Total Items: 0
Sub Total: $0.00
Camp & Hike
Bags & Packs
Clothing
Footwear
Run
Watersports
Thermarest started in Seattle in 1972. Jim Lea and Neil Anderson were engineers who had lost their jobs in the Boeing layoffs, and their friend and climbing partner John Burroughs set them a challenge: build a better sleeping pad. The idea came to Jim while he was gardening, when he heard air escaping from the foam pad he was kneeling on. Open-cell foam sealed inside an airtight shell would draw air in by itself, and that became the first self-inflating camping mattress. For a lot of people the name has meant "sleeping mat" ever since. The range has moved a long way from there: the NeoAir air pads now lead it, the lightest rolling down to about the size of a one-litre water bottle, while the self-inflating mats and the folding Z Lite Sol foam pad are still made alongside them. Wild Earth stocks Thermarest sleeping mats, pillows and camp seats, with free shipping Australia-wide (bulky items excluded) and 80 days to return anything, sale items included.
Here's how the main mats compare, to help you find the right one for the way you camp!
Three things decide it: how cold your nights get, how far you're carrying the mat, and how you sleep. Warmth is measured as R-value, which is how well the mat stops the cold ground pulling heat out of you. Under 2 suits warm summer nights, 2 to 4 covers spring, summer and autumn, 4 to 6 handles cold nights and frost, and 6 or more is for camping on snow. Thermarest tests its mats to the same ASTM standard as the other major brands, so you can compare the numbers directly.
Year-round hiking: NeoAir XLite NXT
The XLite NXT is the mat most hikers end up with, and the one we'd point most people to first. It's about 7.6cm thick with an R-value of 4.5, which is enough for a frosty high-country night without being too much in summer, and it packs small enough to disappear into the bottom of a pack. The NXT version is much quieter than the older XLite, which had a reputation for crinkling every time you rolled over. It comes in Regular and Regular Short, and if the tapered foot end feels too narrow, the rectangular XLite NXT Max comes in Regular Wide and Large. The honest caveat: the fabric is light on both sides, so use a groundsheet and clear the sharp stuff before you lie down.
Snow and alpine trips: NeoAir XTherm NXT Max
The XTherm NXT Max is the same idea built for cold. It has an R-value of 7.3, a tougher fabric underneath, and a rectangular shape, so there's no tapered foot end to slide off. It comes in Regular Wide and Large, and it's about 110g heavier than the XLite NXT Max in the same size. If you're camping on snow in the Main Range, or packing for Japan, New Zealand or a northern winter, this is the one to take. For a normal three-season kit in Australia it's more mat than you need, and you pay for the extra warmth.
Comfort first, and for side sleepers: NeoLoft
The NeoLoft is thick - close to 12cm - with a soft knit top that feels more like a mattress than a hiking pad, and raised edges that stop you sliding off in the night. If you sleep on your side and wake up with a sore hip on thinner mats, this is the one to try. With an R-value of 4.7 it works all year. The trade-off is weight and bulk: it packs to roughly twice the size of an XLite NXT, so it suits short walks, paddling trips and car camping better than a long multi-day hike.
In short: XLite NXT for hiking, XTherm NXT Max for snow, and NeoLoft if a good night's sleep matters more to you than the grams.
If you'd rather not rely on a mat holding air, or you want one that mostly sets itself up, these are the older Thermarest designs, and they still earn their place.
Nothing to puncture: Z Lite Sol
The Z Lite Sol is closed-cell foam that folds up like a concertina, with a reflective silver side to hold in heat. It's light, it costs a fraction of an air pad, and there's nothing in it that can go flat. On its own it's thin, about 2cm, and with an R-value of 2 it's best on warm nights. In winter a lot of hikers carry it as a second layer under an air pad, and because R-values add together, an XLite NXT on a Z Lite Sol comes to 6.5, which is enough for snow. It also doubles as a sit mat at lunch. If your hips need cushioning, this isn't the mat for you.
Self-inflating for hiking: Trail ProLite
Self-inflating mats have foam inside, so you open the valve, let it fill, and top it up with a few breaths. They feel firmer and more stable than an air pad, they're quiet, and a small hole won't leave you on the ground. The catch is that they're heavier and bulkier for the warmth you get. The Trail ProLite is the one for hiking: 5cm thick, about 680g in Regular, with an R-value of 3.8 for spring, summer and autumn.
Car camping: BaseCamp and LuxuryMap
When the mat only has to get from the car to the tent, weight stops mattering. The BaseCamp is 5cm thick with an R-value of 6, warm enough for frosty nights, at about 1.1kg. The LuxuryMap is 7.6cm thick, also R 6, with a soft stretch-knit top and foam that's cut differently under your hips and shoulders to ease the pressure points. It comes in Large and XL, and weighs about 1.9kg in Large. Both are too heavy to carry far.
