Name: Jennifer Joy
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4" (1.63 m)
Weight: 150 lb (68 kg)
Email address: jjoy AT io DOT com
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Date: August 29, 2004

Backpacking Background

I have been camping and hiking since I was a small child. I used to be not very weight conscious, but I am actively working to move towards lightweight backpacking and plan to replace much of my gear in an effort to help an extreme tendency for tendonitis. My backpacking trips tend to be over a weekend or day hikes within a multi-day kayaking trip. Multi-week hiking is a long-term goal. I could be considered a beginner backpacker but an experienced camper.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Insul Mat
Year of manufacture: 2004
Website: www.pacoutdoor.com
Listed weight: 23 oz (650 g)
Weight as tested: 24.2 oz (686 g)
Each component:
Pad: 23 oz (652 g)
Stuff sack: 0.7 oz (20 g)
Patch kit: 0.6 oz (17 g)
Item number: 170MT-650
MSRP: $55.00 US
Warranty: Lifetime for defects in materials and workmanship

Material: 70-denier nylon bottom (black), 50-denier diamond ripstop nylon top (red)

Listed dimensions of pad: 20 x 72 x 2.5 in (51 x 183 x 6.3 cm)
(Note: All of my measured dimensions do not include a 3/8 in (1 cm) border seam on all sides)
My measured dimensions (uninflated): 28 x 73 x .06 in (71 x 36 x .15 cm)
My measured dimensions (inflated): 20 x 71.5 x 3.25 in (51 x 182 x 8 cm)

Listed dimensions of compacted pad: N/A
Measure dimensions of compacted pad: 5 x 11 in (13 x 28 cm)

Product Description

The Insul Mat Max-Thermo pad is a six chambered manually inflated air pad for sleeping. Its shape is mummy-style with a tapered head that flares to wide shoulders then gradually tapers to the feet (which are approximately 14 in (36 cm) wide). It features synthetic fill insulation inside of each tube. Inflation is through a brass valve with plastic cover. For more detailed information on the product please see my Initial Report.

Field Test -- Final Impressions

General Information

This section covers a summary of my impressions of the Max-Thermo over the last 4 months of the 6 month test cycle. For my earlier thoughts please see my Field Report, however, I can safely say nothing has changed since then and my high opinion of this piece of gear still stands. Overall it has seen around 18 nights of use, mostly in tents and some nights on wood and carpeted floors. The temperatures ranged from 40 F (22 C) to 90 C (32 F).

Best moments

This pad seems to be meant for me: a side sleeper, sore of shoulder and one who needs a little more cush in her camping life. I've found often that comfort, low weight and packability are not to be found in the same package, but the Max-Thermo was full of surprises. It is reasonably priced and fulfills all the requirements. The pad starts out in a black stuff sack a mere 5 x 11 in (13 x 28 cm). Once inflated, the pad's thickness 2.5 in (6.3 cm) allowed me to never feel the ground at all. I didn't have any pain in my shoulders which is very unusual for me. It takes a little experimenting to get the pad's inflation right, especially after using other pads where I was used to inflating them to the maximum. I recommend, as does the manufacturer, to not fill it all the way. Something in the 75-80 percent full range works fairly well.

Scary moments

I only had one incident with this pad. It was the second night of a 2-night, 3-day hike and I was beat. I was puffing and a huffing (it didn't help to be over 10,000 feet / 3048 meters) to put air into my pad and had just filled it up only to discover I could not close the valve. It was completely stuck! Reluctantly I had to let all the air out of my inflated mattress and go to plan B. "Honey, it's broken, can you fix it?" It turned out I inexplicably managed to cross thread the valve when I was trying to close it or in opening it. I also found out that I could remove the plastic valve entirely which would make replacement possible down the line. Now my valve is somewhat ugly as it has a few teeth marks (I didn't have pliers) where I tried to get it to unstick. However, in many more nights since that time I've not had a single problem with the valve. If I was going to be on a long remote trip I might try to secure a spare plastic valve component before I went.

Silly moments

Oh yes, it floats. I tried it out in the pool one day and sure enough, maybe it won't let me walk on water, but I could surely try and sleep on water or at least cool off some. I never had a trip where I could use it on water, but I could see doing that some day. It is nice that water rolls off of it so easily, so getting it wet whether intentionally or unintentionally has not been an issue.

Other comments

I have found the mummy shape and large height worked fine even though my husband had a more traditional pad. The only real problem I had with it was our tent has a sil-nylon floor. If the tent was not perfectly flat, the slick bottom of the mat meant I was always sliding down to the bottom. I stayed on top of the pad fairly well so that was not a problem.

Long term use

My pad still looks like new and I've not needed to use the repair kit. I've only had it in tents and on floors so it has not been subjected to any unusual abuse. I've not paid much attention to the insulation in the tubes, which somewhat speaks for itself. I never felt any cold from below and beyond that it pretty much was a hidden feature.

Conclusions

Other than my one incident with the valve sticking open, the only drawback I see to this pad is that it requires a good 20-22 full breaths before you can use it. For a minute of my time and some lightheadedness, it was entirely worth it to me. This pad is so comfortable I have used it instead of a normal box spring on no less than 6 nights at various houses. It also packs up small enough I could avoid offending the host (they never knew it was there in my luggage).

The good:

Excellent comfort
Packs small and fits right back into its sack
Lightweight

The bad:

Somewhat slick on the bottom
Valve has a plastic component
20-22 full breaths are needed before it is useable

A final note:

Thank you to BackpackGearTest and Insul Mat for the opportunity to test the Max-Thermo.

Read more reviews of Pacific Outdoor Equipment gear
Read more gear reviews by Jennifer Joy

Long Term Report