GEAR REVIEW: Therm-A-Rest NeoAir Uberlite Air Mattress

By Will Rietveld

I was talking with a friend the other day and we reminisced to 20 years ago when there was very little ultralight backpacking gear available for purchase and many of us made our own. A “lightweight” sleeping pad at that time (often labeled “ultralight”) weighed a pound. Fast forward to the present and we now have the Therm-a-Rest Uberlite pad that weighs just 6 ounces in Size Short, 8.8 ounces in size Regular, and the luxurious Large at 12 ounces. All are thick and comfy, and have a sufficient R-2 rating for summer use.

What’s not to like? Well, it’s mostly all positives, but there is one significant problem that I point out in this review, along with a solution. Read on, or skip to the bottom.

The new Therm-a-Rest Uberlite Pad comes in sizes Short (shown), Regular, and Large. It’s currently the lightest inflatable sleeping pad on the market.

Specifications and Features

Manufacturer	Cascade Designs (www.cascadedesigns.com)
Product	Therm-a-Rest Uberlite Sleeping Pad
Sizes	Small, Regular, Large
Dimensions	Small is 20 in wide x 47 in long x 2.5 in thick; Regular is 20 x 72 x 2.5, Large is 25 x 77 x 2.5
Weight	Small is 6 oz (5.4 on my scale), Regular is 8.8 oz (8.9 on my scale), and Large is 12 oz (not tested)
Fabric	Top is 15D ripstop nylon, bottom is 15D nylon
MSRP	Small $140, Regular $180, Large $210

Description

By eliminating the heat-reflecting coating on the internal baffles and adopting lighter fabrics, Therm-a-Rest (TAR) has squeezed some weight out of their NeoAir pad line, making them now truly ultralight. For a size Regular pad, the weight drops 3.2 ounces compared to their XLite pad (see comparative specs in the table below). While some features are also diminished (which I will get to in a minute), comfort is not one of them. This approach works for me, mainly because I value light weight over features.

	Uberlite (Regular)	XLite (Regular)
Fabric	15 denier	30 denier
Weight	8.8 ounces	12 ounces
R-value	2	3.2
Cost	$180	$170

The triangular baffle construction inside the pad is the same as previous NeoAir pads, but the heat-reflective ThermaCapture coating is eliminated, resulting in a pad that is equal in physical comfort, but losing some insulation (R-value is 2.0 compared to 3.2 for the XLite), and happily the annoying nosiness of previous versions of the NeoAir. The lighter fabric means less durability (the Uberlite is 15 denier and XLite is 30 denier). The lower R-value of the Uberlite means it is intended for summertime use. I might add that the XLite pads are still available, and some hikers may prefer them because they are warmer and more durable.

Field Testing

Testing the Therm-a-Rest Uberlite sleeping pad in the Southern Colorado Rockies. Size Regular shown. 

I received the size Regular Uberlite pad in January, and size Short in May, so I couldn’t get in any mountain testing until June. My testing consisted of one spring car camping trip in the Southern Utah Canyonlands country in a 3-person tent, 6 backpacking trips in the Southern Colorado Rockies sleeping on a plastic groundsheet in a floorless Dyneema shelter, and one volunteer trip in Utah’s La Sal mountains sleeping several nights in a 1-person silnylon tent with silicone stripes painted on the floor. Following are my testing results by attribute:

Ease of Inflation – The Uberlite inflates quickly by mouth; about 12 lungfulls for the size Regular pad. The pad has an antimicrobial treatment on the interior to prevent mold forming inside.

Sizing – I found the Short and Regular pads’ width of 20 inches to be adequately wide. That’s the “standard” width for a size Regular pad. I’m a side sleeper, and find I need to adjust my hip position when I turn over, but that’s not a problem. For those who require or prefer more width or length, a size Large pad is available with 25 inches of width and an extra 5 inches of length.

Comfort – Excellent, as expected. It’s hard not to be comfortable on a 2.5-inch inflated pad. I found the pad most comfortable when it’s inflated a little less than full. Three sizes are available to meet body size and preferences. The size Short still has the “dropoff” issue at the foot end, but that is remedied by putting something under your feet or curling up.

Warmth – As mentioned, the R-value has gone down to 2.0, which is minimal. I found it to be warm in my testing, where temps typically dropped into the low 40s F and one night at 34F, but it could be chilly below that, which I did not test. It may not be warm enough for some people, but I have a remedy for that later in this review.

Noisiness – Gone.

Durability – On my first backpacking trip with the Uberlite pad I camped in a grove of spruce trees on smooth ground covered with spruce needles. I slept in a floorless  Dyneema shelter and used a thin plastic Gossamer Gear Polycro groundsheet under the pad. You guessed it; the pad was punctured by a spruce needle on my first backpacking trip with it. The patching kit that comes with the pad is convenient and works perfectly: clean the spot with a provided alcohol swab and let it dry, compress a glue dot around the hole, and cover that with a Type A patch.

