Thermarest NeoAir Uberlite L Sleeping Mat

Product Information

In my opinion the UberLite is best for athletes and adventurers who need to take their ultralight gear to the next level, who can’t sleep comfortably on closed-cell foam pads like the ZLite Sol (see below), and/or who care about space and bulk just as much as weight. Examples: Women need higher R-values pads because they have lower body mass than men. An additional R-value of 1 is usually a good hedge for women and other cold sleepers

In these events I typically spend between 2 to 4 nights out at a time, and sleep between 3 to 5 hours a night. The goal of my sleep kit is to keep me safe in remote places and warm(ish) enough to get a few hours of sleep, but not necessarily comfortable. I would have some concerns about getting a rip/tear as the fabric feels paper thin but this is most definitely a risk I will take and I’ll just make sure to carry its repair kit with me. Punctures: In six nights of using my UberLite pad, I punctured it twice! Both times I was sitting cross-legged inside my bivy (which acts as a ground cloth) on what I thought was relatively smooth ground. Apparently sitting put too much pressure on a small area of the pad. Now I know better and am careful to only lie down with my weight spread evenly. It’s typical for ultralight gear to require careful treatment, but this pad requires VERY careful treatment and you should expect that punctures are likely. I noted it was a lot shinier than my Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm so had some concerns I’d slide around on it but these fears were unfounded. On the nights I’ve tested it, I’ve stayed put all night and slept really well.What’s the correlation between air temperature and sleeping pad R-values? When do you need a pad with a higher R-value? This table is based on Exped’s recommendations in Fahrenheit and Celsius degrees. Air Temperature (F): Featherweight: Weighing just north of half a pound, the UberLite sets a new standard for ultralight comfort.

The UberLite is the newest addition to the NeoAir lineup, and the lightest. There isn’t another pad in existence that can match its blend of featherlight weight, tiny size, decent comfort, and 3-season-ish warmth. The only real downside, in my experience, is the UberLite’s difficulty with reliably holding air. Hopefully Therm-a-Rest improves this in future versions, because this pad is otherwise excellent. Weight: All these pads are really light for their warmth, but making a sleeping pad warmer makes it heavier, all else being equal. Thus the warm XTherm is the heaviest and bulkiest of the three. The ultralight UberLite is the smallest and lightest, but also the least warm. The XLite strikes an excellent balance between the other two. Warmth / season is the biggest functional difference between these three pads. Sleeping pad warmth is designated by the R-value, a measure of how well the pad prevents your body’s heat from transferring to the colder ground. Finally, as mentioned in this review, Therm-a-Rest offers the NeoAir XLite and NeoAir XTherm. Both of those products have won our awards, and are more well-rounded, time-tested pads. Consider the UberLite is weight is the utmost consideration. Note that with the NXT update, Therm-a-Rest got rid of the previous generation’s “ women’s XLite,” which I personally was a fan of. It was shorter and a bit warmer, but weighed the same. The new NXT series keeps the small length option but pins the warmth at a constant R=4.5 across all sizes, which I suppose is a more consistent way of doing things.From Mountain Marathon runners to multiday hikers, those who need the lightest gear have a new standard for ultra lightweight comfort with this .25 kg sleeping mat. Therm-a-Rest's lightest airbed. From alpinists to thru-hikers, those who need the lightest gear have a new standard for ultralight comfort with this superlight pad. From 2020, there is a new industry standard for measuring the R-value (level of insulation) of sleeping mats – ASTM F3340-18. This new standard is the sleeping mat equivalent to the EN rating for sleeping bags.

The UberLite is smaller than the XLite (left) and Big Agnes AXL (right), all size Regular. But the difference is small, and I’d say that other factors should drive your buying decision. Leave a comment!

The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite is the lightest weight inflatable pad on the market. A bold statement, to be sure. Ready for those ultralight, ultra-fast adventures you’ve spent all winter dreaming of, this pad excels in hot environments, and hot environments only. The UberLite has an R-value of 2.0. Anecdotally and quantitatively, it’s not as warm as the XLite, which is rated to 3.2, or 60 percent warmer. Its optimal temperature range feels close to the Insulated AXL, for which the R-value is not publicly known. My experience with the XLite, XTherm, AXL, and now UberLite is that these pads make less noise with age and when paired with older shelter floors. Repeated folding of the pad seems to soften the materials, and normal use seems to buff the fabric coatings. Warmth This summer I slept on the NeoAir UberLite for five weeks in West Virginia’s Appalachians, Alaska’s Brooks Range, and Yosemite National Park. It kept me warm in temperatures down to 30 degrees F, incurred no holes or blown seams, and is acceptably comfortable. Please note that inflatables such as sleeping mats are not considered as faulty if they become punctured during use and are not covered by the manufacturer's warranty in this event.

All of the NeoAir pads use horizontal baffles. We’ve found horizontal baffles are more comfortable than vertical. More on sleeping pad baffle types in our Guide.Big On Comfort2.5 inches (6.4 cm) of cushion provides luxurious rest during your fast and light activities. With its compact design and feather-like weight, Uberlite is great, but as you might guess there are some trade-offs here, it’s not the most durable air sleeping pad on the market, it’s made of low denier (15D Nylon) fabric therefore if you decide to go with the Uberlite you need to be extra careful.