Therm-a-Rest Uberlite Regular Review: A 10-Year Summer Air Mat
Camping · Published 7/9/2023 ·
My old Climbit air mat had reached the end of its life, so I sent it off in a city trash bag. After ten whole years, I finally got around to picking out a new summer air mat. My criteria were pretty simple: it had to be light, pack down small, and not be so extreme that it ended up thin and uncomfortable. Since this is the kind of gear you can use for about ten years — assuming it doesn’t get a puncture, and even then you can just patch it and keep going for ages — I didn’t factor in the price. …But man, it’s expensive.
Two contenders made my shortlist: the Therm-a-Rest Uberlite Regular and the Nemo Tensor Short.
Uberlite S, R
Weight: S 170g, R 250g
Price: S around 320,000 won, R around 350,000 won
Nemo Tensor S, R
Weight: S 295g, R 450g
Price: S roughly 150,000 won, R roughly 130,000 won
Maybe it’s because we’re right in the middle of camping and backpacking season, but summer mattresses are mostly sold out, and the popular Short versions are hard to find here in Korea. So I asked someone who does overseas purchasing to grab one for me. In the end, I got an Uberlite Regular for 240,000 won, and it arrived after about three weeks.
That’s what it looks like, and it’s thicker than I expected. It’s got some kind of WingLock? system on it, but I honestly can’t tell what’s so great about it. It’s a touch lighter than the Nemo Tensor Short, and being a Regular, the full length makes it comfortable to use. It packs down to under about 1 liter — a little smaller than a Nalgene bottle.
It has that distinctive Therm-a-Rest crinkle to it, so it’s not exactly quiet. Then again, once you crash out exhausted, it’s not really a problem.
Here it is packed up. At first it looked like there was no way it’d fit in the stuff sack, but after wrestling with it for a bit, it does go in. Packing it isn’t a problem at all.
It came with a pump sack, so I gave that a try. It’s better than nothing, but since I have an electric pump, I figure I don’t really need to bother bringing it. The pump sack might be lighter, but adding around 200 grams for an electric pump does wonders for your quality of life. Hahaha.
There are instructions on the back of the pump sack. You open the mouth wide and blow into it with a big “whoosh” — the surrounding air gets drawn in along with your breath, so it inflates quickly. Even so, the mattress has some volume to it, so you still have to keep at it for a while.
Lying down on it, it’s thick enough that I think I’ll be able to sleep well without feeling the ground on my back. The downside is the price if you buy it here in Korea, but if you go the overseas-purchase route like I did, it actually seems pretty reasonable. Buying the official domestic version gets you warranty service, which is nice, but they can only repair it if they have stock, and sometimes you’re waiting months.
I bought it planning to be really careful with it, but if it gets wrecked, I’ll just keep using it patched up like a rag.
Thanks for reading.
#ThermaRest #Uberlite #NemoTensorShort #BackpackingMattress #CampingMattress #LightweightMattress
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