Thermarest XTherm - when is it available?

[Mountain Rocket]

maybe i can expect an email from them soon saying its not in stock. but they took my money already.

Interesting! Let us know how it turns out.

[Rob A]

All these places are on autopilot. Providing you tick all the right boxes transactions proceed. Hard luck if you get confused and tick the XLite. Surprising though, that a site that does not have available stock, wouldn't put an 'out of stock cant proceed' in the online order procedure. That is what happens when a company has a region close out in place, only you get stopped at 'delivery address', before being able to check out.

[sthughes]

Ultralight Outdoor Gear are saying April 1st for the Xtherm.

[Strider]

Apparently it is seriously noisy. Might pay to see one in person before purchasing.

[Mountain Rocket]

Apparently it is seriously noisy. Might pay to see one in person before purchasing.

Where did you read that? I am not doubting it, merely wanting to see if there was any other worthwhile info there.

[Strider]

Apparently it is seriously noisy. Might pay to see one in person before purchasing.

Where did you read that? I am not doubting it, merely wanting to see if there was any other worthwhile info there.

My apologies, the post I read was referring to the XLite, not the XTherm

[Gusto]

I have an Xtherm on order from the UK. They emailed me to say that they were expecting it to arrive in UK in beginning of April. Hope that helps.

[sthughes]

Latest from ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk:

Thermarest: 1st April is the date we're working to for the Xtherm mattress so keep an eye on the website if this is on your gearlist. Update for this newsletter - best we can get from Thermarest is "Mid April" and we are now being told that we will only get a portion of our order - clearly some significant manufacturing difficulties.

[Nuts]

Iv'e used the neo and trekker in the cold but haven't had the all seasons mat out in really cold weather yet. Might be just me but (compared to the other inflatable insulated mats) I don't find the TR mats overly 'warm'.. Not cold but always seem just on the edge of being so as the temp drops... anyone else owned both and find this.. I struggle to see that the TR mats would 'feel' as warm at similar temps to (say) synmat or downmat... perhaps they just take a lot longer to start insulating?? (should i prepare for the stoning? lol)

[Ent]

Hi

Now the proud owner if the X-lite. Smaller and lighter than the Neo-air mark 1. Curious how it goes. For snow my Exped downmat rocks, the Pro-lite 4 ok and the 2.5 Neo-air not up to scratch. Be interested how the x -lite fairs. For those on a budget the x-therm probably a safer bet for all conditons

Like with lost modern light weight stuff you are left with doubts if it will last but then you adapt and reset the delicate button.

Cheers

[Mountain Rocket]

Here is the first photo I have seen of someone actually lying on one: http://blog.tahoemountainsports.com/201 ... inferno-0/
It is rumoured to hit stores very soon... has anyone found a store willing to post (Thermarest) internationally yet? I am itching to own one.

Option 1: Ultralight Outdoor Gear seem to be the cheapest I can find. £140 plus ~£13 postage for a regular Xtherm, however that price includes VAT so take away 20% and put it into AUD and it comes out at like $~200. A few members here speak very highly of their service so they should be a safe bet.
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... therm.html

Option 2: Tahoe Mountain Sports have them listed (not yet in stock) for $190 with postage expected to be ~$40. The best thing is they will ship (Thermarest) internationally. http://www.tahoemountainsports.com/prod ... eping-pads

Option 3: Additionally there is Mountain Gear who charge $45 for postage and $190 for a regular pad. I am not really sure why they let you select the size and colour though, and why there is a price difference between the colours. To my knowledge they only come in the one colour. /shrug http://www.mountaingear.com/webstore/Ge ... 233003.htm

Option 4: It seems Cabela’s will let you backorder but they only offer international surface postage at $45 with an eta of delivery 8-12 weeks. Express shipping is ~$65 dollars and the pad itself is $190 for a regular. With their high postage rates they seem a bit hit and miss for me. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Therm-A- ... 342391.uts

Has anyone had any experience buying from any of the above stores?

[Mountain Rocket]

OK so I have been doing as much reading as I can regarding the new Xlite and Xtherm and I am becoming indecisive. There seems to be a lot of people experiencing issues with the Xlite - mostly deflation. Apparently there were similar manufacturing issues with the original NeoAir was first released, so with our fingers crossed this might be worked out.

