Thermarest NeoAir Camper Sleeping Pad Review

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As the years add on to my life, I’ve begun to realize that not every piece of equipment needs to be ultra light and not every camping trip has to be at least a 3 day backpacking trip. Yes, that was me 5 years ago, but over these last 5 years or so, I’ve really begun to appreciate the luxuries of car camping. One of those luxeries is not having to worry as much about the weight and size of my equipment, which has brought me to testing out the Thermarest NeoAir Camper mattress.

The Thermarest NeoAir Camper mattress comes in 3 sizes; regular, large, and extra large which are all 3 inches thick. Since I was looking to take my camping comfort to the max, I decided to test out the extra large size. At 6’0, 173lbs, I don’t technically need a XL NeoAir Camper, but having the extra few inches on the length and width, I can sleep with ease knowing I don’t have to worry about slipping off my mattress at night.  This especially helps if you twist and roll while you sleep (like me).

Specs and Details of the Thermarest NeoAir Camper

While I could go on and on about how much I enjoy my new found activity of comfort camping, I don’t want to overlook the technical details of this air mattress. This is important to me because while the NeoAir Camper is a little bigger and weighs a little more than the normal air mattress, it still has plenty of tech worth noting. First, the design and shape of the Thermarest NeoAir Camper is very comfortable to lay down on. When fully blown up, the mattress never feels too stiff where you become uncomfortable. The baffles in the NeoAir design allow the mattress to contour to your body, relieving pressure points.

The Thermarest NeoAir Camper is made with a 75-D bottom which allows it to handle some of the rougher surfaces. I’ve had a Therarest air mattress I bought 9 years ago and that mattress is still going strong if that gives you any indication on how serious Thermarest takes the durability of its products. Last, the NeoAir Camper is very compact in relation to how much it blows up to. The XL Thermarest NeoAir Camper is just a little bigger than a standard Nalgene bottle when rolled up. It also comes with a carrying bag, so you don’t have to worry about it unrolling and taking up more room.

The downside to using a bigger air mattress such as the Thermarest NeoAir Camper is that it takes a lot of ground space in your tent. If you have a 2 person backpacking tent, it can be a little too snug for some tents if you use to larger air mattresses. We tested this out in one of Marmot’s lightweight 2 person backpacking tents and they did not fit in with another air mattress blow up. On the flip side, you must remember the intended use of this air mattress, comfort! Comfort and 2 person lightweight backpacking tents typically don’t go hand in hand. That said, we decided to test this air mattress out in a few of the 4 person tents we were testing out this season and it worked out great.

Tech Specs from the Thermarest website

 Final Thoughts

Overall, I am very pleased with the comfort and performance of the Thermarest NeoAir Camper mattress.  If you’re looking for comfort, this mattress is a definite must to check out.  For more information on the NeoAir mattress and other Therm-a-rest products, please visit www.thermarest.com or www.amazon.com/thermarest.

MSRP $99.95-149.95