I have had a Thermarest NeoAir All-Season pad for the last 6 months. It has been applaudingly resilient. I took care to never set it on, like, bare rock or anything, but it felt 100% secure the entire time I owned it. However, I'm upgrading to a torso-length air pad for the comfort (no drop-off by my feet) and weight savings.

Here's the pad I'm talking about; the Thermarest Neo-Air XLite




Ok, I've read all the reviews I can find. A gear tester for Backpacker Magazine called the pad "surprisingly resilient," which is kind of like calling wicker seatbelts "surprisingly lifesaving." It points towards vague generalizations of luck and circumstance.

Conversely, I have other people, like one reviewer on REI, talking about a misplaced sand grain wreaking havoc on the mattress and shredding it like tissue paper.



So, BPL: Just how strong is your XLite? Have you popped it, and what were the circumstances for it? I'm wondering if I should just assume it's going to get riddled with holes, and patch them as they come up.

FWIW: I sleep in a hammock 80% of the time, and on the ground, under the stars (or on somebody's floor) 20% of the time.

Well I haven't popped mine or any of my other flavors of NeoAirs. I have certainly had it in sandy areas but no shredding yet.

http://tinyurl.com/adkdyl5

Last summer on the JMT I did poke a hole in mine. I was using it as a sit pad while sitting in a somewhat sandy area with small rocks and twigs. I used one of the supplied repair patches and never had any further issues. I now never sit on it unless I have a groundcloth under it.