I love Neo-air!

[DAJA]

And for those of you who keep bringing this back to a money issue, you missed my point. My complaint isn't with the price nor is my issue a money issue. It stems from the high number of reported failures and the sad state of our world and our compulsion to over-consume. Over consumption leads to nasty little things like wars, disease, increased taxes to cover things like health care, social issues and so on, a decline in our environment, a deterioration of our hobby as peice by peice we lose nature, and eventually the overall collapse of the eco system..

I'm interested in purchasing one of these, but first I must wear out my origional trail-guide thermarest that I purchased over 10yrs ago.. From the sounds of this thing, it likely will not have the lifespan of my original one... Shame that we seem content to pay more for less in terms of quality... Worse still, dispite a products poor quality, we will continue to puchase the same thing repeatedly.. Not much wonder quality has disappeared, where's the incentive for company's to provide quality when we simply just buy buy buy...

Further, you don't have to be old to have disposable income.. I'm young, energetic and resourceful, allowing me to own my own home morgage free complete with property that provides a good portion of my food, and energy needs. This free's up substancial money for discresionary spending. So yes I could buy one of these, and another and another and another, but if it failed once, and no substancial changes where made to improve the quality, i'd seek another product first to send a message to the company that I demand qaulity, and second to prevent further use of resources and energy to produce a poor quality product.

Sure, democracy is alive and well, as long as you believe in voting with your wallet!

I'm young, own my own home morgage free, have minimal debt

[FamilyGuy]

I haven't had the oportunity to hold one of these in my hands yet, so do you see it being durable enough to toss on the ground for a seat during breaks throughout the day or resting at camp at night? Does Thermarest make a seat sleeve for the Neo yet?

Good question - Like any inflatable, I would be very careful as to where you lay on it with respect to ground cover. The fabric feels fairly durable, but only time will tell. This pad will not be as tough as say the Thernarest Toughskin pad. What I do like about the fabric is that it is 'sticky,' which kept me firmly planted on the thing. It is only 20" wide for the Regular and that may be too narrow for some. I am a side sleeper so no issue.

I should have added that it took 22-25 full breathes to blow it up to my liking. Some may find this a pain.

I do not think that a seat sleeve exists yet but BA has one that will fit on the Clearwave so I suspect it would work here as well.

[ChinMusic]

.... do you see it being durable enough to toss on the ground for a seat during breaks throughout the day or resting at camp at night?

No freaking way.

Inflatables must be treated carefully no matter which one you buy.

[DAJA]

Excellent advice, thank to both of you.. The way my existing 10yr old thermarest is holding up, I'll likely still be using it for another decade... By that time perhaps my body will be looking for more comfort and someone will have produced a super durable inflatable..

[Ladytrekker]

Got mine today, took me 26 puffs to blow up really tight. Laid on it no painful action digging into my hip bones. I adjusted the firmness by loosening the valve and letting air out to get to the desired softness. Love it. Comfort and a good nights sleep is definitely a concern for multiple days so I am very excited and it folds up to nothing it is so small it will not fit into my bedroll loops on my pack.

[Ladytrekker]

It is for sleeping only on ground cover or in a tent. It can get damaged by rocks, etc. I am thinking of pairing mine with a z foam pad which is also extremely light. Could use the z pad during the day for resting or sitting, etc. and the neoair for sleeping. I am not as young as most of you and a hard uncomfortable night can ruin my next day, so comfort is important to me.

[Snowleopard]

Just ordered a small neoair from EMS $95.96 + shipping, but if you order over $100 you get a card worth $25 at EMS (read restrictions). Sale ends 5/10.
REI also has it 20% off for members, with free shipping to your local store).

[Rocketman]

I can only answer based on my two experiences but I saw more...

The first was a full-on product failure. The seems of a similar air mattress (read: glorified pool toy) failed.

Another time was inconclusive...I could find out later this summer. But, I don't think I stayed in shelters AT ALL with the second mattress since it was summer in VA/MD/PA/NJ...with the bugs and whatnot. By the time I was inflating the thing 8 times a night and waking up on roots I just mailed it home and grabbed the nearest piece of foam.

When through hiking you really do need to follow the K.I.S.S. principle with all of your gear. If it has moving parts and isn't your pocket knife it probably doesn't belong in your pack.

I get the impression that one of your "experiences" was not with a high quality backpacking mattress like a Thermarest at all.

It isn't clear if that is true of the second mattress as well - or was the second failed (unknown reasons) mattress something other than a quality backpacking mattress as well?

[Engine]

We had 8 nights of combined experience on our 2 Medium NeoAir mattresses last week. Only once did we have what seemed like a loss of air over about 8-10 hours. The night that happened my wife inflated both of them and every night they didn't deflate I had done the inflation. Obviously she did something differently than I had and that may be an issue with other reported "failures" as well. I can honestly say they insulate quite well. One morning as we were packing up we had a bad thunderstorm come through and the temp dropped rapidly. The floor of the tent was freezing and we reinflated a NeoAir to sit on for insulation. It worked great.

