Tag: explore

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Therm-A-Rest NeoAir XLite Max SV

There’s a new way to inflate a sleeping pad, and it’s called the SpeedValve.  We all know of the traditional way to inflate a sleeping pad:  Unscrew the pad’s valve, wrap your lips around said valve, and start puffing.  Depending on the volume of the pad that you’re inflating, this may take just a minute, or it may take several minutes and leave you feeling slightly hypoxic by the time your pad is fully inflated.  However, if you have a Therm-a-Rest pad equipped with a SpeedValve, such as the NeoAir XLite Max SV, inflation and deflation happen a whole lot faster.

The SpeedValve uses science (Bernoulli’s principle of fluid dynamics) to inflate your sleeping pad much faster than a traditional sleeping pad valve would allow.  With a traditional valve, you are supplying 100% of the air going into the mattress from your lungs.  The SpeedValve uses all of the air from your lungs and it draws additional air from the atmosphere into the sleeping pad.  The end result is that much more air goes into the pad per breath, and your pad inflates faster.  Once you’ve got the pad almost full, you close the SpeedValve just like a drybag, and use the traditional valve on the corner of the pad to dial in your desired pad pressure.  Deflating a SpeedValve pad happens much more quickly than with a traditional pad valve too, and the days of slowly rolling a pad up as you bleed out air are over.  The SpeedValve is awesome, but it does have a learning curve.

Entertaining situation: Ask your friends to try inflating your NeoAir XLite Max SV without telling them how to use the SpeedValve.  Some people will try and blow as hard as they can into the pad, like they’re playing toot the bottle.  Others will just stick their face into the SpeedValve and blow.  When you’re ready to enlighten your friends, hold the SpeedValve a few inches away from your face and blow slowly, like you’re trying to blow out 100 candles on a birthday cake in one breath.  You’ll know when you’ve got your technique dialed because you will feel air moving past your face as you blow, and your pad will inflate surprisingly fast.  Closing the SpeedValve is the other thing that requires technique, as the dry bag style rolling process must be done right, or you’re going to be waking up on the ground.  As with any new piece of gear, the SpeedValve takes some learning, but once you get it figured out you’ll feel bad for folks who still have to work with traditional valves.

The NeoAir XLite Max SV is a terrific sleeping pad in terms of comfort, and with the L size pad weighing in at one pound five ounces, it’s become my go to pad every time weight is a consideration.  The L size allows for my 6’2” frame to stretch out with my entire body on the pad, and at 2.5” thick I can sleep on my side without contacting the ground.  With an R value of 3.2, the NeoAir XLite Max SV is a three season pad that will make a bit of noise when you move around on it, but it’s much more quiet than the ‘crunching bag of chips’ sound that other lightweight sleeping pads are known for.  Every night I’ve had on the NeoAir XLite Max SV has been a night of restful sleep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDIH7CiofUw

Therm-A-Rest has applied science to give us a new and faster way to inflate and deflate a sleeping pad, and I have to say that I’m a fan of this new system.  Granted, there is a bit of a learning curve and the second valve is technically one more point of potential failure, but these points are overshadowed by the performance the SpeedValve offers.  Less time inflating a pad is a convenience feature, but the first time you nail the inflation technique you’ll find yourself saying “worth it!”  Likewise, deflation is a much more enjoyable experience too.  No longer will you spend time doing the slow knee-press roll-up of your old sleeping pad.  Comfort and support have been outstanding for me sleeping on my back and my side, and a good night’s rest in the backcountry is invaluable on multi-day missions.  I’ve routinely found myself opting for the NeoAir XLite Max SV over a thicker (3.5”) and much heavier sleeping pad that was previously my favorite.  With the NeoAir XLite Max SV, I sleep great and I’ve cut over a pound from my kit.  Therm-A-Rest offers the SpeedValve in a number of their field proven pads, so go check one out at your local gear shop, or at http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest

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Adventure Therapy

It seems like a while ago now, but once upon a while ago I was in a war, in a far off place. Like many, that war left its mark on me. Once, when a handsome paycheck came in, I bought myself a brand new paraglider, harness, reserve, helmet and all the Gucci gadgets. Even inflated it in the desert to remind myself how awesome my next R & R was gonna be. It was indeed an awesome R & R. My name is Chris and I am addicted to adventure.

Even back then I knew my post war therapy of choice would be called Adventure Therapy, not opiates or sessions with shrinks. I came home, married my bride, went flying in my new home in Southern Cali, things were peachy. Then some kid ran a red, T-boned me at an intersection, rolled my Gen-II Tacoma and popped my shoulder and a chunk of shoulder related stuff out the socket. All good, no major injuries just and a total ban on flying from the Doc…for a year! The bottom fell out of my therapy program.

I’d met an American Adventurist founder through some work I did on disasters. The new Taco arrived, and I get a Facebook message “Want that Taco lifted? For free?” To be fair, I really had no idea what a “lift” was and less of an idea what overlanding was. I agreed to the lift and found myself two weeks later following a nomadic tribe of vehicle born souls across a desert. Despite my shoulder limitations I was on an adventure, once again, and I know this because I caught myself smiling in my rearview mirror.

Years ago, in another life I had been a paratrooper in the back of a truck, in three vehicle convoys into the splendor of the places where the roads end and the scenery (and backache) begins. Back then I was the payload, the trigger puller in the troop bay of our WWII Dodge vehicles—sweaty, grungy, and unhappy with my lot in the universe.

Suddenly—and somewhere on that first trip through the desert with the crowd from American Adventurist—I worked out what I missed whilst bitching about the driver from the bed of that Dodge all those years ago in East Africa.

If you are a Vet, like me, and struggle with civilians, I know a few people called “Overlanders” you should maybe strive to meet.

Got your TNT? (Tent N Truck) Hit up the folks that overland near you. Adventure Therapy does not need to be skydiving or airborne silliness like I got addicted to. I never was “normal,” but the thrill of planning a gig, packing the gear and supplies, dealing with Mr. Murphy (the Irish God of “there goes ye’s Plan-A lads”). It put me in touch, once again with the thrill of being a survivor. Said it for years…you cannot come home from that much buzz without replacing at least some of that buzz.

Somehow.

Overlanding is working for me. So is exploring new places with new civilian friends. Git in y’alls rigs and head on out to meet your local overlanders. Our glory days lay before us brothers and sisters. Not behind us. Never behind us.

My name is Chris. I am an adventure addict. I highly recommend American Adventurist for all your special therapeutic needs.

Chris Wharton is a former Firefighter & Hazardous Materials Technician who’s worked all over the globe. In 2011 he founded Basecamp Expeditions where you’ll find him passing on his skills in disaster preparedness and crisis management, or during an actual disaster, help out with the relief efforts.