Comments on: Thermarest Neoair https://www.dooger.org/posts/hiking/gear/thermarest-neoair/ Doogering around Tue, 19 Apr 2016 23:30:13 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.4 By: Lynn (The Wife) https://www.dooger.org/posts/hiking/gear/thermarest-neoair/comment-page-1/#comment-387 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 03:39:23 +0000 https://www.dooger.org/%3Fp=313#comment-387 Nigel and I just hiked for the better part of a week in the Pasayten Wilderness in NE Washington State. I got a screaming deal on an older model Exped Downmat 7 short ($55 USD) and had to have it. I sleep cold, and suffer from Renauds, so this baby appealed to me:

Manufacturer: Expedition Equipment
Year of Manufacture: 2006
Manufacturer’s Website: https://www.exped.com/
MSRP: US$130
Listed Weight: Pad — 20 oz (580 g) ; Stuff sack — 4 oz (100 g)
Measured Weight: Pad — 21.1 oz (597 g) ; Stuff sack — 3.7 oz (104 g)
Listed Dimensions: Pad — 47″ L x 20″ W x 2.8″ H (120 cm L x 52 cm W x 7 cm H)
Measured Dimensions: Pad (when flat) — 47″ L x 24.5″ W (119 cm L x 62 cm W) — including 0.5″ (1.3 cm) seams on each side
Pad (when fully inflated) — 46″ L x 20.5″ W x 3.1″ H (117 cm L x 52 cm W x 8 cm H) — excluding seams on sides
Listed R-value: 5.9

The pad is sweet. I almost felt like there was a bit of a heater under me and, in wet conditions, where the pack stays outside in the tent vestibule, I would use the new Exped pillow as an extension. Both the pillow and the mat have little tabs on them that you can run a string through to attach so it doesn’t escape from restless sleepers during the night.

I found the pad to be extremely durable as it endured Jilly claws (Nigel’s 35 lb. BC mix) digging into it each night as she attempted to secure her place on the mat (which is why I’ll get the Downmat 7 when camping with Jilly in the future). It was also, in my opinion, more comfortable than the NeoAir.

My biggest gripe about the Downmat 7 was the storage bag (4oz) that was intended both for use as a pump and storage. The bag was useless for inflating the mattress as it kept popping off. I had an older verson of the Exped Pillow pump and that sucker took care of the Exped mat and the NeoAir with no hassles.

One issue to be aware of with the Downmat is that you MUST use a pump. Using your lungs to inflate it introduces moisture to the system – bad for down. Consider the Exped Synmat.

]]> By: Nigel https://www.dooger.org/posts/hiking/gear/thermarest-neoair/comment-page-1/#comment-187 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:32:15 +0000 https://www.dooger.org/%3Fp=313#comment-187 Ian, I’ve never tried using the Neoair as a frame in the Conduit. I have a frame pad from ULA (came with the Conduit as an option) that works great and also doubles as a seating pad. I would think it’s possible to use as a framepad but think it would be somewhat fiddly to get your stuff packed in. The Neoair doesn’t have much structure to it so unless you inflate to some pressure, it’s going to be very flexible and not necessarily stay square as you jam gear into your pack 🙁

There’s lots of discussion on this topic in the BPL thread at https://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=15373&startat=100.

]]> By: Ian https://www.dooger.org/posts/hiking/gear/thermarest-neoair/comment-page-1/#comment-186 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:20:40 +0000 https://www.dooger.org/%3Fp=313#comment-186 Thanks for the review – how do you find it works with the ULA Conduit as a “frame”?

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