Thermarest Neoair mattresses
*(There is an update to this review below)*
If you watch the film below you'll see that we had a few problems with these mattresses.
We contacted Thermarest when we were in Montenegro (Europe), and in detail described our situation.
We were told to send the matt back to Australia were we purchased them (we purchased them from the US but had them posted to Australia) but that punctures were not covered under Thermarest's life time warranty, meaning that we could have to pay for shipping both ways, and for the mat to be fixed.
Obviously, being in Montenegro (part of the European Union) this was of no use to us. If we had of followed this process we could have been stuck there for close to a month, just waiting for a sleeping mat.
It turned out, as you can see in the film, that the biggest problem we had with the Neo-Air was that part of the seam had come open, creating a large gap for air to be expelled. We both weigh under 75kg, so if you are any heavier than that this sleeping mattress may not be a good idea.
Deciding that the only way to deal with the situation was to fix it ourselves, we set about finding and locating the hole. After we had done this by sitting on the mat in water we then used some clear bicycle patches to cover where the seam had began opening up, and one other hole, the seam where the horizontal baffles join up long ways.
So far, after another 50 or so nights of using the Neo-Air all over Europe we have yet to experience any further problems. The patches appear to be holding up fine and both mats are performing brilliantly.
PRO'S
- Extremely light weight
- Generally durable
- Incredibly small and compact- Everyone we have shown these to is amazed by their tiny packing size.
- Very comfortable and thick for a camp mattress
- Easy to deflate and pack
CONS
- Thermarest customer service- Generally they don't read emails well!
- Can be fragile (we always use a strong groundsheet under the tent to prevent punctures) Susceptible to seam de-lamination.
- Sometimes make loud crinkling noises that some people may find annoying
- Takes lots of air to blow up
OVERALL
Despite the aforementioned bad experience, and Thermarest's poor customer service, we still cannot help but recommend these mats. They are large and comfortable when inflated, and yet when packed they are the lightest and smallest mats available on the market.
Carry some bicycle repair punctures (the Thermarest patches come with a hot bond kit and a hefty price tag) with you and you'll have the lightest pack in the group, get the best sleep, and be ready for any situation.
RATING
4 Stars!
*Breaking News from San Francisco!!*
Thermarest has contacted us several times over the last month and offered to send us a new Neo-Air mattress!
Obviously you already know that we think the Neo-Air is the best sleeping mat you can buy for cycle touring (and hiking) given its light weight and comfort. We previously had reservations about the warranty process but as we've now been contacted by Cascade Designs (Thermarests parent company) from several different continents in the last couple of weeks, it seems that those gremlins have disappeared also!!