Therm-a-Rest

Seattle aerospace giant Boeing laid off 50,000 people in 1971, leaving engineers Jim Lea and Neil Anderson with time on their hands. Another engineer friend, John Burroughs, challenged them with creating a better camping mattress; at that time, air mattresses were cold and leaky, while closed-cell foam pads were bulky and uncomfortable. One day while Jim was gardening, inspiration struck. As he shifted his weight on his foam ground cushion, he heard the air escaping a closed chamber. Combining a few deductions from this experience with a lot of tinkering, he and Neil came up with a prototype of a mattress that featured open-cell memory foam surrounded by air and sealed inside and airtight chamber, with a valve to control air pressure. The world’s first self-inflating sleeping pad was born. After year of field testing, they had reached a design that offered far superior comfort and performance than anything that had existed before. John dubbed it the “Therm-a-Rest,” because the new pad offered both insulation and the comfort that outdoor enthusiasts needed to get a good night’s sleep under the stars. A patent application was filed and, by 1972, the Therm-a-Rest mattress was on its way to becoming an integral piece of camping and excursion gear for millions. It was so ground-breaking, in fact, that in 2012 Outside Magazine placed it on its list of “The Most Influential Gear of All-Time.” Today, the Therm-a-Rest line of sleeping pads offers models designed for fast-and-light backpackers to luxury-loving car campers, and everyone in between. It features a number of variations on the original design, as well as the next-generation, multiple-award-winning NeoAir line. The company also revisited and vastly improved the closed-cell pads that used to be so uncomfortable; the Z-Lite and RidgeRest mattresses are the result. It now also offers the LuxuryLite cot for the ultimate in outdoor sleeping comfort.  In fact, Therm-a-Rest offers all the components of a complete sleep system, not just the pad. Therm-a-Rest sleeping bags are designed to work in tandem with its pads to balance light weight with comfort. Pillows and bedding sized to fit its pads help enable a good night’s sleep. And for waking hours, kits are available that turn your pad into a comfortable chair, or you can opt for seating mini-pads that protect your behind from the cold, hard ground. Heading into its fourth decade, Therm-a-Rest remains the worldwide leader in outdoor comfort, offering the broadest and most innovative assortment of outdoor comfort products available. The company continues to innovate, always driven by the conviction that the better your rest, the more you’ll enjoy your time precious time outdoors.

The Therm-a-Rest line of sleeping pads offers models designed for fast-and-light backpackers to luxury-loving car campers, and everyone in between.

Therm-a-Rest Sleeping Pads & More

Seattle aerospace giant Boeing laid off 50,000 people in 1971, leaving engineers Jim Lea and Neil Anderson with time on their hands. Another engineer friend, John Burroughs, challenged them with creating a better camping mattress; at that time, air mattresses were cold and leaky, while closed-cell foam pads were bulky and uncomfortable. One day while Jim was gardening, inspiration struck. As he shifted his weight on his foam ground cushion, he heard the air escaping a closed chamber. Combining a few deductions from this experience with a lot of tinkering, he and Neil came up with a prototype of a mattress that featured open-cell memory foam surrounded by air and sealed inside and airtight chamber, with a valve to control air pressure. The world’s first self-inflating sleeping pad was born. 

After year of field testing, they had reached a design that offered far superior comfort and performance than anything that had existed before. John dubbed it the “Therm-a-Rest,” because the new pad offered both insulation and the comfort that outdoor enthusiasts needed to get a good night’s sleep under the stars. A patent application was filed and, by 1972, the Therm-a-Rest mattress was on its way to becoming an integral piece of camping and excursion gear for millions. It was so ground-breaking, in fact, that in 2012 Outside Magazine placed it on its list of “The Most Influential Gear of All-Time.” 

Today, the Therm-a-Rest line of sleeping pads offers models designed for fast-and-light backpackers to luxury-loving car campers, and everyone in between. It features a number of variations on the original design, as well as the next-generation, multiple-award-winning NeoAir line. The company also revisited and vastly improved the closed-cell pads that used to be so uncomfortable; the Z-Lite and RidgeRest mattresses are the result. It now also offers the LuxuryLite cot for the ultimate in outdoor sleeping comfort. 

In fact, Therm-a-Rest offers all the components of a complete sleep system, not just the pad. Therm-a-Rest sleeping bags are designed to work in tandem with its pads to balance light weight with comfort. Pillows and bedding sized to fit its pads help enable a good night’s sleep. And for waking hours, kits are available that turn your pad into a comfortable chair, or you can opt for seating mini-pads that protect your behind from the cold, hard ground. 

Heading into its fourth decade, Therm-a-Rest remains the worldwide leader in outdoor comfort, offering the broadest and most innovative assortment of outdoor comfort products available. The company continues to innovate, always driven by the conviction that the better your rest, the more you’ll enjoy your time precious time outdoors.

Spring

Corus Quilt: 20F Down

Balsam

Small

Long

Questar Sleeping Bag: 32F Down

Storm

Regular

Vesper Quilt: 45F Down

Yellow Mountains

Blue Woven Dot

Airhead Pillow

Green

BlockerLite 20L Pump Sack

Stargazer

Saros Sleeping Bag: 0F Synthetic

Saros Sleeping Bag: 32F Synthetic

Trooper

Trail Lite Sleeping Pad - Women's

Gray

Trail Scout Sleeping Pad

Poseidon Blue

MondoKing 3D Sleeping Pad

Black

NeoAir Micro Pump

Poppy

ProLite Sleeping Pad

ProLite Sleeping Pad - Women's

NeoAir Topo Luxe Sleeping Pad

Print

NeoAir Topo Sleeping Pad

Deep Pacific

Air Head Lite Pillow

Green Mountains

Midnight Print

Airhead Down Pillow

Heat Wave

Prolite Apex Sleeping Pad

Lemon Curry

NeoAir XLite Sleeping Pad - Women's

Cayenne

Prolite Plus Sleeping Pad - Women's

BaseCamp Sleeping Pad

Cayenne 2

ProLite Plus Sleeping Pad

Orion

Neoair Uberlite Sleeping Pad

Vapor

NeoAir XTherm Sleeping Pad

NeoAir XTherm MAX Sleeping Pad

After counting all the grams in my pack, I decided it was high time to upgrade to this ultralight pad. I was pleasantly surprised that it was just as comfy as my other pad, too.

NeoAir XLite Sleeping Pad

Limon

One Size

Stuff Sack Pillow

Olive

Slate Print

Honcho Poncho

Orange

Lite Seat

Larch

Ohm Sleeping Bag : 32F Down

Vesper Quilt: 20F Down

Ether

Vesper Quilt: 32 Degree Down

Black Forest

Hyperion Sleeping Bag: 32F Down

Hyperion Sleeping Bag: 20F Down

Questar Sleeping Bag: 0F Down

Space Cowboy Sleeping Bag: 45-Degree Synthetic

White Heat

Parsec Sleeping Bag: 20F Down

Element

Oberon Sleeing Bag: 0-Degree Down

Tomato

Therm-a-Rest Trekker Lounge Chair Kit

Questar Sleeping Bag: 20F Down

Synergy Sheet

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