light, compact and silent sleeping pad?

Hey guys,

I'm looking for a wider sleeping pad of about 25".
I'd have bought the xlite if it wasn't for its nose levels when moving.

Is the xtherm more quiet?
Our is there any other mat I should consider?

I'm focused on inflatable ones, a foldable evazote like the z-lite, but in wide would work as well.

Anyone got an idea?

The background is that new that I have a quilt, my arms trend to fall of the mat on the cold ground..

Thx!

The XTherm is not that wide, quiets down after inflation. I've used mine twice now, I don't notice any noise when sleeping and I roll around a lot.
Duane

Oh I hate noisy pads, I found my best night sleep on an Exped ul synmat 7 wide. 26" wide and pure quite bliss. Next in line is a Big Agnes insulated q core. Now if these jokers would only make a short/wide pad. I never need the last foot of pad maybe even more.

Oh true - I read that the xlite was less wide than indicated - makes sense that the xtherm is the same.but good to know that it's at least less noisy...

I also eyeballed the exped ul7 - but it only comes in LW, meaning long and wide, doesn't it?
Great to hear that it's silent! Also prefer the vertical air chambers over the horizontal ones from tar.
It's sad that they only make one model in wide with regular length.

Also found the big Agnes online, but it's hard to get in Europe and has quite a price tag to it!

Any other idea?

Gossamer gear has a new air beam pad. I've never seen one but have the air beam for my kumo pack and it is made from very durable yet quite material.


Description
The Gossamer Gear Air Beam Sleeper is an inflatable sleeping pad suitable for most 3-Season use. The Air Beam Sleeper is uninsulated and comes in 4 sizes. Each pad comes with a repair kit and a replacement valve. The weights and size info can be found in the SPECS section of this page. Consider adding a Thinlight insulation pad for extra warmth and if you are using a Gossamer Gear pack the Thinlight can be used in the pad holder pocket in place of a Sitlight. There are integrated tabs on the sides of the Sleepers for securing them to a quilt or foam pad.
http://gossamergear.com/sleeping/air-beam-sleeper.html

I like the design of the NeoAirs, the direction of the tubes works better for my shoulders.
Duane

Except the neoairs are far from quite.

My old, original, NeoAir short is real quiet. I notice some crinkliness on the new Xtherm, once inflated I don't notice anything. I'll have to check it out again, its only been out twice now since I got it last Spring, ready for winter camping. I think it is the BA that are really loud per a trip along the Lost Coast a few years ago, one guy had one.
Duane

what's BA?

Big Agnes.

It's the name of a spectacular mountain in the Park Range of NW Colorado. (No, nobody knows who Agnes was!) In the context used here, it's the name of a gear company based in nearby Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

I personally haven't found any of their gear that I like, despite their connection with one of my favorite mountain ranges. Your Mileage, of course, May Vary!

Some folks on the backpackinglight.com forum have been able to cut and reseal wide pads to make them shorter, but I personally cringe at the thought of taking a knife to something that expensive. I guess I'm just a coward! The info is buried in their forums; good luck searching!

that's what many have said, but I have never experienced that at all in the six years I've been using my original neoair.

+2 on quiet neo airs. The wife and I have newer model mummy shaped pads and they are a dream compared to our old thermarest self inflatables. We are not experiencing any noise issues. At least any more than any other inflatables.

They are also pretty warm. Both cold sleepers they were toasty down to 20F on non frozen ground. YMMV

jimmyb

For 2014, Thermarest is coming out with their new, updated Trekker pad. It is 50% warmer than their previous one (around 3.5 R-Value), uses much quieter materials (when I first saw this pad I was really impressed that it didn't make a peep when I squeezed it), and the best part it comes in a Large Torso length (25" wide X 47" long). It's the only pad from Thermarest that comes in this size. It also comes in Lg (25" x 77") and Reg (20" X 72").

