Sleeping Bags & Quilts Archives

Lightest Air Mattress the 1/2 Lb Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Mattress

Air mattress comfort at foam pad weights! The new Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Mattress is the lightest insulated backpacking air mattress. To achieve the low weight, the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Mattress uses an extremely light high tenacity nylon fabric for its shell. At the show, Jennifer Curto of T-rest assured me that mattresses with the new fabric had gone through extensive testing and had even survived being run over by a Jeep!

Specs Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Mattress

8.8 oz, R 2.0 Size Regular UberLite (72x20x2.5 inches) $180
6.0 oz, R 2.0 Size Small UberLite (47x20x2.5 inches) $140
12.0 oz, R 2.0 Size Large UberLite (77x25x2.5 inches) $210
Availability Spring 2019

In comparison To

12.0 oz, R 3.2 Size Regular, Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite Sleeping Pad $170
12.0 oz, R 3.9 Size Regular, Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite Sleeping Pad – Women’s $160 (66x20x2.5 in & our current favorite mattress for both men and women — warm and comfortable!)

A 1.5 pound +32 sleeping system! The combined weight of the new Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Mattress and the with the new 15 ounce Vesper Quilt weighs less than most sleeping bag’s or pad’s individual weights. I will post more soon on the exciting new Vesper +32 and +20 ºF Quilts that were also announced at the 2018 Outdoor Retailer Show this month.

new UberLite vs. XLite – How it Works

With the 1/2 Pound Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Mattress, Therm-a-Rest dropped the weight of their lightest full-size air mattress by 25%. This was done with a lighter shell fabric, lighter internal baffling film, and by skipping radiant heat reflecting layers.

Warmth: To save weight the new UberLite eliminates the ThermaCapture* radiant heat reflecting layers used in XLite pads. This in part results in an insulating value of R 2.0 vs the R 3.2 for the standard XLite and R 3.9 for the Women’s which has an additional ThermaCapture radiant heat layer. Nonetheless an R 2.0 should be sufficient for most 3-season campers. For four season I would look to the R 3.9 Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite Sleeping Pad – Women’s (I’ve been down to +12 ºF with this pad) or for cold sleepers the R 5.7 Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm Sleeping Pad.

Durability: According to Jennifer Curto, the new UberLite uses a 15 Denier High Tenacity Nylon Shell Fabric and the internal material [that creates the heat retaining baffles] is a super unique ultralight film. So the new shell fabric is 1/2 the weigh of the 30D fabric used in the XLite mattresses. Nonetheless, Curto says: “We cycle tested and field tested the NeoAir UberLite, even driving over it with a Jeep!.. We are confident that it meets Therm-a-Rest performance standards. That being said, the mattress deserves to be treated like any premium piece of ultralight gear.”

Conclusion

The success of the new Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Mattress will most likely hinge on the durability of the new 15 Denier High Tenacity Nylon Shell Fabric. Alison and I have had good luck with the durability of our 30D HT Nylon Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite Sleeping Pads since their introduction. We’ve had only one leaker, and that was a very slow leak that only required topping off once each the night to get us through the trip. Post trip, Therm-a-Rest warranteed us a new sleeping pad. While the 15D UberLite fabric is light, manufactures continue to find better and lighter materials and improved construction techniques with performance equaling or close to that of older heavier materials. I hope this is the case with the new Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite Mattress. I am on the list to be one of the earlier testers, so stay tuned to learn more.

The other thing of note is the R 2.0 of the pad. This is almost 1/2 the insulation of our favored R 3.9 Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite Sleeping Pad – Women’s pads. This should be just fine for camping much of the year. But in shoulder seasons where I expect nighttime temperatures to routinely drop below freezing I would consider using the warmer/more insulating R 3.2 to R 3.9 XLite pads.

*THERMACAPTURE™ (from Therm-a-Rest site)
ThermaCapture Radiant Heat Technology is a proprietary reflective coating that we apply to a range of surfaces. By reflecting radiant heat back to your body that is otherwise lost, this extremely lightweight coating turns that surface into a very efficient heat reflector, amplifying warmth without the excess weight or bulk of added, conventional insulating materials.

Disclaimer

This post contains affilate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on the these links, a portion of the sale helps support this site at no additional cost to you. I do not receive compensation from the companies whose products are listed. For product reviews: unless otherwise noted, products are purchased with my own funds. I am never under an obligation to write a review about any product. Finally, this post expresses my own independent opinion.

