Therm-aRest

lightweight, very compact, very comfortable

expensive

Type: air bed Materials: nylon with reflective inner coating Dimensions: 183x51cm Thickness: 7.6cm R-Value: 4.5 Weight: 355 grams thermarest.com

The XLite has been around for many years. I first reviewed it back in 2013. For next year there’s an updated version: the XLite NXT. This adds an extra 1.2cm of loft for extra thickness and warmth but no extra weight. It’s also claimed to have an 83% reduction in noise over the earlier version, which was notorious for crackling loudly when you moved. I have an advance XLite NXT to test and this was its first outing. I couldn’t test the extra warmth as it wasn’t cold, but I can say that it’s certainly much quieter than the old model. The shell fabric seems a little less shiny too and doesn’t slide around as much on the tent floor.

The XLite comes with a pump sack but it’s not actually difficult to blow up by mouth, especially as it has Therm-a-Rest’s WingLock Valve so you can stop blowing if necessary without it deflating. This valve also makes it very quick and easy to deflate.

The thickness makes the XLite very comfortable. As with similar mats I found it best not to inflate it fully, so it had a little give under me.

The original XLite was an excellent lightweight backpacking mat. The NXT version is even better.