My favourite place to get up is in a sleeping bag, which is sweet as a result of I are inclined to get up rather a lot when sleeping in a sleeping bag. It isn’t the bag, it is the pad beneath me. I’ve tried all of them (it is a part of my job), and whereas some are positively higher than others, I’ve by no means discovered one which fairly fulfilled each backpacker’s dream—a light-weight, packable sleeping pad that feels similar to the mattress you left at residence.
Till now, that’s. The Therm-a-Relaxation NeoLoft sleeping pad is not the lightest at 25 ounces—goodbye, ultralight readers—however the 4.6-inch cushion is a real luxurious, and it provides an excellent night time’s relaxation, which could be extra beneficial than shedding a couple of ounces.
The Nice Weight Debate
{Photograph}: Scott Gilbertson
There are two issues with carrying an enormous sleeping pad within the backcountry. First, there’s the load it’s important to carry, after which there’s the quantity of room it takes up in your pack. The ultralight group on-line will attempt to persuade you that camp consolation—that’s, your shelter and your sleeping arrange—aren’t as necessary as maintaining weight down, so you possibly can transfer quick.
Relying in your objectives within the backcountry, which will certainly be true. However after making an attempt it for fairly a couple of journeys, I’ve discovered it isn’t the case for me. For me, carrying a bit extra weight within the type of a heavier tent and sleeping pad affords me a greater night time’s sleep, which helps me (on common) to hike additional than I do with much less weight however poorer sleep.
Therm-a-Relaxation’s new NeoLoft pad steps into this weight/dimension/consolation debate by leaning closely on the aspect of consolation. It’s undeniably massive, relative to one thing like Therm-a-Relaxation’s XLite pads or Sea to Summit’s Ether Gentle collection (our two favourite ultralight sleeping pads). For all that, although, the Neoloft is not that massive when packed down, particularly contemplating how massive it’s whenever you inflate it.
The NeoLoft reliably packs all the way down to a dimension that is simply bigger than a Nalgene water bottle—about an inch greater round and an inch taller for the common extensive dimension pad that I examined. It is a tight squeeze becoming the NeoLoft in my Hyperlite Junction 40 with the remainder of my gear, nevertheless it works for shorter journeys the place I am not carrying a ton of meals. For journeys longer than three or 4 nights, I would need a 55L pack. (Naturally, it will rely rather a lot on the scale of the remainder of your gear. You’ll be able to see what I carry at LighterPack.)
I will confess that I used to be dreading testing this pad. I did not wish to lug it with me, however after I truly loaded it up … I did not actually discover the additional 8 ounces over the Nemo Tensor I normally carry. Once more although, I’m not making an attempt to win any ultralight prizes. Quite, I am on the lookout for the precise steadiness between weight and luxury.
Sleeping Pad Expertise
{Photograph}: Scott Gilbertson
I take a look at natural mattresses for WIRED, and I take advantage of roughly the identical standards to evaluate sleeping pads. Consolation whereas sleeping comes all the way down to how effectively your pad retains you heat, how effectively it relieves stress, how effectively it gives help, and the way secure it’s to sleep on.
