Gossamer Gear Thinlight Insulation Pad

I have carried a Gossamer Gear 1/8" Thinlight Insulation pad for over five years. This super light foam pad has been great for many uses during the day and night. I have used it as my sit pad on every imaginable surface, for my mid day napping pad under trees or on picnic tables, as a shared sit pad for groups of stinky hikers, for a lunch table, as cowboy camping protection underneath my inflatable sleeping pad, as added insulation in my hammock and to wrap around fragile items that I sometimes carry in my pack.

My first Thinlight pad traveled with me for the entire 2650 mile length of the Pacific Crest Trail. After three years I finally replaced it with a new one which I used for a thru hike of the Hayduke Trail. I carry the pad on the outside of my pack so I have had to make many duct tape repairs from tears caused by some serious bushwhacks through cactus and thorn bushes. If I were to carry inside of my pack it would probably still be in great condition.

It is a durable closed cell foam which is super flexible, will not absorb water and is incredibly light weight. The 1/8" inch thick pad weighs about 2.5 oz and is around 20" wide and 59" long. It is an inexpensive option for a lightweight minimalist pad that can be used for many purposes and an item that I will carry on all of my backpacking trips.

http://gossamergear.com/thinlight-insulation-pads.html

NeoAir Xtherm

I received my NeoAir Xtherm in the mail in March of 2015 with the plan on using this sleeping pad for my winter adventures in Alaska. I have now had the chance to use for two separate multi-night trips while sleeping in a two wall tent which was pitched on snow in the interior of Alaska in April. Night temperatures were below 10* F. I have also used as a sit pad while on a frozen lake and snow in the evening and early mornings with temperatures around 15* and winds creating an even colder environment. Not only does this pad provide amazing comfort for sleeping, but at times seemed to be radiating heat back towards my body. I was very warm with no sense of the frozen ground below.

It takes 25 full breathes for me to inflate the pad completely. The stuff sack is designed to be used as an inflation sack to avoid having to blow up, but that feature seems silly and inefficient to me. I will cut off the additional material from the stuff sack as I will not be using this inflation feature and would rather remove the 1 oz of weight from the additional material. The material of the pad itself seems sturdy, our dog walked across it several times and I had little concerns about the durability of the pad. 

The regular length sleeping pad packs down in the included stuff sack to the size of a nalgene water bottle. Listed weight is 15 oz. I weighed on my digital kitchen scale and got the following weights: pad alone 15.4 oz, pad with full stuff sack & repair kit 17.6 oz. When I removed the inflation portion of the stuff sack the weight was reduced by 1 oz.  It is 72" long, 20' wide, and 2.5" thick when fully inflated. It has a listed R-Value of 5.7.

The length was more than I needed as in the past I have typically slept on a 3/4 length NeoAir. When I curled my legs up there was room for the dog to use the foot space of my pad. The width was comfortable. I was happy to find that the pad remained in place all night without much movement, which was nice as I was in a shared sleeping bag with two XTherm pads pressed together and there was little gapping between the two pads. I sleep on all four sides and am comfortable in all positions. I never have issues with my hips or shoulders pressing into the ground while side sleeping as I have had with other non inflatable pads.

Our Alaska winter conditions are quickly changing into spring weather and I will be switching back to using my smaller NeoAir Xlite pad for the summer. I am excited for the Alaska winter weather to return so I can use my XTherm sleeping pad in all winter conditions next year. I will continue to provide additional updates with further use.

This product is made in the U.S.A. Yay!

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/mattresses/fast-and-light/neoair-xtherm-and-xtherm-max/product

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir 3/4 Length

I bought my first Therm-a-Rest NeoAir sleeping pad in 2010 and it only took one very comfortable night to know that I would never return to sleeping on a closed cell foam pad again. At 5'5" the 3/4 length pad reached to just below my knees where I placed my backpack to raise and insulate my feet, this system worked great for me. The 3/4 length pad weighed 9oz and totaled 9.4oz when I included the small stuff sack which allowed me to pack the pad into a cylinder just larger than a soda can. With an R value of 2.5 I knew this would not be a pad that I would use for regular snow or winter camping, but it was perfect for my intended use on my upcoming Pacific Crest Trail thru hike. I did also carry a very thin 1/8th inch Gossamer Gear foam pad which I used during the day as my sit pad and then placed under my NeoAir at night for added protection from the puncturing spines of the many cactus in the desert stretch of the hike. I also found that the foam pad helped to keep the NeoAir from sliding around on the slick floor of my tent or groundcloth. 

I carried and used my NeoAir for the entire 2650 mile length of the PCT without ever having to repair a leak. I continued to use this pad for all of my shorter trips for the years to follow and eventually it began to form what I referred to as a "tumor" near the head of the pad. This lump of air formed from separating of internal air chambers. It began small and grew to the size of a melon over the course of a year of regular use. It didn't bother me much as it was located where I would typically use a pillow and I took advantage of the additional head padding. I knew another hiker who had a similar "tumor" form at the foot of his NeoAir and upon contacting Cascade Designs his sleeping pad was replaced at no cost. I considered replacing my pad, but after many years of use and over 450 nights of comfortable sleep I feel that my pad has just run the course of it's life. It finally acquired it's first slow leak after many years, and rather than patch or replace the valve (both of which are easy fixes) I have decided to retire this well used, much loved sleeping pad and replace it with the newest NeoAir pad.  

I actually purchased two new NeoAir pads, the Xtherm and and the Xlite. Between these two pads I know I will be sleeping comfortably in all seasons, all year round. I have used the XTherm a couple of times and have been happy so far (see other review). I will be using my new Xlite for many backpacking trips in Alaska this upcoming year as well as for nightly sleep all summer long for my job as a camping guide. I will provide a more detailed review of the Xlite after I have used for awhile.

Cascade Designs, Inc. is a great company who manufactures most of their products in the U.S.A. and Ireland. They have provided me with great customer service and great gear.The NeoAir will continue to be my sleeping pad of choice for any time I find myself sleeping on the ground, whether that may be on the floor of a friends house or in the deep wilds of the back country.

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest