New Thermarest pad design

[Geo.]

Had many years of use out of my old Thermarest pad, so this looks like this could be worth checking out when it arrives... :)

Cascade Designs, Inc., the Seattle-based industry leader in the design and manufacture of premier outdoor equipment, today announced the April 2009 release of the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattress as part of the brand’s Fast & Light® series. The ultralight NeoAir mattress is a compact air mattress designed with patent-pending technologies that make it warm and comfortable when inflated for sleeping in the outdoors.

The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattress packs to the size of a one liter bottle and weighs only 14 ounces for a regular size, making it the perfect choice for people with strict weight and space limitations. When inflated, the NeoAir mattress is warm to sleep on, thanks to a patent-pending Reflective Barrier that reflects heat back to the user’s body and blocks cold from the ground. A second patent-pending technology, the Triangular Core Matrix, contributes to the warmth by creating a multitude of air cells that minimize air movement and convective cooling. This matrix also creates an internal truss system that virtually eliminates the instability generally found on large tube-based air mattresses and assures that the user will shift less while resting comfortably on a 2.5 inch-thick mattress. Since thermal efficiency is achieved without the aid of down or fiber insulation, the NeoAir mattress can be blown up directly, without the added weight of an air pump or having to worry about exhalation moisture wetting insulation and decreasing performance.

“Nearly forty years of hands-on mattress-building experience has been utilized to create the NeoAir mattress,” said Doug Jacot, Therm-a-Rest Business Manager. “That experience has been key in engineering the unique design and manufacturing process it takes to make this truly innovative air mattress.”

The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattress will be available in four sizes, ranging in retail price from $119.95 to $169.95 USD.

[Odd Thomas]

http://mattresszine.com/air-mattress/neoair%E2%84%A2-mattress-in-stores-april-2009/

They're sending out differently worded press releases. The link above says:

"14 ounces lighter than a regular air mattress."
compared to
"weighs only 14 ounces for a regular size"

It's 2.5" thick, 14 ounces is pretty light, anyone know if that's a misprint?

[Geo.]

Good point. Just weighed my old 3/4 length Thermarest and it looks to be around 18oz, so 14oz for regular size does seem very light indeed.
Definitely be worth a look if it's not a misprint but I suspect it may be. :(

[Geo.]

Found this official Cascade design press release on another site - looks like the light weight thing is for real. :)

http://www.angelfire.com/trek/nz_usa/NeoAir2.jpg

[Skidsteer]

It's 2.5" thick, 14 ounces is pretty light, anyone know if that's a misprint?

Hopefully not. The new Big Agnes clearview is 2.5 inches thick and the 20" x 66" weighs 11 oz. No cold protection at all though....

[rafe]

Hopefully not. The new Big Agnes clearview is 2.5 inches thick and the 20" x 66" weighs 11 oz. No cold protection at all though....

In my mind, that would be an old fashioned "air mattress."

[Blissful]

Nothing beats the old Thermarest for durability. We've had our orange one for 20 years - takes a licking and keeps on working. Whereas a few hikers last year had Prolite and had leaking problems.

[Skidsteer]

In my mind, that would be an old fashioned "air mattress."

I would agree I guess but how does the Clearview stack up weightwise against the old air mattresses? The first mattress I bought besides CCF was an ancient 3/4 Thermarest.

[take-a-knee]

R 2.5 ain't too shabby, that should work well in a hammock.

[hopefulhiker]

It looks good but a little pricey...

[Fiddleback]

The weight thing is intriguing...if I'm sleeping on the ground my pad combination is significantly more than 14oz. But for hammock hangin' this pad's 20" seems a bit narrow.

From Geo.'s post -- "The world's lightest, most advanced 3-season air mattress...is three times warmer than any uninsulated air mattress." Three times warmer than an air mattress doesn't strike me as being very warm. On the other hand, the stated R-value is 2.5. I guess we'll have to dig up some stats for comparison. Until then, put me down as skeptical and awaiting someone else's testing....:D

FB

[Tipi Walter]

They say it insulates well and yet give an R-value at 2.5, so something is strange here. Their Prolites, though advertised as winter pads, have an R-value around 3.2 and yet when I use them on snow and ice they are too thin and "cool", but I won't say cold.

It's not until I go up to the 1.75 to 2 inch models(Expedition/Trail Comfort/Trail Pro?)with some R-values in the high 4s that I feel comfy taking them out on the coldest winter trips(by themselves, no doubling up, please!).

I know, people will say R-values have no real-world meaning and in some ways they are right. I tried an Exped Downmat 9 last winter(R-value 8!)and when sitting up my butt always touched the cold ground so I wouldn't get too excited by that particular R-value rating. An over-rated pad.

I'd like to try this new baby out in the winter and keep a backup in the car-cache, an old trusty 1.75, 3 pound thermy, just in case.

[Mags]

H

The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattress will be available in four sizes, ranging in retail price from $119.95 to $169.95 USD.


Ouch! Seems a lot of money to spend. >shrug<

[Tipi Walter]

It's probably just the standard ploy to tap into the high-end crowd by designing a "new" product and then jacking up the price. Sort of like looking at the new hi-mileage "green" car prices and seeing a

Honda, $20,000
Toyota, "20,000
Mercedes, $51,000

[Wags]

sounds like they've been getting rocked by big agnes and have decided to follow suit, but pricier