Sea to Summit Comfort Plus vs Thermarest Neoair XTherm

When purchasing an ultralight sleeping pad, to stuck between Sea to Summit Comfort Plus vs Thermarest Neoair XTherm is more common than you think. But don’t worry, in this guide, I will cover everything you need to look for when purchasing an ultralight sleeping pad, and at the end of this article, you will have decided on which sleeping pad is the suitable one for you.

In summary, Thermarest Neoair XTherm offers a smaller weight and packed size while providing a higher R-Value, and it’s more durable, therefore, Neoair XTherm is the perfect option for ultralight, cold weather backpackers and mountaineers. Sea to Summit Comfort Plus, on the other hand, brings an innovative Air Sprung Cell design on the table which makes it more comfortable, but the trade-off here is the weight, even though it’s not as warm as Neoair XTherm, Comfort Plus can keep you warm down to +15 ºF.

Specs: Sea to Summit Comfort Plus vs Thermarest Neoair Xtherm

Detailed Comparison: Sea to Summit Comfort Plus vs Thermarest Neoair Xtherm

In this detailed comparison, I compared the regular sizes of Sea to Summit Comfort Plus and Thermarest Neoair XTherm, BUT you can use this guide whether you’re looking for different sizes or different models such as Sea to Summit Comfort Plus SI, although the specs might change a little bit, the idea for the comparison of Sea to Summit vs Thermarest Neoair would be the same.

Weight

I wanted to start my comparison with weight because, not only it’s the biggest difference between two pads, it’s also the most important factor for most of you guys.

Therm-a-Rest provides the lightest sleeping pads in the quality sleeping pad market, that is one of the biggest reasons why the brand is so famous in the outdoor community.

For our comparison, with a 15 oz of weight Thermarest Neoair XTherm weighs almost half of Sea to Summit Comfort Plus (29.8 oz).

Packed Size

Packed size is generally the second most important issue. Although the difference is not so big, Thermarest Neoair XTherm is again the winner of this category.

While the regular size of Sea to Summit Comfort Plus packs down to Ø 5″ x 9″, Therm-a-rest XTherm packs down 1″ narrower with the dimensions of Ø 4.0″ x 9″.

But I should mention that the uninsulated version of Sea to Summit Comfort Plus (R-Value: 2.5) packs down much smaller than these two with the dimensions of 4 x 6.5 in / 10 x 17 cm.

Insulation

If you’re not familiar with sleeping pads, the warmth of a sleeping pad is measured by a value called the R-Value, the higher the number the better the insulation.

In our comparison, Thermarest is the winner here, with an R-Value of 6.9, Neoair XTherm can keep you warm down to -15 ºF. Sea to Summit Comfort Plus, on the other hand, offers an R-Value of 4.0 which can keep you from cold down to roughly +15 ºF.

Here is an R-Value to Temperature table I’ve created, so you would understand the correlation between the R-Value and Temperature Rating:

One other thing most 4 season backpackers and mountaineers look for is the Warmth to Weight Ratio, if you’re into extreme outdoor adventures packing the most efficient gear is extremely important. And for sleeping pads, the most efficient one is the lightest one that offers enough insulation (depending on your needs).

Since Thermarest Neoair XTherm offers a higher R-Value with a lower weight, I can confidently say that it’s much more efficient compared to Sea To Summit Comfort Plus.

Actually, calculating Warmth to Weight Ratio by dividing the R-Value to the Weight is not a thing, but still, this ratio as a number gives an idea for comparing sleeping pads.

So far, for the comparison of Sea to Summit Comfort Plus vs Thermarest Neoair XTherm, Thermarest is the superior one, but numbers are not everything, there are other factors that need to be taken into consideration, such as comfort.

With that being said let’s dive into the next section…

Comfort

As it can be understood by the name (Sea to Summit “Comfort Plus”), the comfort department is where Sea to Summit shines.

Most of the sleeping pads have horizontal or vertical baffles, but unlike these traditional designs, Sea to Summit Comfort Plus features Air Sprung Cells that react more effectively to your shape and sleeping position.

Also, unlike any other sleeping pad on the market, Sea to Summit Comfort Plus offers a two-layer design and each layer is inflated separately, so, if one layer leaks in the middle of the night you would still have another layer to keep you off the ground and additionally you can fine-tune the top layer to your desired level of firmness.

Given the facts, Sea to Summit Comfort Plus is the clear winner when it comes to comfort.

Thickness is an important factor for sleeping pads, both Comfort Plus and Neoair XTherm have a thickness of 2.5″. If you’re a side sleeper, depending on your weight you might feel the ground, therefore I would recommend going for a sleeping pad that is at least 3″ thick such as Nemo Tensor Ultralight or Big Agnes Air Core Ultra.

And if the weight and packed size is not a big issue, for an outstanding comfort take a look at the article where I talk about Thermarest Mondoking and Exped Megamat.

Sound

Unlike self-inflating (foam) sleeping pads, air sleeping pads use special kinds of films between the top and bottom layers to increase the insulation, therefore they’re much noisier than foam sleeping pads.

In our case, both Sea to Summit Comfort Plus and Thermarest Neoair XTherm makes a crinkly sound while laying and moving on them, but XTherm is slightly quieter.

Durability

Some people don’t prioritize durability, but when it comes to air sleeping pads, you should! Especially if you’re going for a high-end sleeping pad such as these two. Because unlike other outdoor gear, air sleeping pads are trash when they’re damaged (they do come with a repair kit but these kits only fix small rips).

Both Comfort Plus and Neoair XTherm features a 30D nylon top layer, but generally sleeping pads tend to get damaged from the bottom side, therefore XTherm features 70D nylon bottom layer whereas Comfort Plus features only 40D nylon bottom layer. Thermarest Neoair XTherm is the clear winner in the durability and longevity department.

Since we’re talking about durability, I should mention that Comfort Plus is TPU laminated to be water-resistant while XTherm isn’t. It shouldn’t be a deal-breaker if you go only tent camping though.

Features

Sea to Summit comfort plus brings really cool features to the table:

• It comes with a stuff sack that doubles as a pump sack to make the inflation process much easier and since you wouldn’t have to use your breath it prevents moist air coming into the pad.
• The pad is made of two layers, if one layer leaks during the night the other one would keep you off the ground.
• Comfort Plus is compatible with Sea to Summit Aeros Down Pillow: The pillow and the pad can lock together so the pillow wouldn’t slide off the pad during the night.

Check the latest price of Sea to Summit Comfort Plus on Amazon

Thermarest Neoair XTherm also have very innovative features as well:

• XTherm offers two different valve options, Standart Valve and Winglock Valve (this version comes with a pump sack as well). Neoair XTherm with Standard Valve is good enough to do the job, but the new and innovative Neoair XTherm with Winglock Valve can be inflated 3 times faster and deflated much quicker.
• As I’ve mentioned earlier, due to its innovative construction it provides an exceptional warmth to weight ratio.

Check the latest price of Thermarest Neoair XTherm

Sizes & Dimensions

Sizes of Sea to Summit Comfort Plus

Thermarest Neoair Xtherm

Watch the review here: