My favourite place to get up is in a sleeping bag, which is sweet as a result of I are likely to get up so much 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 undoubtedly 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 house.
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 presents an awesome night time’s relaxation, which may be extra beneficial than shedding just a few ounces.
The Nice Weight Debate
{Photograph}: Scott Gilbertson
There are two issues with carrying a giant sleeping pad within the backcountry. First, there’s the burden you must 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 essential as retaining weight down, so you may transfer quick.
Relying in your targets within the backcountry, which will certainly be true. However after attempting it for fairly just a few journeys, I’ve discovered it is not the case for me. For me, carrying somewhat 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 facet 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 if you inflate it.
The NeoLoft reliably packs right down to a dimension that is simply bigger than a Nalgene water bottle—about an inch larger round and an inch taller for the common huge dimension pad that I examined. It is a tight squeeze becoming the NeoLoft in my Hyperlite Junction 40 with the remainder of my gear, but it surely works for shorter journeys the place I am not carrying a ton of meals. For journeys longer than three or 4 nights, I would desire a 55L pack. (Naturally, this may rely so much on the scale of the remainder of your gear. You may 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 attempting to win any ultralight prizes. Somewhat, I am searching for the fitting stability between weight and luxury.
Sleeping Pad Know-how
{Photograph}: Scott Gilbertson
I check natural mattresses for WIRED, and I take advantage of roughly the identical standards to evaluate sleeping pads. Consolation whereas sleeping comes right down to how properly your pad retains you heat, how properly it relieves stress, how properly it supplies help, and the way steady it’s to sleep on.