I did find that they are more comfortable to sleep on when only inflated about 85% full. If inflated to the maximum my lower back would become sore during the night, but it was great when a little soft. Our only complaint, which is not the fault of the product, is that they slide terribly on the floor of the tent. Some silicone will be applied to the pads this week to see how it works. Ovarall I would give them a very high rating.

[ChinMusic]

Our only complaint, which is not the fault of the product, is that they slide terribly on the floor of the tent. Some silicone will be applied to the pads this week to see how it works. Ovarall I would give them a very high rating.

Don't put the silcone on the pads. Place a few dots/lines on the tent floor.

[Engine]

Don't put the silcone on the pads. Place a few dots/lines on the tent floor.

I was wondering about that. When I seam sealed the tent I put two thin strips across the floor but they really didn't help. That's why I was thinking about doing it to the pad. I'll just try adding some lines in the other direction. Thanks.

[Mrs Baggins]

I went to REI in Fairfax to pick up my husband's Neo that had finally come in. Took a long time for the clerk to find it. She said they had received 900 of them at once!

[Engine]

I went to REI in Fairfax to pick up my husband's Neo that had finally come in. Took a long time for the clerk to find it. She said they had received 900 of them at once!

$130,000+ worth of NeoAirs in one vendor location. Therm-A-Rest stock must be going up.

[Mrs Baggins]

[quote=Engine;838084]$130,000+ worth of NeoAirs in one vendor location. Therm-A-Rest stock must be going up. [/quote

I'm sure she was exaggerating, that she was just trying to say they'd rec'd many many of them at once, as in "we just got a ton of these in" "truckload of them arrived" etc

[ChinMusic]

I was wondering about that. When I seam sealed the tent I put two thin strips across the floor but they really didn't help. That's why I was thinking about doing it to the pad. I'll just try adding some lines in the other direction. Thanks.

I have nothing to back up this fear, but I would think the silicone on the pad may create a weak spot. Again, I have nothing to back that up.

[Engine]

[quote=Mrs Baggins;838090]

$130,000+ worth of NeoAirs in one vendor location. Therm-A-Rest stock must be going up. [/quote

I'm sure she was exaggerating, that she was just trying to say they'd rec'd many many of them at once, as in "we just got a ton of these in" "truckload of them arrived" etc

I imagine it was an exaggeration as well, but probably indicative of how fast this product is selling. Other than the slow deflation issue, I have yet to hear anyone who has actually used a NeoAir say anything bad about it. It really is a great product and likely will become a trendsetter in the industry. I hope so anyway as competition will drive the price down and further refine and improve an already pretty great idea.

[MedicineMan]

Just finished PA! I needed Swatara Gap to DWG....11 days on the trail. First 2 nights I used a size medium NeoAir. Inflation is quick enough 11-12 breaths and yes compared to Therm-a-rest pads of the past (even recent past) it is a vast improvement....but after 2 nights I switched back into a Hennessey Lite Racer.
Unfortunately for me there is abs. no comparison between the comfort of a hammock and sleeping on the ground or in a shelter (did both) with a NeoAir. The hammock is still light years ahead for comfort. I have several therm-a-rests and I'll repeat again that the improvement (slide sleeping now possible, warm ratio great, stickyness prevents sliding) of the NeoAir over the previous models is dramatic.....I'll stick with hammocking whenever possible.....a touch of sad news; my Lite Racer with just over 150 nights in it has developed a small tear, it will have to be retired but I know I got my moneys worth out of it.

[hawkeye]

I got one. I know I really didn't need it, but it is very light and comfortable. I plan on using it on my Long Trail hike in July. Only draw back is the $$$ to save a pound of weight!

[Engine]

I got one. I know I really didn't need it, but it is very light and comfortable. I plan on using it on my Long Trail hike in July. Only draw back is the $$$ to save a pound of weight!

After a few nights in the woods you will I think agree it is more than weight savings. I have never woke up as refreshed on my old 1" Therm-A-Rest as I do on one of these. Product of the year in my book.

[Tipi Walter]

I leave in 2 days; should I take a backup plan considering the Neoair is spotty on holding air?

I always take a back up thermarest on all my trips, either as a bundle left inside the car or in a cache hidden under a log at the drop off point. For the NeoAir I would definitely take a back up.

Here's what they claim, don't know how true it is:

"Unrivaled Warmth: Our patent-pending reflective barrier returns warmth to your body and reduces heat loss to the ground, keeping you three times warmer than any other uninsulated air mattress."

On the other hand, three times warmer than any other uninsulated air mattress still might not be that warm . . .

Yeah, as far as I can tell, no one really makes an uninsulated pad. If an Rvalue equates to insulation, even the "only just air" pads have around .7 to 1 Rvalue, making them therefore "insulated".

3X0=0 That may be the answer for uninsulated air mattresses

I posted something similar a while back on the NeoAir--three times warmer than nothing??