Now I lay me down to sleep

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balzaccom
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Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by balzaccom »

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-R ... 0984884963
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rlown
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Re: Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by rlown »

had the same exact experience. I don't think I even had to send in the pad. When I talked with Cascade Designs, they said, "Oh, our first gen neo-airs had a design flaw. We'll just send you a new one." =D>
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psykokid
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Re: Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by psykokid »

I love my Neoair Xtherm. Best investment thus far in camping gear for pure comfort. I picked it up used last winter at about half of retail, and while at 20oz for the large size it's not the lightest pad, the extra R value helps me stretch out the usefulness of my older TNF Kilobag. I stayed toasty this past weekend when the temps dropped to the mid 20's at Mahogany Flat on the Shepherds Pass Trail with just a baselayer and the xtherm even though my bag is only rated for 32 degrees.
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tahoefoothills
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Re: Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by tahoefoothills »

I've had a Thermarest NeoAir for about 5 years or so (maybe longer). After trying several types of sleeping pads, I found it to be the most comfortable and I sleep very well when using it in the backcountry. I consider it to be one of my essential pieces of equipment. Mine does not seem to be leaking, yet. But, I will be keeping a close eye on it from now on.
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steiny98
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Re: Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by steiny98 »

I've heard very good things about the Thermarest product line, so I considered purchasing one. The issue I had when testing them out is that it sounds like a bag of potato chips is being crinkled when you move. Instead I purchased the Exped Synmat Hyperlite which is a very similar product. Good R Value rated for 21 degrees and it weighs 12 ounces. Oh... it's also super comfy.
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John Harper
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Re: Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by John Harper »

I bought a Klymit Static V-lite Insulated a couple years ago. Extremely comfortable, easy to inflate, 23 inches wide, 19 ounces, under $100, no problem sleeping on your side, quiet material too.

http://www.klymit.com/insulated-static-v-lite.html
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AlmostThere
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Re: Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by AlmostThere »

John Harper wrote:I bought a Klymit Static V-lite Insulated a couple years ago. Extremely comfortable, easy to inflate, 23 inches wide, 19 ounces, under $100, no problem sleeping on your side, quiet material too.

http://www.klymit.com/insulated-static-v-lite.html
Want another one? The one I have is damned uncomfortable. Hate it.

Then again, I have a woman's hips. Cause they go with my gender.

Don't get Klymit if you have a quilt or Big Agnes bag with no insulation under you. You'll get cold. I had to use a fleece under me on the pad, to get warm. Air just rolls right on into those deep channels.
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longri
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Re: Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by longri »

It took me a long time to get on board the Neoair. Literally. Each time I tried my wife's Neoair I felt like I was balancing on one of those inflatable balls in the gym. The pad kept bucking me off.

Then one day I tried it reversed, with the wider part was down by my hips, and it sort of worked okay. So I got one for myself. Then found it worked okay with the wide part up by my shoulders.

More recently my pad was punctured twice in one night. I only had one repair patch with me, which was pretty dumb. So I slept on my UL pack, which meant that I slept on the ground mostly (I was cowboy camping). Fortunately, the Sierra in August is generally a very warm place and I was only a little above 10K. The ground stayed warm all night.

So I bought a really cheap 1/4" blue pad to put under my really expensive super lightweight Neoair. It increased the total weight of my sleeping pad system (it's a "system" now) by about 50%, but it's far more puncture resistant. And the pad doesn't slip around like it used to. Plus, in the morning when performing the deflating and rolling ritual that all inflatable pad owners must practice I have a nice warm and somewhat softer place to plant my ass.

Unfortunately, since the punctures my pad no longer holds air quite as well. My wife's doesn't either (I punctured hers on a trip before I got my own). Just about every thermarest I've owned over the years (about 8 of them) has eventually developed this symptom, requiring me to wake up and add air every so often. With one pad I had to do it every 3-4 hours. I put up with that for 5 years before finally taking it back to REI. :-)
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AlmostThere
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Re: Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by AlmostThere »

I've been sending pads back to the manufacturer. They repair them or send a new pad. Exped repaired my Synmat without charge despite it being outside the warranty.
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ericZ
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Re: Now I lay me down to sleep

Post by ericZ »

there are so many models labeled NeoAir by Cascade Designs/Thermarest I'm often confused as to which model is being referred to. From both the Fast & Light to the Trek & Travel, and even Camp & Comfort series, we have NeoAirs called X-Therm, XLite, All-Season, Trekker, Voyager, Venture, Camper and Dream (I think i got them all). I'm assuming the pads spoken of are from the top two categories. Some are of an older design, some have been updated with improvements.

Wanting to upgrade from my 1.5 inch thick Thermarest ProLite 4 pads which are possibly over a decade old (and no leaks), I was considering the heralded NeoAir XTherm, but the slightly less cheaper Trekker (or one of the two versions) may be easier to digest financially. Musing: How much do i need that XTherm when i sleep warm, have a 15 degree down bag, and hike in the Sierra over only three seasons...

One thing I DO know, comfortable sleep is very important to me for enjoying the outdoors. Hence my newly purchased Nemo Fillo :)

eric
fresno, ca.
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