Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT sleeping pad review

The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT is the brand’s latest iteration of the long-beloved XTherm line. Super light, supremely packable and delivering a market-leading warmth-to-weight ratio, it’s set to be your new four-season staple: The obvious go-to for year-round UK adventuring. But how accurate is that in reality?

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Xtherm NXT sleeping pad

Ideal for: Winter backpacking, 4-season adventuring, wild camping

Not suitable for: Ultralight backpacking in summer

The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT is a super impressive piece of kit, coming with an R-value of 7.2 in a 440-gram package (for the regular pad). This easily gives it the best warmth-to-weight ratio of any pad on the market right now, and thanks to some improvements Therm-a-Rest have made over its predecessor, it’s substantially quieter, thicker and more comfortable to sleep on — all while packing down to the size of a 1-litre water bottle.

Therm-a-Rest Neoair XTherm NXT sleeping pad

Therm-a-Rest is one of the most notable brands out there when it comes to producing warm, packable and reliable sleeping pads. They’ve been behind some of the most innovative products on the market, starting with the world’s first-ever inflatable sleeping pad way back in the 1970s. The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT is the brand’s latest iteration of their long-loved and super warm XTherm sleeping pads, delivering an industry-leading 7.2 R-value in a pad that weighs under 500 grams (440 grams for the regular version, to be exact). So, is this pad worth the hype?

On paper, the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT simply cannot be beaten. For its weight, it delivers the highest R-value available today, easily beating the likes of the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme, the popular Nemo Tensor or the Exped Ultra 7R. At 440 grams, there’s simply nothing out there that weighs so little yet delivers so much warmth. But that’s not all: The pad also packs down smaller than these other big players, rolling up to the same size as a 1-litre bottle of water.

Naturally, however, this level of tech doesn’t come cheap. When bought new, the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT will set you back well over £200. As you can’t buy these directly from Therm-a-Rest, you’ll have to look around at the various online eCommerce stores to find the best deal, but we’ve never seen them on offer for anything under £220. And while that puts the pad decidedly at the top end of the price spectrum for pads of this style, it’s worth understanding that there’s not much in it when compared to heavier pads with a lower R-value, such as the Exped Ultra 7R which comes it at around £207.95. The Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme (which remains one of our most highly-rated pads for four-season UK adventuring) costs £188 at the time of writing when bought from Valley and Peak, and the aforementioned Nemo Tensor (which has an R-value 40% lower than the XTherm’s) also has an RRP of £200. Therefore, despite the XTherm being one of the most expensive pads on the market, you get what you pay for. So don’t be too put off by the high price tag, if you can afford it.

Our experience using the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT

To test the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT, we used it extensively through the winter of ‘23 and ‘24. We took it on a 3-day circular of the western Brecon Beacons, we used it on a handful of mid-week overnights when it got eerily cold, and we took it with us on another 3-day wildcamping adventure through Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park in January. On this trip, we got to put the pad up against sustained freezing temperatures (where the air temperature hit -9° C), used it one night in a bothy to see how it’d perform in warmer conditions, and carried it up and over an untold number of Munros to understand just what it’s like to lug this pad around in your pack under real-world, UK winter conditions.

Warmth and comfort

The first notable thing worth diving into with the new XTherm is the thing that sets it apart from all other pads on the market: Its warmth-to-weight ratio. Weighing 440 g and coming with an R-value of 7.2, no other pad delivers as much warmth as this thing for every gram carried. And that’s not just marketing fluff. In our experience, the pad is as warm as Therm-a-Rest makes it out to be, keeping us toasty warm and comfortable in temperatures down to -9° C. Truthfully, the warmth the XTherm delivers makes it our clear go-to for any lightweight winter backpacking trips when space and weight are a consideration. And, in fact, as it’s so easy to carry, we will almost certainly use this in the shoulder seasons, too, and maybe even on everything outside of the warmest summer days.

Additionally, being 3 inches thick (7.6 cm) when fully inflated, the pad is remarkably comfortable. And while we still think the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme is a slightly more comfortable pad to sleep on (being thicker and wider), the full package of the XTherm is arguably a better all-rounder as it’s smaller, lighter and more comfortable to carry on long day hikes. That being said, the gains are marginal, and we see ourselves leaning on the Sea to Summit pad when we want the extra comfort and the XTherm NXT when weight and pack size are important.

