My favorite place Wake up is in the sleeping bag, which is good because I tend to wake up a lot when I sleep in the sleeping bag. This is not a bag, but a mat under me. I’ve tried all of this (which is part of my job), and while some are certainly better than others, I’ve never found a dream that satisfies every backpacker completely – a lightweight, packable sleep pad that feels like the bed you’re staying at home.
So far, that’s it. The Therm-AA-Rest Neoloft Sleep Pad isn’t the lightest of 25 ounces, goodbye, super reader-but the 4.6-inch pad is a real luxury that offers a great night break that’s more valuable than throwing away a few ounces of nights.
Major debate
Photo: Scott Gilbertson
There are two problems with carrying large sleep pads in remote areas. First, you have to carry the weight and then include the amount of space in your packaging. The online ultra-light community will try to convince your camp’s comfort camp (i.e. your shelter and your sleep settings) is not as important as keeping your weight down, so you can move quickly.
Depending on your goals in a remote area, this is indeed true. But after trying a lot of travel, I realized that I wasn’t. For me, taking more weight in the form of heavier tents and sleep pads gives me a good night’s sleep which helps me (average) hike, smaller than mine but less sleep.
Therm-A-Rest’s new Neoloft Pad intervenes in this weight/size/comfort debate by leaning heavily against the comfortable side. It’s undoubtedly big, compared to Therm-A-Rest’s Xlite Pads or Sea with Summit’s Ether Light Series (two of our favorite ultralight sleep pads). But, despite this, Neoloft is not That When packing up, especially considering how big it is when it is inflated.
Neoloft reliably packs to a size larger than the Nalgene water bottle, about an inch on the regular wide-size mat I tested and 1 inch tall. It was a tight squeeze that made my super bright world 40 fit with the rest of my gear in the new Noft, but it was suitable for excursions where I didn’t carry a lot of food. For trips over three to four nights, I wanted a 55L bag. (Of course, this will depend heavily on the size of the rest of your gear. You can see what I carry on the lighter.)
I admit I’m afraid to test this mat. I don’t want to take it away, but when I actually load it… I didn’t really notice the extra 8 ounces on the Nemo tensor I usually carry. Again, I’m not trying to win any super light prizes. Instead, I’m looking for the right balance between weight and comfort.
Sleeping mat technology
Photo: Scott Gilbertson
I test if the organic mattress is wired and I use roughly the same criteria to judge the sleeping mat. The comfort of sleep comes down to how your mat keeps warm, the ability to relieve stress, the level of support it provides, and the stability of your sleep.
