Here are a few, hot off the camera.


NeoAir folded for packing.


Twenty Eight breaths later.


NeoAir edge view.

Denis,

Is the fabric the same at top and bottom? Can the lime green side go on the bottom if I get tired of squinting at the glow?

Thanks for the pics Denis.

One thing I wonder about the NeoAir is whether my arms will fall off the side.

I currently have an Ether Thermo which has a rather neat feature... the dip between the outer-most tubes on either side of my body helps to keep my arms in place. If it was completely flat I suspect my arms would slip off the edge (as they used to with my original thermarest pad).

Anyone else have this problem who has tried the NeoAir?

Dave,
The bottom of the NeoAir is a silver reflective material - I'm thinking it's part of the design to keep the cold from rising upwards.

The fabrics are similarly "tacky" and would work either side up.

Went to SF REI today and they didn't have a display model out...so didn't get to test it out.

The weekend is coming up, and one of you purchasors better get out there and test this thing out! Enough with the "it's in the mail" or "look, here's some photos of it in my basement"! =)

28 breathes? Wow. That's a lot more than I would have expected.

OK, first up, the full 3-author BPL review is very near!

> whether my arms will fall off the side.
How very astute of you, Ashley!
Mine did.

Cheers

Looking forward to the BPL review Roger. Good to know in advance that it will probably be an issue.

In the past I have considered ways of keeping my arms on the pad (another 2 inches of width would do it!). Shoes or extra bits of pad are one option, though you need to keep them fixed in position somehow. I've also considered using a piece of elastic loop to keep my arms close in to my body (haven't tried that one though).

My favourite way, providing the temp is cool enough, is to decrease the diameter of my silk mummy bag by stuffing excess fabric under my back. That way I can use the sides of the liner to support my arms and stop them slipping off.

Not a problem for side-sleepers of course!

pad looks cushy though

cheery too

that was a problem i had with the BPL torsolite, with the width there was nothing under my arms.
as for the BPL review, its going to be too late, i stopped waiting for it and i already ordered the neoair, hoping to get it in time for cape wrath trail, end of april.

the valve also kind of sticks up from the lime side not out the corner, i could see it getting in the way of flipping it over or possibly damaging the valve mounting surface. Why would you need to flip it?? no one will care if you are sleeping on a bright surface... vanity + backcountry shouldn't be that huge of a deal while sleeping...

Fred:

Given that you had problems with your arms "falling off" the Torsolite, you will likely experience the same (or very similar) with the NeoAir as well. Re-read what Roger, the reviewer, wrote above. Maybe PM him one-on-one for specifics that can't yet be posted publically on the forums.

Remember: Haste makes waste. And shipping the pad back from France will be pretty expensive too.

Edited by ben2world on 04/05/2009 00:53:56 MDT.

My WM Ultralite keeps my arms from falling. Might be a bigger problem with a larger girth bag.

I bought the pad in the uk so shipping back wouldnt be that bad.

For US gear yes shipping is a big part of the cost, so its easy to sell gear here for a bit under the US shop price without shipping.
Thats what i did with the torsolite.

My back is in very bad shape so it took me a while to find comfortable backpacks, ( atmos 50 and now exos 58 for long hikes )i am willing to try a few different sleeping pads too :)

On any 20" wide pad my arms will not be on it. It's just not wide enough for me laying on my back. I wish they had a 25" wide pad that wasn't 78" long. The 5 ounce weight penalty just wasn't worth it to me for the big one. That said, I'm a side sleeper, so it's almost never an issue unless I'm just resting/reading and not actually sleeping. Can't sleep on my back.

Edited by mn-backpacker on 04/05/2009 10:02:15 MDT.

This thread is so long, I didn't read it all...My question is how difficult is it to squeeze all the air out and pack down?

Dan....a 25" width and 78" long are the only pads that will fit my husband. It is hard enough to find 78" pads as is!

I have been using two different pads for the last few years. My favorite is the ridge rest trimmed at 16x40 I also have a childrens insulmat inflatable that is 16x48. I'm 5 10 with a broad back and never noticed my arms falling off but maybe now that I know they can I will notice it. I have never zipped my bag before but I might help to hold everything in. I wont set up camp till I find a nice squishy area so my pad is more of a luxury than a nececity. Ali

Just roll it up and out comes the air. If you opened the valve first. Twenty eight breaths is more of an issue, especially at altitude.