One final thing worthy of note when it comes to the comfort provided by the XTherm NXT is the noisiness of the insulation. In its predecessor, the foil insulation would rustle and crunch as you rolled around on the pad. Even though this was never a big issue, the narrative around the pad quickly became one of ‘sleeping in a crisp packet’, with numerous reviewers commenting on how loud it was to sleep on. Thankfully, Therm-a-Rest seems to have solved this problem to a large degree in the new NXT version, with this latest iteration being quieter and remarkably less crisp-packet-like when you roll around on it. That being said, Therm-a-Rest hasn’t annihilated the rustling entirely; the pad still makes a bit of noise when you move on it, but never enough that it becomes a disturbance.

Pack size and weight

When it comes to the XTherm NXT’s pack size and weight, this is where the pad simply cannot be beaten. It weighs 440 grams (in regular) and packs down to the same size as a 1-litre water bottle. This is truly phenomenal, and we’ve yet to find a four-season sleeping pad as small and light as the XTherm NXT — as Therm-a-Rest so proudly states in their own marketing.

Inflating and deflating

To inflate the Therm-a-Rest XTherm NXT, the pad comes with an easy-to-use inflation sack that allows you to pump it up in under a minute. This simply clips onto the WingLock Valve for easy inflation without needing to blow into it yourself. This is good for two reasons: One, any moisture that collects inside the bag may turn to ice in freezing conditions (and affect the thermoefficiency of the pad). Two, that same moisture will stay in your pad forever, causing it to get mouldy over time, which can affect the life of the product.

To deflate the pad, it’s simply a matter of opening the WingLock Valce and pressing out the air. Then, you just roll the bottom of the pad up towards the top to squeeze out all the contents, fold it up and roll it back into its stuff sack.

In fact, the only criticism we’ve got when it comes to inflating/deflating the pad is almost certainly down to user error: When we first tried to inflate it, a team member who’d never used a Therm-a-Rest before couldn’t figure out how to open the valve. The instructions on the WingLock Valve aren’t particularly clear, nor were the descriptions in the booklet. Instead of fully opening the valve, he kept opening and closing the WingLock system, which did nothing to help him inflate it. To open the valve fully in order for air to enter the pad, you need to untwist both the WingLock Valve and the nozzle itself, which is something — to be fair to him — Therm-a-Rest doesn’t make particularly clear in their own literature.

Durability

The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT is constructed out of a 70D ripstop nylon on the underside of the pad and a lighter-weight 30D ripstop nylon on top. This adds extra durability in the areas where you need it most while still ensuring the pad is as lightweight and packable as possible. For this reason, we found the pad to be plenty durable, although you will always need to be careful with pads of this type.

As they’re basically little more than a super technical balloon, we always recommend that you clear any bracken or sticks from the ground before pitching your tent. And if you’re sleeping in a tent with a super thin bathtub floor, such as the Robens Chaser 1 or the Decathlon MT900 UL 2, it’s a good idea to pair these with a groundsheet. Thankfully, should anything happen to your pad overnight, Therm-a-Rest includes several repair patches (that we, luckily, never had to test) that should bring your pad back to life in a pinch.

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT sleeping pad FAQs

The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT is incredibly warm. With an R-value of 7.3, it’s all you need for any 4-season adventures in the UK — and it offers market-leading warmth-to-weight weighing only 440 grams for the regular version.
The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT is very comfortable to sleep on. Despite being thinner than many other thick winter pads in the space, such as the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme, it’s still very comfortable to lie on whether you sleep on your back or your side. Thankfully, the brand also managed to reduce the crisp-packet noise that was so prevalent in the earlier iteration, which also makes it quieter and more comfortable when rolling around at night.
The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT is very easy to inflate. The pad comes with an included inflation sack that is flexible and easy to use and can help you blow the pad up in less than a minute.
We think so. Despite costing over £200 when bought new, the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT delivers such astounding performance, amazing warmth and unbeatable packability that we think it’s a worthy investment for true 4-season camping — if you can afford it.
The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT is remarkably durable for such a lightweight, inflatable pad. As the underside comprises 70D ripstop nylon, it’s hard to pierce, reliable and robust; just make sure you lie on this thing the right way up. To save weight, the top-side comprises a much-less durable and thinner 30D ripstop nylon which, despite still being reasonably thick, will be much easier to damage.

Conclusion

Overall, we really rate the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT. In regards to the warmth-to-weight this pad delivers, there’s simply nothing else out there. So if you’re looking for a lightweight and packable pad that you can use on all of your 4-season UK adventures, there isn’t much point in entertaining any other competing lines right now. The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm delivers everything you could ever want from a premium 4-season sleeping pad with no identifiable compromises to note. It’s supremely light, super warm and remarkably easy to carry. And as long as you can stomach the high price — it will support you on all spring, autumn and winter adventures for years to come

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT sleeping pad review

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Xtherm NXT sleeping pad

The Good

The Bad

Therm-a-Rest Neoair XTherm NXT sleeping pad