![]() Notable features of the Ultra include a 20 denier ripstop face fabric that fends off poky sticks or rocks, an included “Schnozzel” pump bag (which we feel worked better than some other designs out there), and an “in” and “out” valve for simple inflating and deflating. It feels like they hit that massive, plush air mattress you use for sleepovers at your friend’s house with a shrink-ray gun and made it packable. For the alpine athlete needing maximum warmth in sub-zero conditions, or those intrepid winter thru-hikers, the Exped Ultra 7R could be a game changer.Įxped employed what they call Downmat Technology in this pad, including a layer of premium 700-fill down coupled with a 9 cm air cushion, offering one of the coziest, warmest nights of sleep our testers have had on a backpacking trip. All while tipping the scales at a relatively scant 22.9 ounces, and packing down small enough for lightweight backpacking or mountaineering. Here’s the bottom line: it’s made with a layer of down insulation that boosts the R-value to an absurd 7.1. In short, the NeoAir XLite NXT is one of the best lightweight, durable, and streamlined pads you can buy for long treks across the country, or sporadic adventures into the mountains where weight and warmth are paramount.Įxped’s Ultra 7R ($240) is a super cool pad. They all agreed that the noise is next to none, and it didn’t wake anybody up no matter how much we squirmed around in the tight space. ![]() We’ve taken this on several backpacking trips already, and even slept in a small cave with three other campers. Negatives? The biggest con to the XLite used to be how darn loud it was, but the NXT update targeted that directly, reducing the noise by 83%. Opening the valve and twisting the wings deflates the pad swiftly. A larger opening than previous iterations allows it to inflate fast, and a one-way flap means you can pause between breaths without having air escape. The WingLock valve used to inflate/deflate the pad is brilliant. For side-sleepers who tend to bottom out pads, this is a welcome change. ![]() We recently took the new NXT pad on a winter backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon, and were impressed by the comfy 3-inch height (a boost from its previous 2.5 inches) and improved insulation. It’s perfect for light, or ultralight, backpacking kits in pretty much any temperature you may encounter on a three-season thru-hike. ![]() ![]() This pad packs up tiny and disappears in your pack, yet offers superior comfort and warmth. The obvious question when you see such a light, warm pad is, “how long will it survive”? While it’s not as durable as some of the heavier denier pads we cover here, we can say from personal experience that if you take care of it, it’ll fend off punctures and slow leaks over months of torture. This makes it, aside from Therm-a-Rest’s Uberlite with half the R-value, the lightest pad on this list. This is merged with a material called ThermaCapture, which keeps the pad at a featherlight 12.5 ounces, while still boasting a comparatively stellar R-Value of 4.5 (up from 4.2 in the last model). The XLite NXT uses a unique technology called a Triangular Core Matrix, which stacks two layers of triangular baffles to create a super stable surface while trapping as much heat as possible. One of our testers used the previous model alone for all three thru-hikes of the Triple Crown (AT, PCT, and CDT), and while most accrued their fair share of patches along the way, they kept him warm and cozy through all sorts of terrain and climates. The classic pick for thru-hikers or backcountry adventurers who need ultralight simplicity in a durable package, the time-tested Neo Air lineup gets a treasured update with the new XLite NXT ($200-240). ![]()
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