Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Topo Luxe sleep mat review: A mat that boasts unrivalled thickness and exceptional comfort

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Topo Luxe sleep mat: first impressions

I first had the chance to try out the Thermarest Neo-Air Topo Luxe on a chilly March night in the Brecon Beacons. My usual set up often finds me opting for a weighty self-inflating mat due to my fear of ending up on the ground with a dreaded puncture.

This has always fostered a slight paranoia of mats that are as big and inflatable as the Topo Luxe. However, the apparent robustness of the Topo Luxe has left me feeling it is possible to have bed-like comfort in an inflating mat without sacrificing lightness, packability and durability.

Upon inflation the Topo Luxe immediately looked like a comfortable mat. The horizontal baffles and rectangular shape give an immediate impression of something more akin to a standard air mattress than a conventional hiking mat, and if you're looking to shave grams, do bear in mind it does not have a mummy-shape option.

The mat has a smooth finish with a contour pattern that errs on the slippery side, so in a sleeping bag you may find yourself sliding off. When weight is less important (yes, I have used this mat at festivals) I have gotten around this by adding a cotton top sheet. But if you're thru hiking with this mat and don't want the extra load just be prepared for a bit of erm, mobility in the night, especially if you're sleeping on a slope.

There's no doubting the comfort though, thanks to the plush 3.9in (10cm) thickness and generous size. Just make sure you check the length works if you're planning on sleeping on it in a backpacking tent. The Large and XL versions are both 77in (196cm) long, which left it touching the top and bottom ends of my backpacking tent. The Regular and Regular Wide options are 72in (183cm) long, and we think this is a much more manageable length for one or 2-person tents.

The mat has a simple twin lock valve set up - one for inflation and one for deflation. The large deflation valve works excellently at expelling the full mat of air for pack down, and can allow for releasing small amounts if you need to tweak the firmness in the middle of the night. Similarly, the inflation valve is one way and easily placed by the head to allow for top ups if needed. I did find the twisting of the inflate valve a little tricky with thicker gloves on, but not to an unusual extent.

There is a pump sack included within the bag for the mat. However, it took me over seven minutes to inflate with the sack versus two minutes by mouth. Having recently watched someone else blow up a similar mat with a pump sack in seconds, it's clear there is a knack to it that I have yet to master, but overall I found the process fiddly compared to just blowing straight into the valve or using a mini-pump.

It is worth learning how to do it properly though, as using the pump sack is designed to prevent moisture going into the mat, and in the long term moisture can cause mould. So if you’re serious about the longevity of your purchase, then it’s worth taking the extra time to use it.

The completely open valve means it deflates for pack down in seconds.

Warmth

This mat boasts an R value of 3.7, which is impressive given its thickness and amount of air used to inflate it. The first time I used it I could have benefitted from a slightly higher R rating as it was the start of spring, and it was a cold night. However, despite being set up on an exposed ridge, the thickness of the mat combined with the relatively high R value kept me warm and somewhat protected from the gusts of wind that were ripping under my porch and into the inner tent.

The flip side of the mat being this thick was with my tent being rather low profile, I did spend a lot of the night with my head claustrophobically close to the top of the inner sheet, something to consider if you are working with a smaller set-up.

Returning to use this mat later in the season, I had no issues with the insulation at all and I really appreciated the home-like comfort. Using a bigger tent also meant the claustrophobia was no longer an issue - if you’re using a coffin style tent you may find it’s just too much of a tight fit due to its height and the length of the two larger sizes.

Weight and packability

The mat has a total pack weight of 2lb 1oz (947g), or 1lb 13oz (850g) if you are stowing it away without the pump sack, repair kit etc.

For a mat of this thermal rating, surface area and pack size it has no right weighing this little, especially given this was the Large size. I was able to pack and roll this down to roughly around the size of a litre water bottle and my only gripe is that the included carry sack is much larger than the size of the rolled mat and could benefit with some form of compression system to make for easier bag storage.

Size and comfort

The Topo Luxe is a rectangular mat, and I am more used to mummy shape mats. Thanks to its generous size, I found the size Large to be palatial in comparison to what I would usually use (I’m 6ft 2in / 186cm tall).

Given the generous size I was able to position myself comfortably throughout the night and this was a positive given that the top side is fairly slippery. My camp spot was not entirely on flat ground but I found that with the increased surface area there was much less chance of ending up with limbs sliding off.

However, if you opt for a smaller size you may find this to be more of an issue.

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