction of air between noon and night, as there is with all of my other inflatable mats. Personally when I set up camp I inflate them but don't blow them up tight. Then when I turn in I add a final lung of air to get the pressure how I want. When I get up in the morning I let a squirt out (of the mat) to allow expansion. I don't know what would happen if I blew them up to 30psi in the cold of night and then left them the following day in the scoching sun, but it's a bit of a non-issue as I don't: I take care of my kit and do the same with all of my inflatable mats.

In summary, yes they are very very good, especially if you are wanting to travel light or space is at a premium. However if you need very rugged kit for hard use, maybe not first choice.

Nice review, that sums up what I was too lazy to write.
 

Doc

Need to contact Admin...
Nov 29, 2003
2,109
10
Perthshire
Great review, Colin, and I would concur with you and Jonathan on your findings.

I've only had mine since May so am reserving judgement on the cold weather performance, though I think the three season tag is about right. I suspect it is the baffles rather than the reflective coating that helps the insulation, as I have read that radiated heat loss is a small proportion of total heat loss.

It does feel very feel warm when I lie on it, but as I have just blown it up with air at 37 degrees C, this is perhaps inevitable! I would guess it would not feel quite so toasty if blown up several hours earlier on a cool autumn night.
 

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