Thermarest NEOAir Mattress Size Small

I have been looking for a more comfortable nights rest while I'm out backpacking since day one. The Therm-a-rest Z-Rest mattress I use leaves funky dots on my skin from the nights pressure points upon waking up in the morning. There's not enough cushion to give me a comfortable nights sleep, but at the weight of my chopped up 3/4 length Z-Rest hovering around 9oz... I didn't want to gain a considerable amount of weight just for a luxury item that was not needed. This April Therm-a-rest released the much anticipated and the newest design of backpacking air mattress, the NEOAir! So I couldn't resist this air mattress after seeing how this could be the Ultralight Holy Grail of sleeping mattresses. At a whopping 9.05oz/256g on my scale for the size small. It is about the same weight as my present chopped up Z-Rest. It stuffs down smaller than a Nalgene water bottle and offers a 2.5" thick horizontally baffled air mattress that has an aluminized center to reflect your heat back towards your body and offer a higher R-value than my Z-Rest. Today I received my new air mattress (which after my 20% off member discount and after I applied my REI dividend I only paid $38 after taxes and shipping).

This is my preliminary review and will have more to follow on it's actual performance after my backpacking trip to the Olympics (April 17-19).

Measured Weight: 9.05 oz/256 g
Claimed Weight: 9 oz/260 g

Approximately the same dimensions as the manufacturer gives (48"x20"), depending on how much you inflate the air mattress. The material has a ripstop pattern and is a bright yellowish color on the top and a silvery gray color on the bottom. There is a nonslip coating on the mattress that has about the consistency of thinned silnet coated on silnylon. This mattress might actually stay still on silnylon, but further field testing will need to be done to make sure. It took me approximately 20 - 25 breaths to fully inflate the mattress to a very firm inflation. I am 66" tall and with my head on the top edge of the mattress the bottom edge breaks right below my knees. This was my biggest concern when getting the mattress was the large drop point near my knees. In actuality I couldn't really tell, because it felt fairly natural and was a smooth transition. It was very easy to adjust the air pressure to the perfect level and the horizontal baffles were surprisingly stable. I'm used to the low spots and quick uncomfortable shifts of air as you roll around on a traditional air mattress, this appeared to be minimized to a nearly unnoticeable amount of shifting. Not to mention the space savings that will take place within my pack... I might need to downsize my pack even further than the Jam2 I recently bought. With luck and some weather cooperation I will have an initial report after my first weekend backpacking trip with the NEOAir. Enjoy and let me know your experiences with the NEOAir or any direct concerns you need addressed about it.

Freshly out of the package in the palm of my hand.

Loosely repackaged next to a Nalgene Bottle


Laying on the mattress with my head to the edge of the mattress.


Mattress on the ground.


Side shot of the mattress.