Therm-a-Rest - NeoAir XLite NXT MAX Sleeping Pad

When I was younger I got a 3/4 length therma rest sleeping pad for a backpacking trip to save on weight. It worked it was fine for the trip, I'm really short anyway and didn't notice. 12 years later I used it again and let my bf use the full body one because he had never gone real camping before. Oh man, I can sleep through a lot and pretty easily. That was the most uncomfortable I've been in years sleeping on the ground. Get one. You'll regret it.

I ditched my 1/8" pad by the Sierra Nevada because it wasn't valuable for me. I got three punctures in my Xlite in the desert and couldn't risk the 1/8" as a sit pad, given that it'd collect dirt and spiky stuff. I suspect it trapped spiky things in my tent that would've otherwise slipped around, and possibly not punctured my pad. It helped my pad not slide around, but beyond that, it didn't help me with punctures as best I can tell, and it was awkward in or outside my pack. So, good as a basic sitpad, but I'm not confident about its value beyond that.

That’s old news. They’ve altered the way they make them so they are nowhere near as noisy anymore. They used to sound like crinkly paper when you turn. No longer.

Exped megamat for car camping, thermarest neoair for backpacking

i have a therma neo air therm--good. but what makes it great is the 1cm closed cell foam pad that i bring along with it--keeps me xtra warm at night, but more importantly is a great lounging pad in the winter kitchen and kneeling pad at the tent door etc

Of those I have experience of the S2S ultralight, Vango Aotrom platinum and the Rapide SL. The differences between the S2S and the Vango are minimal, S2S better feeling materials and more comfortable, but colder, noisier and more expensive. The Rapide SL is much more comfortable and warmer than both. My partner uses the Rapide SL and loves it, I personally use a Thermarest Xlite and whilst not as comfortable as the Rapide is considerably lighter and noticeably warmer. If you have a store anywhere near you can try out a few I highly suggest that.

You didn’t list the weights but the Neoair Xlite NXT weighs 12 oz, whereas the Nemo pad weighs 18 oz. That’s an enormous difference in UL terms. If those are the only choices, pick the Xlite. (All this assumes you are attempting to lower your baseweight to the minimum, else why ask on this subreddit?) You could then do what I did and shorten it to 3/4 length and use your backpack under your feet. That configuration is easier to adapt to than you think. That gets it close to 9 oz — half of the Nemo.

If I ever buy another inflatable pad, it'll be a [Nemo Tensor Trail](https://www.nemoequipment.eu/collections/sleeping-pads/products/tensor-trail-insulated-ultralight-sleeping-pad). Of all the inflatable options, it's simply the best blend of comfort/weight (assuming you avoid cold temps like I do) The horizontal baffles on the XLite are nowhere near as comfortable

For solo? Assuming you don’t need a free standing tent, take a look at Mier Lanshan 1P on Amazon. It uses a trekking pole. I have like a 16 year old NeoAir pad which rolls up slightly smaller than a Nalgene. It’s kinda pricey but they still make them.

Plenty of brands use 20D, the few times they've ventured lower has massively impacted durability; see the thermarest uberlite and the current Nemo tensor elite, which Nemo even admitted developed pin holes during testing. You will be fine with 20D with or without CCF underneath. I use an X-lite which is 30D I believe but previous mats I've used were 20D all fine and I'm don't exactly baby my gear lol.

+1 for lengthwise baffles and therefore Exped. I tried the Neo Air, I toss and turn a lot...I could only ever sleep comfortably on lengthwise baffles

I used Thermarest Neoair Xlite NXT in February and was warm enough (R4.5 - 2deg C in Sussex). So you probably don't need to worry about R factor.

Have you looked at a Thermarest Xlite? Better warmth to weight than those options.

When I was younger I got a 3/4 length therma rest sleeping pad for a backpacking trip to save on weight. It worked it was fine for the trip, I'm really short anyway and didn't notice. 12 years later I used it again and let my bf use the full body one because he had never gone real camping before. Oh man, I can sleep through a lot and pretty easily. That was the most uncomfortable I've been in years sleeping on the ground. Get one. You'll regret it.

