Exped - MegaMat Lite 12

How much air did you have in it? I put about 70% air in and find it comfier than most mattresses with a good pillow. I was in between the two but saw the exped on offer and saw it was thicker with a higher r value. Glad I went for it now - not that I’ve used the neoloft but very comfy on this. What do you go for out of interest and how do you find it? As will look at getting my partner one at some point but would be a good excuse for both….

Hey, let me start out with a confession, i LOVE being outdoors, but i sleep absolutely horrible on darn near everything. 210 lb 180 cm and a not very forgiving back and neck. I have tried almost every pad, the last investment was teh Exped MegaMat Lite 12 LW, which was quite expensive. Even on that bad boy i can not find good rest. Soo i look for every improvement and gear development and now i did see the Thermarest Neoloft…. The skeptic in me thinks this cant be any different than the exped, they are basically the same in specs and philosophy. The naive version of me WANT to believe that Thermarest truly created something special, i suck up all the marketing hype and want to pull the trigger.. BUT its shit expensive as well. So what i really want is to hear from persons with high comfort demands who have tried both and can give me some impressions of the neoloft compared to the exped. And i know i know, its propably the same and there is no such thing as a magical sleeping pad, but i do hope so :0)

First let me say this, your reply is what makes me absolutely love reddit :0). Thx for taking so much time and giving me so much detail :0) I am kind of happy that i am not the only one not being comfortable on the exped, i felt like an idiot having that thickness and pricey pad, and still not being satisfied and enjoying the experience. I am very very tempted to go for the neoloft with what you write, and what others write. I am puzzled by the magic of the dimpled pads. I have a couple of pressure points on my ribcage that actually is the biggest comfort issue for me i think. I am worried that i am to heavy for the rei helix though, i dont like a firm matress and for that reason i am leaning towards the neoloft with that room to spare in the thickness. Very interested in the Sea to Summit, maybe i can find those locally, i am in europe and i can not find the Thermarest anywhere , now i know why, strange strategy Thermarest that i dont get. But thx again, thinking hat on :0)

I have it, I still prefer my exped megamat lite 12 lxw, but the Neoloft is smaller and lighter for backpacking and only a little less comfortable.

I all ready got Thermarest Xtherme NXT and Exped MegaMat Lite 12 but want also a self inflating one.

Exped MegaMat if you want a foam mat or Thermarest NeoLoft if you want an airmat. I would say those are the most comfy pads on the market right now depending on if you want foam or air.

Therm-a-Rest NeoLoft if your a back or stomach sleeper or Exped MegaMat Ultra if your a side sleeper. But if you have the space in the kayak i would go with the regular Exped MegaMat nothing beats them when it comes to comfort not even your bed at home almost 😉. Regards from a Swedish prepping/outdoor gear reviewer on YouTube 🇸🇪❤️

Megaamat is nice. Don’t sacrifice comfort over a few dollars, just save up more. I did a cross the country drive years back and never got good rest sleeping in the car on some blankets and lack luster pads. I have the smaller mega mat and like it because I can adjust the air pressure which changes the firmness without it sagging like a normal under-inflated air mattress would act. The local stores by me have them on display so you can lay on them to give them a try. If you’re in La / OC area you can check mine out

For camping, we use exped megamats (extra long/wide)--and I find them super comfortable even though I have back issues.

Once you go Megamat, you never go back. And you might want to use it at home as well.

Two x-large expeds and you'll wake up happy.

I do like to sleep comfortably when backpacking, and have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what works best for me. I've tried many pads over the past decades, including these two, along with similar Exped sleeping pads like the Ultra, Versa, and Dura. I am primarily a side sleeper, so that informs some of my sleeping experience on these, and am 190cm and 95kg. Personally I was not able to sleep comfortably on the Exped MegaMat Lite, or its siblings (Dura/Versa/Ultra). A through-line in my testing of these is the vertical baffling: I regularly wake up and find my arm is numb. I think these might work better for me if I was primarily a back or chest sleeper; lots of people like them and recommend them. But in my adulthood I've probably maximum only got about two hours of sleep at a time on a design like these. I have only had to contact Exped for warranty once, and they ended up shipping me a new unit before I even had to send the old one back: top marks here in support. I just picked up the Therm-a-rest NeoLoft before the holidays and took it on two trips in Mt Hood National Forest. Maybe the most comfortable backpacking pad I've personally used recently, even if the large (long wide, 78x26) weighs 2lbs! When fully inflated it is 4.6" thick. One of the few pads I've slept more than six straight hours on, which is kind of how I prioritize pads. Not only comfortable, but has a soft-touch stretchy fabric which feels good against the skin (I tend to sleep with quilts rather than bags). The first night I did wake up to find my arm was numb, so curious if that was a one-off with a weird sleeping position... R-value is 4.7, so I haven't used it at all in the past 45 days because of the cold where I am. It looks like the REI exclusivity is now over in early 2025, and this can be picked up lots of different places. Honestly the thing I dislike the most is the valves; I just don't care for the old-style Therm-a-rest valves. Realizing your question was specifically about those two, I also wanted to recommend what I have found to be my most comfortable pads in recent years: 1. Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated. This specific pad and its sibling, Ether Light XT Insulated, have been my primary pads the past four-ish years. They are 4" thick and the most comfortable pads I've used, probably tied with the NeoLoft. Never woken with my arm numb, and the only pad I've ever slept seven-plus hours straight-through. In the PNW I use the non-Extreme-variant in the warmer half of the year, and the Extreme-variant in the colder half. The stuff sack with the inflation aid built-in is the smartest I've seen. Extreme version has an r-value of 6.2, and the non-Extreme version r-value is 3.2. The Extreme has that spider-web looking Thermolite insulation, which in my mind is the most reliable winter/cold insulation; it doesn't crinkle and potentially fail like newer thin reflective films in other lighter pads (NEMO Tensor, Big Agnes Rapide, etc). On the flip side that makes the Extreme very heavy, more than 2lbs, and also packs down the biggest of any backpacking pad I've owned. 2. REI Helix. Been using this on-and-off for the past few seasons. One of the few pads that has me sleeping through the night. It is only 3" thick, but I have found the trick is to fully inflate: the dimples do a good jump of evening out my weight and not experiencing any arm numbness. The long wide is 1lb 13oz, and seems pretty sturdy compared to other REI-brand pads I've used in the past; no leaks yet... R-value of 4.9. I always wake up refreshed and feeling good on those mats, baring any environmental issues outside of the pad. I cannot recommend the NeoLoft in that way yet, but will continue to use and test it out in the near future with an additional foam pad underneath to make it safe for snow conditions (as the r-value stacks). And I don't think I will ever recommend an Exped pad for backpacking. Exped does make fantastic foam inflating car-camping pads though!

Any Exped Med-Wide pads fit the bill. Incredibly comfy to boot. They are more expensive but a good nights sleep it worth it imo. Best investment I made for camping. I got my Deep Sleep for just over $100 on sale.

Exped megamat.

Buy once, cry one. I have a dozen different sleeping pad/cot/mattresses stored because I kept thinking that *this* is the one that will finally work. You know what finally worked? Dropping $500 on an Exped Megamat. I’ve been using that one for 5 years. No regrets.

I have two expeds- a Megamat duo and a single. They’re the most comfortable and warm pad I’ve tried. I’ve been using them for 5 years and camp at least once a month. Our Duo sprung a leak a few years ago, which I patched, and it still works great. Pro-tip: Get the widget air pump or a Flextail Gear mini air pump. Don’t use your breath to finish inflating because it will introduce moisture into your mattress.