Our campsite on Friday night was within three miles of Ma-in-Law’s house. Had we diverted from Ogden water, it would barely have added any distance to the route to have a bed in a dry house for the night. But, Mick had his new Thermarest Neo-Air to try out…
…And was he smug about that Neo-Air? Oh yes!
Even though it’s the Medium sized mat, at 5’6” long, it packs up into a tiny package and is is noticeably lighter than the Pro-Lite 3 that he was using before (and that I’m still using). Despite these attributes, I was adamant that I didn’t want one.
Then Mick inflated it, and there it was lying next to my Prolite 3, and suddenly all of the reasons why I didn’t want one flew out of the window and I had serious gear envy.
Mick was smug; very smug indeed, but he was also an absolutely gentleman and was quite insistent that he swap with me.
I couldn’t possibly have stolen the first use of his new mat though, so he had a very comfy night. I didn’t have a noticeably uncomfortable night (well, except for the usual bruised ribs where my bony elbow dug in), but the gear envy remained.
I wants one!
Hi to you both
ReplyDeleteI am just back from the Quantocks where I was using said Neo-Air (also medium ) for the first time. It really is excellent and packs so small, however I seemed to want to check the ground more under the tent for sharp objects. I am sure it is as tough as my ordinary mat but having spent the money I suppose I was being ultra careful !
Bill W (Backpackers Club - we met at AGM)
ROTFLMAO
ReplyDeleteFunny, I was thinking about the NeoAir today. I drifted off to wooden bothy sleeping platforms, and wondered about waking up to a splinter-punctured mat. The fact it never happened with my previous air-filled mats didn't stop me getting concerned. Hey ho.
You must get one! They're absolutely the bee's knees :)
ReplyDeleteI really thought that I was going to buckle and buy one today. Somehow, I resisted, but I'm not discounting the possibility of doing battle with the M25 and M1 tomorrow to go home via Stoney Stratford so that I can pick one up on the way.
ReplyDeleteAs to the toughness of it, Mick and I did ponder, as we had the Prolite and the Neo-Air side by side, how much flimsier the Neo-Air really is. Is it just that the foam adhered to the Prolite gives it a tougher feel? If you feel the material that's sealed around the outside, does the Neo-Air feel remarkably thinner?
We might have pondered further, except it was about 8pm by then and sleep suddenly came upon me!