We have taken delivery of our new Thermarest NeoAirs from Bob at BackpackingLight.
One of the most hotly anticipated new products of 2009, the NeoAir is in a class of its own. The statistics for the Small size (51cm x 119cm) are very impressive:- 6.3cm thick, weighing only 260g and a packed volume around the size of a 1l bottle.
Knowing Thermarest of old, the first thing was to weigh them:- we found considerable variation among their self inflating predecessors, and always on the heavy side. In the case of the NeoAirs the quoted weights were very accurate: both our small-size samples weighed 270g including the stuffsack (size Small equates to the old ¾-length size). This is a very good saving, only half the weight of our Prolite 4s and a much smaller packed volume.
The surface is clearly designed for high friction and feels distinctly tacky to the touch, no doubt to solve the often reported problem of slipping and sliding on the self-inflating mattresses, which totally baffles us, we have never experienced any such thing.
The ultralight thin nylon will of course demand greater care than the old self-inflating mattresses which seemed as tough as old boots. The NeoAir is not supplied with a puncture repair kit, which is really mean considering the price. A tiny tube of SeamGrip might be useful to attempt field repairs of pinhole punctures, but success depends on being able to find them. We still have a repair kit that was supplied with our old Thermarest LE mattresses from years ago, consisting of a few patches and a 7g tube of SeamGrip, that came with instructions that include the classic method of finding tiny leaks: blow up the mattress and submerge it in a bath of water: not very useful on the hill.
I’ve added these details to the main site.
4 Comments
So far I am very happy with mine. I used an old Exped 7.5 and the new NeoAir is a class apart from it. Hope you sleep well with the new kit Geoff.
I’m sure it will be supremely comfortable. I’m equally sure it’s tougher than it looks and feels (a bit like lying on a thin balloon!), anyway the psychological apprehension should soon pass after a few trips.
I used mine for four nights on Dartmoor recently, and although it didn’t slip, it did rotate. One night it turned by about 60 degrees, so I was almost sideways on it. I guess it must be something to do with the way I turn over in the night. Another thing - if you have your pillow off the end, rather than on the mat, it needs to be a lot thicker to allow for the thickness of the NeoAir. I used my clothes under the pillow. It’s really comfy, and it goes back in the stuff sack without a struggle!
My pillow arrangement is an old thin nylon stuffsack filled with whatever clothing is not worn in the night, and it has an elastic tape attached that I stretch around the mattress to stop it moving around, so the pillow is on top.
I’ll be trying it soon.