Full disclosure, I'm the Cascade Designs rep in the Rocky Mountain territory. This pad was developed to primarily address the issue, from a vocal minority, that the NeoAir mattresses are noisy. Personally I love my XLite and have not been bothered by the noise. I'm a fairly light sleeper and my experience has been that the ambient noise from the surrounding river, trees, bugs, etc. seem to silence any crinkly noise. I do move around, but when asleep the pad makes zero noise. The sleeping bag also helps to insulate the noise coming from the pad. It has never bothered me. I especially love that its 12oz (reg size) and rolls up to the size of a pint Nalgene bottle.

You should check out the new NeoAir Trekker. I think it might be what you're looking for. The bad thing is it won't be available until Jan 1, 2014.

Yes, kinda like the tree falling when no one is around to here it.

Joking aside sounds like a nice pad. Thanks for taking the time to let us know its coming. Co.'s should do more early release info like that so folks know what's in the pipeline. By the way what is the weight of the new 72x20?

jimmyb

The noisiest pad I ever encountered was a BA insulated air core. Every movement the gal made, it groaned so loudly I could hear it in my tent, 50 feet from hers.

Things that crinkle when you handle them often don't crinkle with the weight of a body on them... actual use can vary a lot.

I never slept on a neoair but every time I've looked at the store they remind me of a Mylar ballon being crumpled up over and over. I can't see spending the money to see if I can sleep on it. I really want yo like neoair pads they are so light and packs small. But at this point I'm very happy with Exped synmat ul7. Very comfortable, quite, light, just not cheap.

Very cool. I could see a 25x47 being useful for hammocking.

Cheers,

Most stores have demos. Pull one out and lay on it, roll around a few times. Not hard to give one a try.

Level of inflation also makes a difference - blow it up so tight you can bounce on it, and it'll squabble when you roll over. I like a nice 3/4 inflation level, so it cushions adequately and yet doesn't feel like I'm on a balloon.

That was my experience Lori, but the next tent over on the Lost Coast was 10' away or less. Like Tyvek, after being used a few times, my original is quiet, same as yours. I got mine back when also. Now in the store last winter, squeezing the XTherm turned me off, but after reading about peoples thoughts about it, Cascade Designs R ratings were more believable than other makes. I then went for its weight and R value, saving me quite a bit on my winter kit. Weight, not $$$.
Duane

I have laid on them at the store and, to me , it seemed too noisy. I too like my inflatable filled just enough to keep my hips about 1" off the ground. Overinflated these pads are like pool toys. The problem I think is most people look at inflatables like the old air beds that people use for guest, you fill them to the brim at the beginning of the night to find yourself in a vinyl taco by midnight. Backpacking pads for the most part don't lose air so it works best inflated for max comfort from the get go.

Hi, Jason - good to hear from you again; it's been a while.

Ah all right, thx! Already talked about the 'BA' a few posts more up.

I also found a youtube video on shortening a neo air, but I guess I'm a coard in that aspect as well - especially as therm a rest for example has the limited lifetime warranty and I read about a lot of people exchanging damaged mats - no chance with a self-shortened one!
Plus it's almost not worth it I guess as I wouldn't shorten it that much.

Looks like I'm gonna end up with a therm a rest trekker as it's supposed to be silent and available in large. but almost 700g are more than I was planning for.
The Exped synmal UL 7 in LW would be an alternative with about 100g less, but there's no lifetime warranty plus they're a bit hard to get in Europe...

Any other mat I might have missed?
Or any genious thought about how to cater my need for a wider pad?

I thought about adding some pieces of foam sleeping mats to the sides, but also having your arms hanging down from a high inflatable mat isn't fun...

I use an early 90s model Thermarest. I have had it since I was in the Boy Scouts. It still works, but is heavy as all get out! I usually fold the top foot or so underneath itself. It helps make it a bit more comfortable. When I buy a new pad, the Neoair Xlite looks pretty nice. And I can bet it is way lighter!