Thermarest Neo-air x-lite for 3 seasons use or the x-therm if you are looking at colder weather. Yes they are expensive but they have a lifetime warranty and great customer service

Test both and then decide, because everyone has a different body. I personally switched from the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated (size L with similar baffle structure to the Tensor) to the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT (size RW). Both are wide, the NXT is just regular length and as a side sleeper, I’ll never go back. I think the crucial point is to inflate it to the right pressure because overinflation won’t be comfortable. My preferred pressure is when I sit on the pad I almost touch the ground, but when I lie down, it feels perfect.

What weather do you backpack in? Because those seem like total overkill mostly. Unless you are snow camping, I would go for NeoAir XLite.

Keep in mind, too, that a CCF pad can be a huge hassle to attach to your pack. Some people care more than others about stuff flopping around, dealing with attaching it every morning, etc, but you might want to figure out which type you are. I keep saying I'm going to try my CCF for summer backpacking, but always give up and throw my XLite into my pack. Even after I spent two nights with it deflated due to punctures (yes, more than one :( on one trip, I patched it when I got home and still used it for my next trip. It's just too easy. But it's still good to have a CCF to use on really cold nights in a campground, as a second pad underneath an inflatable. Or of course if you do winter backpacking or the like.

For one year trip I would use something cheaper, more sturdy than ultralight. Thermarest often listed is great but £50 decathlon air mat is more sustainable, you'll have less stress. To increase R factor, you can add some CCF pad.

It's very simple if it blows up with air and inflates - at SOME point it's gonna get a hole in it. That's life! The whole air mattress thing started with Therm-a-rest's and they were pretty tough back then, now with everybody sporting hard-on's for "ultralight" gear its gonna get worse. Same goes for actual air mattress, you can sleep on them but if you're not in Texas or Arizona yer still gonna freeze your butt off. Here's why ....... People these days buy inflatable pads for the comfort, but you really need them for the insulative qualities they actually provide. Don't believe me go sleep on the actual ground one night. When you crawl in to your sleeping bag you actually crush the down or syntho fill in the bag so there is no insulation there under you and the cold even in summer can seep right in. You need a pad under you to keep you off the ground ..... the best ones for that are still the cheap blue ensolite foamy's you buy at the cheaper stores but yes, for comfort they suck. There is a yellow thicker brand called Zotefoams Evazote and they got up to an inch thick but I haven't seem them for years but they were good quality and tough and CAN'T deflate ! So ultimately if you want comfort you need to go buy a big chunk of open cell white foam four inches thick and 7 feet long like you see in hobby stores - mega comfy and the size of a house! But now you can't pack it anyway so you're back to the blow up pads - and that's it. You can go to stores and look at stuff like Futons and crap but they don't pack well ! Heck even Ikea makes a folding mattress but again good luck carrying it around, right? Pick one but they WILL get a hole in them at some point however you can try to limit that with a cot. I've used them for years and its nice. I'm gonna suggest a Cabella's Lounger Cot but they are $350 bloody bucks and the same goes a real camping pad, something like a Exped Megamat itself is $400 bucks by itself. The two cots I wanna get are gonna cost me $405 bucks so add in two decent pads like Expeds and they're $500 .... great huh? It's nuts at a thousand bucks! I actually might just go get some memory foam cut at an RV store and use that. They can't deflate and its about the same bloody price as these inflatable ones, granted it won't be near as packable and portable but both my Thermarest leak, both my Big Agnes pad leak, even the TWO Coleman air beds leak, you can't win. My tent is 210 sq feet and 10 feet tall so I don't need backpack-ability either ........

I've got a Thermarest NeoAir Xlite NXT Sleeping pad, and am a side sleeper  I find it's too slippery, ended up putting it inside my sleeping bag liner. I'm looking for something else, I think., let's put it like that. Anyway, I'm here to see of there's anything I can do to improve my sleep. I'm going to carry a folding thermal mat too, next trip, if I can deal with the bulk.