__________________________
Splean (the importer of Cascade Designs for Aus) have a useful comparison pdf of all the models on their website from which I got the following stats:
Xtherm - 51x183cm dimension (tapered), 430g weight, 30d high tenacity nylon/70d nylon soft grip fabric, 6.3cm thick, 23x10cm compressed and a R value of 5.7.
NeoAir All Season - 51x183cm dimension (rectangle), 540g weight, 75d polyester/70d nylon fabric, 6.3cm thick, 23x11.5cm compressed and a R value of 4.9.

So the Xtherm has a lighter top fabric, weights 110g less, packs down smaller by ~1.5cm and has a R value that is 0.6 warmer. The other key difference is the tapered (mummy) shape, which may not be so ideal for true snow camping. It is also worth noting the Xtherm is likely going to be a lot noisier than the NeoAir All Season due to the new reflective barrier technology/fabric used.

Xlite - 51x183cm dimension (tapered), 350g weight, 30d high tenacity nylon fabric, 6.3cm thick, 23x10cm compressed and a R value of 3.2.
NeoAir (original, old model) - 51x183cm dimension (rectangle), 410g weight, 30d high tenacity nylon ripstop, 6.3cm thick, 23x10cm compressed and a R value of 2.5.

So again the Xlite is 60g lighter, possibly has a different fabric (unlikely) and has a warmer R value by 0.7. The Xlite is also tapered which is where they likely cut the weight. They should both sound similar (crinkly) due to the same technology/fabric being used.
__________________________

With all the reports of the Xlite being too flimsy/not holding up to expectations I was a bit worried, until I noted they use the same fabric as the much loved NeoAir. So the fabric itself should not be the issue. Additionally I am looking at buying a Xtherm which uses a thicker fabric than the Xlite on the bottom, which is encouraging. Is anyone else slightly worried about ordering one of these online? If there is a problem is might be quite an (expensive) ordeal to fix.

I would love to know what other people are thinking. Take a punt now, wait a while and see how it pans out or just fall back on the All Seasons? I don't know what to do.

[roysta]

Here is the first photo I have seen of someone actually lying on one: http://blog.tahoemountainsports.com/201 ... inferno-0/
It is rumoured to hit stores very soon... has anyone found a store willing to post (Thermarest) internationally yet? I am itching to own one.

Option 1: Ultralight Outdoor Gear seem to be the cheapest I can find. £140 plus ~£13 postage for a regular Xtherm, however that price includes VAT so take away 20% and put it into AUD and it comes out at like $~200. A few members here speak very highly of their service so they should be a safe bet.
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... therm.html

Option 2: Tahoe Mountain Sports have them listed (not yet in stock) for $190 with postage expected to be ~$40. The best thing is they will ship (Thermarest) internationally. http://www.tahoemountainsports.com/prod ... eping-pads

Option 3: Additionally there is Mountain Gear who charge $45 for postage and $190 for a regular pad. I am not really sure why they let you select the size and colour though, and why there is a price difference between the colours. To my knowledge they only come in the one colour. /shrug http://www.mountaingear.com/webstore/Ge ... 233003.htm

Option 4: It seems Cabela’s will let you backorder but they only offer international surface postage at $45 with an eta of delivery 8-12 weeks. Express shipping is ~$65 dollars and the pad itself is $190 for a regular. With their high postage rates they seem a bit hit and miss for me. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Therm-A- ... 342391.uts

Has anyone had any experience buying from any of the above stores?

Yes, Cabela's are ok

[Stibb]

Edit: deleted link. don't want to make it too easy for cascade design

[Mountain Rocket]

Tahoe Mountain Sports seem to have them in stock. Price is pretty good if you use their 20% off coupon. If you want to know the code PM me and I will give it to you. I am going to hold off and buy it from Ultralight Outdoor Gear after all the praise I have heard for them.

[Nuts]

I'd do it in a hurry from anywhere listed here, people will make things so easy for Cascade Designs...

[walkinTas]

My current thermarest pad has an R value of 5.2, so I have never been tempted to change, even though it weighs in at a massive 1155g - well, maybe a little bit tempted. Looks like I might finally have a good reason to go light. Can anyone tell me, is it noisy like the XLite?