July 31, 2018/0 Comments/by Alan Dixon

Quick ways to reduce backpack weight

Backpacks, Beginners, Backpacking Food, Sleeping Bags & Quilts, Tents, Tarps & Shelters, How To, Hydration & Water Purification

Moving fast and light along the spectacular ridge line of the GR20 in Corsica. A minimal pack (and good pre-trip training) enabled Alison and I to do a 16 day trip in under 8 days. Pictured – the award winning Hyperlite Mountain Gear 2400 Southwest Pack

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Quick ways to reduce backpack weight. A few may surprise you…

Look at The Big Three: Backpack, Tent/shelter, and Sleep System (sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and ground cloth). You stand to lose a bunch of weight from these: as much as 10 to 12 pounds.
1. Take a Backpack that weighs less than two pounds. See our: Best Backpacks for Backpacking and Hiking
2. Take a Tent that weighs less than two pounds. See our: Best Backpacking Tents | Lightweight & Ultralight
3. Take a Sleeping bag that that weighs less than 1.5 pounds. See our: Buyers Guide to Lightweight Backpacking Quilts & Sleeping Bags
4. Look at our 9 Pound Full Comfort Lightweight Backpacking Gear List for more ideas for gear to save weight.
  Nine pounds of backpacking gear is all a hiker needs to be safe and warm. Or simply put, this list has better backpacking gear. For over a decade it’s been tested, refined, and updated to reflect only the best and most current backpacking gear now available in 2019. So, if you want to reduce pack weight without reducing comfort, look no further! The hiking gear in this guide is suitable for all 3-season conditions on trips around the world, from Alaska, to Patagonia, to Utah.
Look on The Backpacking Food Page to save a ton of weight at zero cost
Get a weather report (the NOAA hourly weather graph is among the most informative and accurate)—then pack for those conditions! Since 90% of backpackers take 90% their trips for 3 days or or less, this weather report should be quite accurate for the short time you are out. This will let you pack a tent, clothing, and sleeping bag appropriate for actual conditions. It will also deter you from taking inappropriate, “what-if-the-worst-happens!” gear, e.g. 6 pound tent, and a +10F sleeping bag for a balmy weather trip on the Appalachian Trail.
Don’t take extra clothing. e.g. don’t take any more clothing than you can wear at one time.
Take less: Be disciplined and leave a few items at home that you haven’t used in the last three trips. Put stuff like sunscreen and trail soap in smaller containers.
Extra Credit: Browse The Gear Lists Page for other ideas and examples to save weight. This will give you a good examples of what type of gear is available and what is a reasonable weight for that type of gear, e.g. around 6-8 ounces for a rain jacket, or around 1.0 ounce for a pocket knife. Think hard if your gear is 2 to 3x heavier than the examples on these lists.
Read my The Best Hydration — Drink When Thirsty. Use a Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter to drink at the source (lake, stream, etc.). Then only carry a sensible amount to get to your next known water source. I.e. it makes no sense to carry 3 liters of water, almost 7 pounds, when your next water source is only two hours away.
Remember to have fun! That will at least, lighten your spirit and mood.

How Do I Start?

Ground yourself in reality: Get all your stuff together and weigh it. If you’re like most conventional hikers, your equipment will weigh around 30 pounds, possibly higher.
Get individual weights for your heavier items like tents and backpacks. For stuff in the range of a few pounds or less you’ll want to buy an inexpensive digital scale that weighs up to 10 pounds.
See what you can leave at home. Anything you don’t bring is free weight reduction. Think hard about this one. Do you really need it?
Put together a spreadsheet (or at least a list) with all your equipment weights. This is an indispensable analysis tool.
Try to figure out where you’ll get the most “bang for the buck.” e.g. figure out how much a new item costs and divide that by the amount of weight it will save you over your old equipment. Target the items that give you the most weight loss for the fewest dollars.
Buy on Sale: Don’t try to purchase all your new equipment right away. Many items regularly go on sale or are closed out. Watch carefully over the course of a year and you could save 30 to 70 percent on your equipment.

November 20, 2015/26 Comments/by Alan Dixon

The Big Three – Recommended Backpacking Gear

Backpacks, Recommended Gear, Sleeping Bags & Quilts, Tents, Tarps & Shelters

Moving fast and light along the spectacular ridge line of the GR20 in Corsica. A minimal pack (and good pre-trip training) enabled Alison and I to do a 16 day trip in under 8 days.

To save as much as 10 to 12 pounds with with the minimum of effort, look at The Big Three. 1) Backpack, 2) Tent/Shelter, and 3) Sleeping bag (or quilt). The lighter versions of these are just as functional as their heavier counterparts. They will carry your load and keep you warm and dry. The only thing you stand to lose is a bunch of weight off your back.

And most people do not enjoy being a pack mule. It is rarely the highlight or happiest memory of a trip. Alternatively, unburdened from the misery of carrying a heavy pack, folks become joyful and alert—in the best state of mind to appreciate everything around them—the reason they went backpacking. The Big Three is the fastest way to achieve that goal.