Backcountry Forum
Backpacking & Hiking Gear

Backcountry Forum
Our long-time Sponsor - the leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear
 
 
 

Amazon.com
Backpacking Forums
---- Our Gear Store ----
The Lightweight Gear Store
 
 WINTER CAMPING 

Shelters
Bivy Bags
Sleeping Bags
Sleeping Pads
Snow Sports
Winter Kitchen

 SNOWSPORTS 

Snowshoes
Avalanche Gear
Skins
Hats, Gloves, & Gaiters
Accessories

 ULTRA-LIGHT 

Ultralight Backpacks
Ultralight Bivy Sacks
Ultralight Shelters
Ultralight Tarps
Ultralight Tents
Ultralight Raingear
Ultralight Stoves & Cookware
Ultralight Down Sleeping Bags
Ultralight Synthetic Sleep Bags
Ultralight Apparel


the Titanium Page
WM Extremelite Sleeping Bags

 CAMPING & HIKING 

Backpacks
Tents
Sleeping Bags
Hydration
Kitchen
Accessories

 CLIMBING 

Ropes & Cordage
Protection & Hardware
Carabiners & Quickdraws
Climbing Packs & Bags
Big Wall
Rescue & Industrial

 MEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 WOMEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 FOOTWEAR 

Men's Footwear
Women's Footwear

 CLEARANCE 

Backpacks
Mens Apparel
Womens Apparel
Climbing
Footwear
Accessories

 BRANDS 

Black Diamond
Granite Gear
La Sportiva
Osprey
Smartwool

 WAYS TO SHOP 

Sale
Clearance
Top Brands
All Brands

 Backpacking Equipment 

Shelters
BackPacks
Sleeping Bags
Water Treatment
Kitchen
Hydration
Climbing


 Backcountry Gear Clearance

Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#196660 - 09/29/16 05:17 PM The Prince and the Pea
balzaccom Online   content
member

Registered: 04/06/09
Posts: 2232
Loc: Napa, CA
We've had a lot of people ask us about what we use for sleeping pads. "How can you be comfortable sleeping on the ground?" they ask. They seem to think that sleeping on the ground is...hard.

Well, to be fair, the ground is hard, and we've made some adjustments over the years.

I slept for many years on a 1/2 inch piece of closed cell blue foam. My wife was always trying something new, and usually in combination with at least one other pad--the best combination was a Thermarest Z-rest mattress over 1/2 of foam pad.

But then one year for her birthday, I bought her a Thermarest Neo-Air mattress--the modern version of that old inflatable plastic thing that we used as scouts. It was a revelation, and she was in heaven.

I remained unconvinced. "Goldurn fancypants foolishness" or something like that, was what I could be heard to mutter under my breath.

Until, that is, one day when I accepted her offer to borrow her Neo-Air to take a nap in the afternoon. Holy Mackerel was that nice! I quickly bought one for myself. One order of fancypants foolishness to go, and make it snappy!

They are relatively light (about 12 ounces, all in) and inflate to a VERY comfortable 2 inches or more. Of luxury. All part of our home away from home.

So we used these pads for about four years, and were pretty darn happy with them. Over time they began to leak and flatten out over the course of a night. And after living with them for a couple of years that way, re-inflating them in the middle of the night, we finally contacted Neo-Air about getting them fixed.

Very simply process, and they made it easy. We sent them our mattresses, and they promised to fix them for very little money indeed--all in the course of a promised 4-6 week turnaround. Can't beat that.

Well, you can beat that.

Because about two weeks later, instead of fixing all of the leaks in our older model mattresses, they sent us brand new ones that don't leak.

We're sold. Again. We can hardly wait to sleep on them. Again.
_________________________
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/

Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

Top
#196663 - 09/30/16 12:16 AM Re: The Prince and the Pea [Re: balzaccom]
JustWalking Offline
member

Registered: 01/12/16
Posts: 293
Loc: PNW
I'm not surprised. Cascade Designs is known for pretty good customer service. I've been using a NeoAir for quite some time, and an X-Therm in winter.

Top
#196664 - 09/30/16 07:42 AM Re: The Prince and the Pea [Re: JustWalking]
bluefish Offline
member

Registered: 06/05/13
Posts: 680
The first iteration of the Neo-Airs I did not like, and quickly sold mine. They changed, I bought my wife the new women's model , but it would deflate very slowly right from its first night on the trail. I also bought another. After 4 years, I sent the wife's in for repair after wasting lots of time with tub dunkings and soap bubble sprayings trying to find the leak after it started going dead flat 1/2 way through a night. They sent us a new one, but charged me shipping. It was a faulty seam. I received the bill after the fact, about 2 weeks later. It was for 30 bucks. Cheap for a new pad, but it tempered my enthusiasm a little.
_________________________
Charlie

Top
#196668 - 09/30/16 06:05 PM Re: The Prince and the Pea [Re: balzaccom]
Rick_D Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 2939
Loc: NorCal
Yeah, I was more skeptical of the IR reflection model than the appeal of going back to an air mattress after foam pads and self-inflators, but darned if it doesn't work and it's perhaps the most significant volume-saving gear swap I can think of. Turns out the horizontal tubes (vs. lengthwise) do a great job eliminating typical air mattress bounce. My main "discovery" achieving best comfort was avoiding over-inflation.

Cheers,
_________________________
--Rick

Top
#196793 - 10/19/16 12:32 AM Re: The Prince and the Pea [Re: balzaccom]
Jim M Offline
member

Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
I too have gone through several iterations of sleeping pads. We used to use something called Insolite and two of them in winter. Blue foam pads are the equivalent nowadays. I advanced to a closed cell foam ridge rest (48") for quite some time, but a few years ago I purchased a ThermoRest Scout (48") and I admit I sleep very well on it. Not as thick or as light as your NeoRest, but when people ask me how my pad worked the next morning I tell them "I don't know, I was sleeping all night."
In snow I don't feel I need as much padding because the snow conforms to my body shape so I use a 72" Ridge rest and it insulates well enough and weighs only 14 ounces. I wonder how that compares with the insulation provided by the Neorest.
_________________________
Jim M

Top

Shout Box

Highest Quality Lightweight Down Sleeping Bags
 
Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bags
 
Lite Gear Talk - Featured Topics
Backcountry Discussion - Featured Topics
Make Your Own Gear - Featured Topics
Featured Photos
Spiderco Chaparral Pocketknife
David & Goliath
Also Testing
Trip Report with Photos
Seven Devils, Idaho
Oat Hill Mine Trail 2012
Dark Canyon - Utah
Who's Online
0 registered (), 241 Guests and 0 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Noodles, McCrary, DanyBacky, Rashy Willia, WanderBison
13240 Registered Users
Forum Links
Disclaimer
Policies
Site Links
Backpacking.net
Lightweight Gear Store
Backpacking Book Store
Lightweight Zone
Hiking Essentials

Our long-time Sponsor, BackcountryGear.com - The leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear:

Backcountry Forum
 

Affiliate Disclaimer: This forum is an affiliate of BackcountryGear.com, Amazon.com, R.E.I. and others. The product links herein are linked to their sites. If you follow these links to make a purchase, we may get a small commission. This is our only source of support for these forums. Thanks.!
 
 

Since 1996 - the Original Backcountry Forum
Copyright © The Lightweight Backpacker & BackcountryForum