Patched puncture from a spruce needle. The smashed glue dot (circle) probably wasn't necessary for a small puncture, but I used it anyway to try it out. The dot in the center is my mark of the hole's location, not the hole itself.

Pricing – The Uberlite is pricey: $140, $180, and $210 for sizes Small, Regular, and Large, respectively. Each size costs $10 more than the XLite, so we are reminded that ultralight gear costs more for less weight. Ah well, you put your money (if you have it) where your passion is!

Slip-Resistance – I saved this attribute for last because it is where the problem lies that I alluded to earlier. The Uberlite basically doesn’t have any slip-resistance. The first time I tested the size Regular pad was a car camping trip in the Southern Utah backcountry, sleeping in a 3-person double-wall tent on a slight incline. The pad was like sleeping on a water slide; I chased it all over the floor of the tent trying to stay on top of it! I had the same experience sleeping on a thin plastic groundsheet while backpacking, and finally resorted to sleeping with the pad directly on the ground (no damage done, but not recommended).

The first solution I tried was the silnylon tent with silicone stripes painted on the floor, which is standard procedure for overcoming the slipperiness of silnylon. It didn’t work; I still slid around the tent floor. I also tried painting stripes of diluted silicone on my plastic ground sheet, and the pad itself; no success. The silicone easily rubbed off the slick nylon surface of the pad.

I tried painted diluted silicone on the bottomside of the pad to provide some slip resistance. It readily rubbed off and did not keep the pad from sliding around.

On a trip where I slept in a 1-person silnylon tent, I took along a piece of “non-skid rug pad” (used to keep rugs from creeping) to try another solution. It worked, but the rubbery rug pad is too heavy for backpacking, especially if you take a full pad length of it.

Next I tried a Gossamer Gear Thinlight pad, which is a full-length one-eighth inch thick closed-cell Evazote foam pad weighing just 2.5 ounces. That worked perfectly; the Uberlite didn’t budge on the bottomside.

But that solves only half the problem; a smooth nylon-shelled sleeping bag also slides on top of the Uberlite. Note that some sleeping bags’ shell fabric is more slip-resistant, and quilt users are less likely to have a problem with top sliding. And one could also use a Thinlight pad on both sides of the Uberlite.

I came up with this approach to provide slip-resistance to BOTH sides of the Uberlite pad using one Gossamer Gear Thinlight pad. Simply wrap the Thinlight pad around the Uberlite pad so the ends of the Thinlight are on the bottomside, and use pad straps on a sleeping bag (the Therm-a-Rest Hyperion 20 in this case, which I co-reviewed with the pad) to hold the Thinlight pad in place. This places the Thinlight under my hip, where maximum compression holds it and the sleeping pad in place. However, the Thinlight pad only provides extra puncture protection in that location. I found the wrapped Thinlight pad stays in place very well without the pad straps; the important point is to have the overlapping ends of the pad on the bottomside.

I like the Gossamer Gear Thinlight pad solution best, because the Thinlight is a multi-purpose piece of gear: it adds insulation to the Uberlight pad, protects it from punctures, can be used as backpanel padding in a pack with a pad sleeve, and serves as a sit or nap pad or camp seat.

Assessment

The Therm-a-Rest Uberlite pad is a welcome addition to my ultralight gear kit, allowing me to cut a few more ounces. Granted, the Gossamer Gear Thinlight pad I take when using the Uberlight pad can offset the weight savings, but when I use a pack with a pad sleeve I can insert the Thinlight instead of other padding. I also like the extra utility of the Thinlight, as mentioned above.

Eventually, perhaps, Cascade Designs will fix the slipperiness issue of the Uberlite pad, and a user corrective measure won’t be needed. Other than the lack of slip-resistance, I am impressed with the quality, light weight, and comfort of the Uberlite pad.

It’s interesting to note that other reviewers focused more on the Uberlite’s elimination of the annoying “crinkly” sound characteristic of earlier versions of the NeoAir pad. The noisiness of the NeoAir really bothered a lot of people. I didn’t find it to be a problem, but I’m half deaf, so that’s one advantage of hearing loss. They hardly mentioned the slipperiness issue, but I consider it to be a significant problem that can confound one’s happiness in the wilderness.

Another issue with the Uberlite that deserves some cautionary commentary is its reduced durability. Yes, nylon is highly resistant to abrasion, but it is susceptible to puncturing or cutting. Thus the Uberlite, as with most ultralight gear, requires careful use. If you are hard on gear, the more durable TAR XLite pad might be a better choice. I like the combination of the Uberlite plus a Gossamer Gear Thinlight pad because the Thinlight provides slip-resistance, puncture-resistance, and extra insulation.

Bottom line, I give the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Uberlite sleeping pad a thumbs up, with the caveat that you will likely have to remedy its lack of slip-resistance. If you come up with another good solution post it below.