I’ve got 200+ nights on my current ThermaRest Neo Air with zero issues. My wife and kids have them too and theirs are still holding air too.
I’ve heard good things about Exped, but ThermaRest is the only brand I trust. I’ve owned and been let down by inflatable pads from Big Agnes, Euerka, Klymit, MEC and Sea to Summit, but never by TR. shit, I’ve still got my original self-inflating version from the early 1990s and it still holds air perfectly. They’re just built so well and IMO stand the rest of time better than the others.
Obviously you want to take good care of them though. I never sit on mine outside of the tent or unless it’s on a tarp.
@Hal
Have had a Thermarest Neoair for about 9 years and would endorse this comment. I briefly tried the Uberlight version but it wasn’t very comfortable. Also have a Prolite 4 which is much older. No issues with this one or the Neoair. Have owned other brands where baffles have failed and blisters formed.
@Shawn
Same. Bought NeoAir in 2016. Full AT thru, full PCT thru, a dozen other short trips. Still going strong!
@Hal
That’s a pretty strong brand endorsement. I’ll have to give Thermarest pads a look. If the next purchase can hold up 200+ nights, I’ll call that a win. I don’t think I misuse the pads, so I’m baffled by the two failures. I don’t overinflate it, or leave it out in the hot sun. Only use them in the tent to sleep on at night.
@Hal
The Neo air is so so good, I have an early extreme and it’s just the nuts. My answer to OPs question is which one as have always had thermarest and none have ever let me down. A little check every two years doesn’t harm, poss some seam sealer on my older foam pads once in a while but the Neo air is just fantastic👍
Do you ensure it’s not inflated in a hot tent in the daytime? That’s what’s hard on the baffles.
Sky said:
Do you ensure it’s not inflated in a hot tent in the daytime? That’s what’s hard on the baffles.
That’s a great insight. But I’ve only used this pad for backpacking in the backcountry, and it’s pack up and go in the morning. So, it’s not ever been left inflated in a hot tent.
Thermarest from 2001 is going strong. We bought a pair of them. One got a hole and a patch, but that was years ago. What model? Who knows. Full length, about 20" wide about an inch inflated.
We debated a $40 motel or buy pads for $40 each and take the tent. It was a good choice!
I have been using my original therm-a-rest for over 40 years now.
I’ve got probably over 300 nights on my REI sleeping pad I bought almost 9 years ago. The one thing I do though is I keep it rolled out underneath my bed to help the foam from deforming from staying compressed
@Shan
Well, that’s what my hiking buddies told me might have happened to the first pad, so I did the same thing as you with the second one. I wish I knew how I damaged the pad, if it’s something I did.
They all will die after a few years I had some of the interior fusing a few thermarests come undone, like yours, I suspect due to being in a very hot tent. I contacted the company and had them replaced. I have had a few big Agnes ones deflate after 10 year of use. I have a bunch of thermarests and expads that are fines.
I typically get an extra one whenever one is on sale so I have an extra to borrow or use myself if one deflates. Also in car camping trips I bring an extra k. Case myself or someone has one deflate. Nothing sucks more than crappy sleep.
@Ori
I do have self-inflating pad from Costco that I use for car camping. Held up surprisingly well over the years, even through the abuse my kids put on them. Just not backpacking friendly given its size and weight.
@Ori
Ah yes. Don’t leave fully inflated sleeping pads in a hot environment. Release some air when you get up. I always do that if I’m tenting for more than one night
I have 30 year old Thermarests that are still perfectly fine, and I’m a big guy. Buy once, cry once, quality makes a difference. Any single outing where your gear fails makes you wish you had bought the good stuff. Go cheap and weep.
I use cheap Intex mattresses and I camp in Texas, where in 24 hours, the temperature can go up or down 30 degrees. I figured out that the reason channels fuse is because of the force from my knees and elbows digging into the inflated mattress. Now I am careful not to kneel on my inflated mattress, even when I’m getting in and out of bed. And, when I prop my head up on my hand with my elbow on the mattress, I put my elbow on my pillow and make sure the pillow is thick where the point of my elbow is so my elbow isn’t digging into the mattress and the force on the mattress is distributed rather than focused on one spot.
Being careful not to put most of my weight on one small part of my mattress has greatly extended the life of my cheap mattresses from a single camping season or less, to a few years or more.
@Madden
This is a great insight. I’ll see if I can remember this next time I’m out camping.
Wynne said:
@Madden
This is a great insight. I’ll see if I can remember this next time I’m out camping.
It takes practice.
My exped synmat 7 from 2010 is still going strong so not sure what you did… have you been blowing air in there with your breath? That will degrade the interior.