[Mountain Rocket]

Well the Xtherm isn't released yet but it is expected to be similarly noisy to the current NeoAir, perhaps less so (due to the more durable fabric).
The best thing about this pad (in my eyes) is the volume/weight/r value combo. Not only is it lighter than the All Seasons, it is a hell of a lot smaller, which is quite important to me.

[walkinTas]

Well the Xtherm isn't released yet

Interesting 'cause backcountry is selling! Regular $230.95 shipped to Tasmania.

The lightest of the Thermarest NeoAir use very light fabrics which have been reported to make a 'crinkle' sound as you move around on them - they are likened to sleeping on a crisp packet - my experience is that this is minimal - after using a NeoAir for a couple of years I didn't realise it crinkled until someone pointed it out to me! Now I know - I still don't notice it when kipping down.

And from the same website:-

• NeoAir XTherm 5.7 The warmest version for 4 season use, uses same fabric as Xlite on top - so may be crinkly (noisy)
• NeoAir Xlite 3.2 The lightest version, lowest durability, may slide about a bit and material crinkles (noisy).
• NeoAir All Season 4.9 Durability and warmth - fabric doesn't rustle.

So I guess I'll have to wait and see if it's crinkly.

[Mountain Rocket]

Well the Xtherm isn't released yet

Interesting 'cause backcountry is selling! Regular $230.95 shipped to Tasmania.

Very true, I stand corrected. With that said though, I still haven't read anything about anyone receiving one yet.
I am planning on giving the Aussie distributor a call to see if they can tell me a rrp for Aus. If it comes in at around ~$300 I would much prefer to buy it locally.

[Nuts]

Interesting 'cause backcountry is selling! Regular $230.95 shipped to Tasmania.

I doubt that walkintas.

The crinkly part is odd, a few people make that comment but i'd guestimate its maybe 5% of users at most.. v. light sleepers perhaps?

[Gusto]

Kellys base camp are advertising the X-lite for 280-300 dollars depending on the model. I doubt the X-therm will be below $300 then

[Mountain Rocket]

Oh well I just got off the phone from Spelean and they said there has been production issues and it won't be released until May.
He also said there was no way of knowing a rrp until they land their first shipment.

[Son of a Beach]

Well the Xtherm isn't released yet

Interesting 'cause backcountry is selling! Regular $230.95 shipped to Tasmania.

Very true, I stand corrected. With that said though, I still haven't read anything about anyone receiving one yet.
I am planning on giving the Aussie distributor a call to see if they can tell me a rrp for Aus. If it comes in at around ~$300 I would much prefer to buy it locally.

That web page does still say "Please note the Xtherm is backordered until early April". It's getting a bit beyond early April now, but I'm sure if it was in stock or shipping they would have removed that.

[Strider]

Looking at the US forums, the date of April 23 has been mentioned for arrival of stock for some suppliers.

[walkinTas]

Well the Xtherm isn't released yet

Interesting 'cause backcountry is selling! [url=http://www.backcountrygear.com/therm-a-rest-neoair-xtherm.html]....

That web page does still say "Please note the Xtherm is backordered until early April". It's getting a bit beyond early April now, but I'm sure if it was in stock or shipping they would have removed that.

Selling yes, but not shipping. "Unfortunately we cannot ship Therm-A-Rest products outside of the United States. Therm-A-Rest has very strict distribution policies which prohibit American retailers from shipping overseas." So much for signing a "free trade" agreement.

[Mountain Rocket]

Hmm the saga continues. Apparently some stores in the states such as REI have some stock, but it is extremely limited.
I emailed Ultralight Outdoor Gear and they said they are still waiting for them but it is now looking like early May. Clearly there are/have been significant manufacturing issues.

[walkinTas]

I've read the downmat 7 UL thread with interest. Starting to think maybe I avoid the crinkle question altogether, buy a downmat, and struggle around under the extra 200g load.

[Strider]

I've read the downmat 7 UL thread with interest. Starting to think maybe I avoid the crinkle question altogether, buy a downmat, and struggle around under the extra 200g load.

But its certainly no struggle to justify the comfort

So you're aware, my DM UL7 comes in at 664g with stuff sack, repair kit and pump sack. So it is actually quite a bit heavier than the X-Therm.

[walkinTas]

Yeah, 200+ grams, ¼kg, ½lb, about 4 mars bars difference in weight, but the pack size is almost identical - 23X10 V's 23X11, or 1.8l V's 2.1l.