|
| Home | Guest - Not logged in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
» Register
» Login
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
» Contact
|
Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > Therm-a-Rest Luxury LE > Owner Review by Roger CaffinTherm-a-Rest Luxury LE 3/4 Length Mat Product Information
Product description: This is an air mattress with a soft foam core. Unlike the old "Lilo" style of air mattress, this design does not need blowing up: it will self-inflate once the valve is opened. The model reviewed here is of only "3/4" length. The logic here is that most people do not need the extra length: a bit of clothing or similar can be put at the end to keep feet off the ground, and one quarter of the weight is saved. The foam core actually has two functions. The first is to make the mattress self-inflate, but the second is equally important. The old hollow air mattresses allowed the air to circulate, while the foam core completely inhibits air movement. The advantage of this is apparent when the mattress is used with a sleeping bag on a cold surface such as concrete or snow. The underside of the sleeping bag is of course compressed by body weight, and gives little or no insulation value. A hollow air mattress will feel very cold, but the foam core provides excellent insulation. 
The original (and thinner) Therm-a-Rest mattresses had a simple block of foam for the core. Making the mattress thicker would mean more foam and hence more weight, but the Luxury LE series feature little or no increase in weight. This has been achieved by removing round cores from down the length of the foam, leaving some foam top and bottom. Enough foam is left that the self-inflation property remains. The holes are small enough that air circulation is small, and some foam is left on top and bottom to provide insulation value. The original Therm-a-Rest mattresses had smooth material on both sides, and it has been reported that some people found this rather slippery. One could even buy 'anti-slip' sprays. The model reviewed here has a soft fabric surface which does not slip. Our versions are pale blue or aqua, but the current versions are apparently two-tone. Whether the two colours signify top and bottom I do not know; we sleep on either side of ours. While the mattress does not need blowing up, the manufacturer recommends putting about two puffs into it to get the right pressure. The mattress does not need to be highly pressurised to work as one's body is normally spread over quite a large area. However, to keep bony hip bones off the ground that extra little bit of air is needed. The manufacturer cautions that too much air pressure will make the mattress seem hard, and taken to an extreme may damage the mattress. The LE mattress came with a stuff sack and couple of round self-adhesive patches for repairs (the original model came with neither). For packing we roll the mattress up tightly with the valve open, and then close the valve. This keeps the mattress in a tight roll which can be easily inserted into the stuff sack provided - and easily removed later on. In fact, the stuff sack is large enough that we can even fit a very thin bit of closed cell foam into a standard stuff sack along with the Therm-a-Rest. In practice we don't as it makes getting the mattress out of the sack difficult when in a hurry throwing gear into the tent in a storm. The width of the mattress means it occupies the full height of a rucksack: it does not fit into a dual-compartment one. Field information At first we did not have any air mattresses, and that was fine when we were very young and doing mainly short trips. But when we started doing longer and harder trips, and got a little older and wiser too, we realised we needed a good sleep each night. In fact, for us this was the dominant factor in our decision to buy these expensive air mattresses rather than cheap bits of foam. We started off with the original standard thin Therm-a-Rest mattresses, but we found they were a bit thin for our bony hips. When the thicker LE model came to a shop near us we switched. Since then we have used these mattresses right around the year, on grass, soil, sand, rock and snow, and have never regretted the cost. We used them for six weeks while doing a traverse of the French Pyrenees recently, and slept comfortably every night. We have used them in the snow each winter while ski touring, and have slept very warm on them. It has been interesting to inspect the snow where the mattress was in the morning: there is usually a faint depression where the hips would be. The heat loss there has never been noticed, but the extra comfort from the 'hip hole' does help. The mattresses are not slippery, and we have no problem there, even on tilted sites. However, we have found it useful to aim at having a slight depression under the hips for the extra comfort, and will often even make a bit of one when preparing a tent site in the snow. This serves both for comfort and as a way of knowing where you are relative to the mattress in the middle of the night. We have also noticed that putting too much air into the mattress does indeed make it too hard, but it is simple to crack the valve open briefly in the night. The mattresses are only '3/4' length, which does leave our feet hanging off the ends. Lying on our sides there is usually little more than our feet off the end, but lying on our backs (and snoring) puts a fair bit of the lower leg off the