Reviewer Information

• Name: Cora Shea
• Age: 24
• Gender: Female
• Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
• Weight: 150 lb (70 kg)
• Email address: cahhmc "at" yahoo "dot" com
• Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
• Date: August 30, 2004

Basic Product Information

• Year of Manufacture: 2004
• URL: http://www.pacoutdoor.com/
• Listed weight: 23 oz (650 g)
• Weight as delivered:
  • Pad: 1 lb 7 oz (670 g)
  • Stuff Sack: 0.6 oz (18 g)
  • Repair Kit: 0.5 oz (16 g)
  • Total: 24 oz (704 g)
• Measured Stuffed size: Tubular 5 x 11 in (12 x 28 cm)
• Inflated size
  • Advertised: 20 x 72 x 2.5 in (51 x 183 x 6.3 cm)
  • Measured: Shaped Rectangle 20 x 71 x 3 in (51 x 181 x 8 cm)

This report covers long term use, care, and maintenance from April to August 2004. For field testing performed during February to April, 2004, please see my Field Report. For more general product information, more visual details, more reporting on appearance, structure, and items that can be tested and commented on without field testing, please see my Initial Report.

Long Term Testing

As summer came in full, I began to realize that the Max Thermo is a much stronger and more useful pad for me in winter than in summer. I feel as if I have to protect all inflatable sleeping mats more in the summer than in the winter, and the Max Thermo has been no exception. Thus, I feel as if I cannot use it as a seat anywhere for good lounging as I could use a closed-cell foam pad. This is not the fault of the Max Thermo's construction or fabrics, but having punctured and dealt with more than enough inflating pads to know a thing or two about being careful I continue to be wary about the Max Thermo. Besides that, the thick Max Thermo simply doesn't bend well for lounging.

Also, in the summer its insulative and comfort properties are not nearly as astounding. It is quite hard to achieve a big, thick, and warm winter pad (which the Max Thermo achieved nearly to perfection in when paired with a thin closed cell foam pad), whereas I personally only need something somewhat squishy for the summer. Sure, the comfort continued to be great, but the extensive inflation and deflation time offset the comfort in the summer. Thus, I began to want to bring other easier-to-use closed cell foam pads in order to (a) not worry about puncturing the Max Thermo, and (b) not have to expend large amounts of lung air to have a comfortable night.

This should not make my reader forget about my absolute joy while using the pad in the winter. I have never in my life had such comfortable nights in the middle of snowstorms and dripping ice. And, since fewer things exist in a snow environment which can puncture an inflatable pad than in a dry and pokey summer environment, I did not feel quite the need to protect the Max Thermo in winter as I have felt in summer. It sure has served me well for the summer, but now it will be put away until I beat up my ski bases on the first snowfall.

On a side note, however, there is one advantage to taking it with me in the summer. I had been eyeing the Max Thermo for what it apparently evolved from -- the pool raft. Thus, as soon as the Sierra lakes warmed up enough to actually enjoy the experience, I inflated it to full and flopped around on it until, precariously balanced, I enjoyed a rather nice paddle around a lake. I had to add air to it under water (due to that whole density-temperature-affects-gaseous-pressure weirdness), and then I had to be sure to let the extra air out of it again when I landed back on shore (or I would end up with a very, very, seriously firm raft). But, when firmly inflated under water, the Max Thermo kept me floating in a very comfortable supine position... with the pad about two inches (five cm) under water. But even that was comfortable -- after I figured out how to keep it from flipping me off without warning, that is. It certainly wins the award for the most buoyant pad I've used, and thus was the most fun backcountry pad-raft I've seen.

Long Term Use Comments

Durability

The main worry about durability mentioned in my field report -- that the synthetic insulation sheets were shifting within the baffles -- increased significantly over the past four months. One sheet even twisted within the baffle, a condition which I fixed easily with my fingers.

I have not found the insulation shifting to affect warmth at all, but then again I have not had as much opportunity to test the continued insulating properties in the middle of summer. Intuitively I believe the insulative properties are not affected. In the same way I can push the insulation back with my fingers I can also lie on top of the inflated mat on my kitchen floor for a few minutes and toss and turn on it. Upon performing this little experiment, the insulation fills most of the gaps that stuffing and deflating the pad created, implying that a good night would set the pad back to normal even if the insulation collapses again upon deflation.

Other than that, the pad has been very durable. I've used it on surfaces of gravel, pine needles, duff, and many other challenging surfaces. The black nylon on the bottom shows some scratches, but these are more cosmetic and most likely due to the fact that most dirt is lighter than black and has gotten ground in to the fabric.

Care and Maintenance

I treated this pad quite well. After each trip, I would partially inflate it and store it folded once down the middle. From my experience with synthetic sleeping bags, such careful storage greatly increases the life of insulation. I obviously do not have a 'control' Max Thermo to compare with to tell whether my kind treatment helped. However, I noticed that the insulation twist and shifting occurred after extensive inflation, deflation, and stuffing (i.e. field use) and the insulation would recover after a few days of nicer home treatment. The insulation also needed a careful push back into place every few days of use. But, as I mention above in my experimentation, perhaps attentive field tossing and turning could eliminate that maintenance.

At the same time, the Max Thermo never had a single serious maintenance problem. No holes or tears appeared. No grit collected in the valve, and the valve action remains as smooth as the day it arrived. The insulation continues to puff up despite twisting, stuffing, rolling, and numerous inflations via humid lung air. All in all, this has been a great pad.

Summary

The Max Thermo has been an exceptionally comfortable pad. When combined with a closed-cell foam pad in the winter, it forms the most warm and comfortable pad combination I have found. In the summer, I am less keen on the high-effort inflation and need to protect it from sharp things since I personally sleep well on many different pads. But overall, the Max Thermo has been dependable and has also earned a permanent spot in my winter pack.

• Upsides for me:
  
  • Durable valve and outer fabric
  • Comfortable... as in, really comfortable!
  • Very small packed size

• Downsides for me:
  
  • Insulation shifts under careless use
  • Nearly 20 full breaths are needed to inflate

Read more reviews of Pacific Outdoor Equipment gear
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Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > Insul Mat Max-Thermo > Cora Hussey > Long Term Report