In short: Z Lite Sol for toughness and summer trips, Trail ProLite for a self-inflating hiking mat, BaseCamp or LuxuryMap for car camping.
Small things, but they're often the difference between a good night out and a long one.
The Compressible Pillow Cinch is filled with foam left over from Thermarest's own mat production, inside a soft cover, with a drawcord to set how firm it sits. It packs down small and doesn't slide around the way an inflatable pillow can. If you sleep on your side, go up a size.
The Z Seat is a folded square of the same foam as the Z Lite Sol, and gives you a dry, warm seat on cold rock or wet ground for almost no weight. The Trekker Chair 20 is a sleeve that turns your sleeping mat into a camp chair with a backrest. It fits 51cm-wide (Regular width) mats, so it works with the Regular XLite NXT and Trail ProLite, but not the NeoLoft, the XTherm NXT Max or any Wide or Large size.
Sleeping: Sleeping Mats & Pads, Ultralight Sleeping Mats & Pads, Pillows
Camp: Chairs, Repair Gear
Free shipping Australia-wide, bulky items excluded, and 80 days to return anything, sale items included. Full detail is on our shipping and returns pages. If you'd like to lie on a mat before you buy, our stores at Burleigh Heads and in Brisbane both carry Thermarest, and you can order online and collect from either. Opening hours are on our store locations page.
What size Thermarest sleeping mat do I need?
Thermarest uses the same size names here as everywhere else, so there's nothing to convert. Regular suits most people. Large is longer and wider, and worth it if you're tall or broad through the shoulders. Regular Wide keeps the Regular length but adds width, which is the one to look at if you sleep on your side or move around a lot. Regular Short saves weight if you're happy to put your pack under your feet. Check the length against your height on the product page and leave yourself a little room.
What R-value do I need?
R-value measures how well a mat stops the cold ground drawing heat from you. Higher is warmer, and the numbers add together when you stack two mats. As a rough guide, under 2 suits warm summer nights, 2 to 4 covers spring, summer and autumn, 4 to 6 handles cold nights and frost, and 6 or more is for camping on snow. For most Australian hiking through the year, somewhere around 4 to 5, like the XLite NXT or NeoLoft, is the sweet spot. A warmer sleeping bag won't make up for a cold mat, because the insulation underneath you is squashed flat by your weight. The mat is doing that job.
Is the Thermarest warranty valid in Australia?
Yes. Thermarest covers its sleeping mats against manufacturing faults with a limited lifetime warranty, and it applies to mats bought from us. It covers faults in materials and workmanship, not wear and tear or accidental damage like punctures. If something goes wrong, contact us with your order details and we'll work through the claim with you. Your rights under Australian Consumer Law apply as well.
Can a Thermarest mat be repaired?
Most of the time, yes. NeoAir and NeoLoft mats come with a small repair kit, and pinholes are easy to fix at home: blow the mat up, find the leak with soapy water, let it dry and patch it. For bigger jobs we stock the Permanent Home Repair Kit, and if you have an older Thermarest with the twist-style valve, the Classic Valve Repair Kit replaces a broken or leaking one. A mat that won't hold air overnight but shows no obvious hole is usually a slow leak at a seam or the valve, and that's worth asking us about before you patch it.
Should I get a self-inflating mat or an air pad?
Air pads like the NeoAir XLite NXT are lighter, warmer for their weight and pack much smaller, so they're the better choice for hiking. Self-inflating mats like the Trail ProLite are firmer and quieter, and a small hole won't leave you on the ground, but they take up more room in your pack. If weight matters, go air. If you want something simple and stable and you're not carrying it far, a self-inflating mat is easy to live with.
Do I need a pump for a Thermarest mat?
Usually not. NeoAir and NeoLoft mats come with a pump sack, a light bag you fill with air and squeeze into the valve, so you're not blowing the mat up by mouth. It also keeps the moisture in your breath out of the mat. Self-inflating mats only need a few breaths to top them off.
Using Afterpay you can pay for your order over 8 weeks. There's no interest or added fees* and nothing to pay today. Payment will be automatically taken from your debit or credit card in four equal payments each fortnight over 8 weeks, and you will receive your order immediately.
You simply need:
To use this service simply:
Approved AfterPay buyers will require the funds for the first payment to be available on their card at time of checkout, however the first payment won't be deducted for 14 days. First time AfterPay buyers will need to make the first instalment payment at the time of their purchase.
If you wish to return your goods you can choose to receive an exchange, or the Afterpay payment plan can be cancelled before the first payment at no charge. *If you fail to have sufficient funds available for AfterPay to automatically deduct payment on due instalment dates you will be charged a late fee of $10, and if the instalment payment remains overdue, an additional $7 will be charged one week later.
With AfterPay, there's no waiting and we'll ship out your order immediately as normal.
When you want to go now, sometimes it's handy to pay later. That's why, we offer interest free payment plans from two of Australia's favourite Buy now, Pay later services.