mattress. For this we carry a very thin bit of closed cell foam to put at the foot of the mattresses. It does not give much padding, but it does insulate. It is interesting that the latest model in the Therm-a-Rest range has such a bit of foam already attached to the 3/4 length section. In addition, we often put our daytime clothing at the end of the mattress to add padding - provided it is dry of course. The bit of foam we use here has an extra advantage. Lying down on the mattress means one's weight is spread out and one is well insulated from the ground or snow, but sitting on the mattress concentrates the weight, such that the cold snow is contacted. My wife lies across the mattresses in the evening while I get dinner sitting up at the end of the tent. I use the closed cell foam as a seat for this, and stay warm even on snow. (The stove goes outside the groundsheet!) The instructions said to never use the mattress as a cutting board and to watch out for spiky things on the ground. The former is so obvious one has to wonder who would be so silly. The latter has not been difficult, although we do take some care clearing the site before we put the tent groundsheet down. After well over fourteen years on two mattresses, we have never had a single puncture or leak. For us they have been very robust and reliable. This is probably helped by our practice of always carrying the mattresses inside our packs, never ever on the outside where they could be bashed by the scrub. We have moved a long way towards the ultra-light way of walking, but it is unlikely we would ever give up on these thick mattresses. We haven't seen any foam pads which are this thick or comfortable. There seems little point in saving a small bit weight if we don't sleep well at nights: walking is meant to be fun. Fortunately, at 770 gm ( 26 oz) these mattresses are lighter than most competing models. Servicing Puncture repair kits are provided, and more are available. Alternately, standard polyurethane 'goo' will seal most small leaks. Replacement valves are also available, although we find it hard to understand how one could damage the valve. Fairly brutal mistreatment would be required. One essential bit of servicing takes place after every trip. Blowing up the mattress, even with just a couple of puffs, means some moisture is injected each night. Unless this is removed it will accumulate, add weight and cause the interior to deteriorate. Storing the mattress rolled up tightly will also damage the foam. We store each mattress uncompressed and with the valve wide open. In colder weather we usually leave our mattresses to inflate and dry out 'near' our wood stove for a day or two after each trip as well. 'Near' means they are not so close as to get at all hot: just very faintly warm as if they had been in the sun for an hour or two. It is just like airing a sleeping bag. Negative aspects The weight remains a little high, but we can understand that an ultra-lightweight model would have a limited life and cause problems with customer perception - for both the light model itself and the brand. After many years the original stuff sacks lost all their waterproofing. This meant that if any water got inside a pack it would wet the bottom of the stuff sack and one edge of the mattress. I have replaced the original stuff sacks with ones made from silnylon.
Would we buy another?
Addendum 2004 My wife and I took these mats to Europe in 2004 for an eight week walking trip along the Pyrenees. We camped out nearly every night and slept on the mats. They survived the trip very well, as indeed they have survived all the other the trips we have been on since we bought them (in 1996 or 1997). The only signs of age are some slight abrasion marks on the surface of the fabric at the valves and some food stains. Yes, we do look after the mats quite carefully, but that is a measure of how much we value them.
Biographical information
Backpacking Background: I started bushwalking (the Australian term) when I was about 14 yrs old, took up rock climbing and remote exploration walking at University, later on took up ski touring and canyoning. These days I do all my trips with just my wife. Our preferred walking trips in Australia are long ones: about a week in the general Blue Mts (east coast of Australia) and Snowy Mts (alpine) regions, and up to two months long in Europe and the UK. We favour fairly hard technical trips and prefer to travel fast and light. Our ski touring trips are usually 5-7 days long as well, with full packs and tents. In between we still do fairly long day trips: it's a form of relaxation. Having discovered that 20 kg (44 lb) packs are no longer fun, we have become believers in ultra-lightweight walking. Typically we carry an ultra-lightweight tent (we need full insect proofing here), Therm-a-Rest mattresses (the subject of this review), lightweight sleeping bags, lightweight packs, a lightweight butane/propane stove, light climbing rope (frequently used) and very light parkas. I would carry about 12-14 kg (26-31 lb) total for a week, my wife would carry a bit less (more when skiing of course). I am also the maintainer of the aus.bushwalking FAQ web site www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/. Read more reviews of Therm-A-Rest gear Read more gear reviews by Roger Caffin Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > Therm-a-Rest Luxury LE > Owner Review by Roger Caffin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||