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dmgbos
12-03-2009, 19:27
Has anyone had any bad experience with a Neoair? I ask becuase I am considering buying another after I had to return my last one.

On my second night using it I was lying on it in my tent and I kept hearing theese sounds. I could not figure it out and it was driving me mad. I finally decided it was the pad sliding on the tent floor as I was camped on a slight incline. After about a half hour hearing theese sounds, kind of like slight clicks averaging once a second but varying in frequency, I heard what sounded like a gunshot or a ballong popping. I then noticed the pad suddenly had a new built in pillow area! The area under my head had lost the seperating things and was now a big single chamber thing. Every 20 minutes or so another seperating thing would come undone and the "pillow" would grow longer. When I got to town I quickly returned it and got a regular thermarest.

I think this may have happend because I may have over inflated it. Also laying on it I further was increasing the pressure, while my body heat warmed the air inside again increasing the pressure. Plus I am heavy at 225lbs. The fact the it only "exploded" under my head would, I think, support this theory.

Any other problems with durability? I ask becuase I want to like this pad and want to purchase it again and I am curious whether this is a rare occurence or if other people have had other problems.

Wise Old Owl
12-03-2009, 19:30
yup happened to my brother on a Coleman inflatable, he was more than 225.

Dogwood
12-03-2009, 21:28
I'm only guessing based on your description Dmgbos, but it sounds like the seam(s) between baffles started to pop allowing an unbalanced amount of air to migrate to certain areas where lesser wt was applied. If you treated the NeoAir with the TLC that is required for this piece of UL gear it sounds like you deserve a new pad. I have not heard of anyone else having this problem with the Neo Air.

I'm seeing several threads on WB concerning the durability of the NeoAir. Since it only hit the public market in spring 2009 and many folks didn't get their NeoAirs until late spring early summer because of backorders and unavailability I think it's still too early to give this pad a long term durability rating. I think it wise to realize up front, before purchasing this pad, that it's a piece of UL gear that deserves a good dose of TLC. If you don't know what that entails or are not prepared to treat it that way don't buy it and don't blame Cascade Designs if the pad fails if used improperly!

BrianLe
12-04-2009, 08:26
Yes, I think I recall in another thread on this (perhaps on a different forum) that delamination was a known problem for early production runs. I think that in the right conditions any inflatable can delaminate; hopefully the manufacturer has improved the durability in this particular regard.
I suggest you search (google, bing, whatever) using the text "neoair" and "delaminate" or "delamination" and I expect you'll get a lot of hits, perhaps sorting through those you can find better data.

Lucy Lulu
12-04-2009, 09:08
I took mine out to the CDT this year. In NM I had a seam separate. It began with pinholes along the seam, and finally separated. Granted, it was NM (cactus), but I was very careful, also using a thicker than normal ground sheet to help protect it.

There was another thru-hiker out there, that I knew, also carrying the Neoair. His also separated at the seams, creating a large lbubble on one side of the pad. This did not happend until the final state of MT I believe.

ShelterLeopard
12-04-2009, 10:09
Hmmm- I don't see why your Neo should've had a problem if you weren't actually sleeping on a cactus. Were you?

Lucy Lulu
12-04-2009, 13:17
There were a couple of very late, long days where I very well may have been...:rolleyes:.

After leaving the tarp one night at dark, and trudging a short distance barefoot through the sand, I quickly learned that though not a spiny plant was in sight, the spines still somehow managed to hide in the sand.

ShelterLeopard
12-04-2009, 13:30
Ouch... Good to know- I'm sure I'll get over to the CDT someday.

Smoose
12-04-2009, 13:36
I just thru-hiked the AT with one, probably used it around 90-100 days with absolutely no problems. I didn't put anything down underneath it in shelters and when I was in my tent (most of the time) It was just the tent floor, no ground pad, because really, what's the point of an ultra-light tent and pad if you have to carry around 6 oz of ground tarp ect.

I do only weigh 140lbs, but I was super impressed with the durability.

ARambler
12-04-2009, 15:08
I just thru-hiked the AT with one, probably used it around 90-100 days with absolutely no problems. I didn't put anything down underneath it in shelters and when I was in my tent (most of the time) It was just the tent floor, no ground pad, because really, what's the point of an ultra-light tent and pad if you have to carry around 6 oz of ground tarp ect.

I do only weigh 140lbs, but I was super impressed with the durability.

What was the ultra-light tent. How was condnesation/leaking? How many of the nights did it rain. I hear it was a wet year, depending on were you were.
Rambler

Colter
12-04-2009, 19:01
I bought a slightly used one. It leaked, although the guy who sold it to me told me later it leaked for him, too!

Compass
12-04-2009, 21:58
Welcome to Whiteblaze Smoose.

Dogwood
12-05-2009, 03:12
Yes, just like BrianLe mentioned, the very first production runs MIGHT have had some issues with SOME delamination, but I think Cascade Designs exchanged these earliest versions for free replacements and ironed out the issue.

Powder River
12-08-2009, 01:35
I would think you could get an exchange on this problem very easily. Why give it a shot?

Tipi Walter
12-08-2009, 09:47
I love it! The mad rush by ULers to scarf up the $150 NeoAir just to save a few ounces(you could get the warmer Trail pad for $29 and just 6 ounces heavier),and here we go, delamination!! Then again, Thermarest might be undergoing some quality control issues as I had to return two brand new Base Camp pads due to leaky valves: got two new ones with a different, upgraded valve.

UL weight materials make for shorter longevity, common sense. I sure wouldn't go out on a 20 day backpacking trip and get dropped off at the trailhead with a NeoAir and not have an emergency cache with another beefier thermarest pad nearby. Nothing new should be trusted and no pad should be taken out new for a trip without trying out in the yard for a week first. Even brand new pads can leak.

Dogwood
12-08-2009, 16:47
I love it! The mad rush by ULers to scarf up the $150 NeoAir just to save a few ounces(you could get the warmer Trail pad for $29 and just 6 ounces heavier),and here we go, delamination!! Then again, Thermarest might be undergoing some quality control issues as I had to return two brand new Base Camp pads due to leaky valves: got two new ones with a different, upgraded valve.

UL weight materials make for shorter longevity, common sense. I sure wouldn't go out on a 20 day backpacking trip and get dropped off at the trailhead with a NeoAir and not have an emergency cache with another beefier thermarest pad nearby. Nothing new should be trusted and no pad should be taken out new for a trip without trying out in the yard for a week first. Even brand new pads can leak.

See Tipi, you should have gotten out a second mortgage and bought the NeoAir instead of the Base Camp sleeping pads and you wouln't have had those problems. You prove the pt that just because gear is heavier doesn't mean it's better or will even last longer!http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif
I wonder if this also applies to my new MLD backpack, new WM sleeping bag, new Keene shoes, and new girlfriend?http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

gravy4601
12-08-2009, 17:18
well i have a question about the neoair is how long dose it take to inflate compaired to a 4 season trail light thermarest and are they that much lighter

Ladytrekker
12-08-2009, 17:39
I have had no problems with mine as yet and hope that it stays that way. I find the best way to use it is about 20 breaths for me to blow up then when I lay on it I release some of the air to manage the feel of the pad it becomes soft and kind of forms to your body it sure has helped me to sleep better and I pair mine with a foam pad underneath so that it does not get poked.

Kerosene
12-08-2009, 23:39
well i have a question about the neoair is how long dose it take to inflate compaired to a 4 season trail light thermarest and are they that much lighterThere are 4 different sizes (http://www.rei.com/search?query=neoair): Small, Medium, Regular and Large.

The Small is 47" long and weighs 9 ounces. It takes me 8-12 breaths to fill it completely, and then I let out the air while lying on the pad until I reach my desired firmness.

The Medium is 66" long and 13 ounces.

The Regular is 72" long and 14 ounces. A Regular Trail Lite (http://www.rei.com/product/734496) pad is only 1.5" deep (versus 2.5" for NeoAir models) and weighs 32 ounces. However the R-value for a Trail Lite is 3.8 vs. NeoAir's 2.5. A Trail Lite is about half the cost of the comparable NeoAir model.

The Large is 77" long and 19 ounces, plus at 25" wide it's 5" wider than the other models.