NEMO Quasar 3D Insulated Backpacking Sleeping Pad Overview

Backside Line

We examined the NEMO Quasar 3D Insulated sleeping pad within the depths of Colorado winter. Whereas it supplies secure consolation, it leaves a cold spot in our sleep system. 

The 3D in Quasar 3D refers to its physique mapping baffle system that cradles you to sleep with a mushy however supportive really feel. The elevated head baffle helps hold your pillow in place or eliminates the necessity for one completely. The Quasar consists of our favourite pump sack, the Vortex, which makes setup a breeze.

The Quasar 3D boasts consolation, sturdiness, and affordability over weight and heat. When you’re on the lookout for a snug pad to cowl automobile tenting and brief backpacking journeys on a price range, then the Quasar is nice. If holding your pack weight down is a precedence, there are numerous lower-weight choices on our backpacking sleeping pads.

How We Examined

We put this pad by way of the wringer to check its consolation, sturdiness, heat, and extra. From the rocky, abrasive soil of the Rocky Mountains to the consolation of our house, we slept on it for dozens of nights, assessing its efficiency throughout all of our testing metrics.

Consolation

The Quasar 3D supplies secure, body-cradling consolation for all sorts of sleepers. The 3D physique mapping design helps hold your physique (and pillow) on the mat all evening. The three.5 inches of cushion is sufficient for many aspect sleepers, whereas again and abdomen sleepers (in addition to starfish sprawlers) will recognize the ample 20” x 72” rectangular sleeping floor to assist hold their limbs from spilling off of the pad. 

Some of the distinctive options of the Quasar 3D is the raised head baffle, which creates a kind of chaise lounge impact. It’s designed to assist maintain a pillow in place, however for us, it eliminates the necessity for a pillow completely. The raised head baffle is a pleasant addition for people who usually go for a balled-up puffy jacket for a pillow.

Our favourite consolation function of the Quasar 3D is its big selection of accessible sizes, together with a double. The double doesn’t have the identical body-cradling traits of the only, nevertheless it’s vast sufficient for a pair to get pleasure from cuddling up on a chilly evening and to avoid wasting the load of carrying two sleeping pads.

Weight

At 28 ounces, the Quasar 3D is the heaviest sleeping pad on our record, encroaching on automobile tenting territory. Its weight is tough to justify for a solo backpacker, however should you can persuade your associate to hold the double model by themselves, you’re taking a look at some critical weight financial savings!

The Quasar 3D bridges the hole between automobile tenting and backpacking. For informal campers on the lookout for a sturdy, comfy possibility for automobile tenting and the occasional backpacking, the Quasar 3D insulated gives a flexible and inexpensive multi-faceted possibility.

Sturdiness

The Quasar 3D gives dependable sturdiness with sturdy supplies and development. The pad is completely constructed with Bluesign Licensed 100% PCR PU 30D Polyester Ripstop. The PU coating will increase the polyester’s longevity by way of abrasion, tear, UV, and water resistance. 

Though the fabric isn’t the thickest of all of the pads on our record, the development is tremendous heavy-duty and feels extra sturdy than pads with thicker cloth.

We love the low-profile inflation valve, nevertheless it doesn’t maintain onto the stuff sack as securely as we wish—it popped off a few instances throughout our inflation testing. It’s additionally value noting that some evaluations have reported sturdiness points with these valves up to now, though we haven’t had any issues to this point.

Heat

The 3D Insulated model is the warmest of the Quasar iterations, with its 100% post-consumer recycled PrimaLoft. Nevertheless, one would anticipate a very good bit extra heat from an insulated pad as heavy because the Quasar.

The R-value is surprisingly low at solely 3.3. We used the Quasar for a number of winter nights in Colorado with temperatures down into the twenties, paired with a heat sleeping bag. It turned obvious that the Quasar was certainly the weak level in our sleep setup.

We suggest the Quasar 3D Insulated for summer season tenting journeys and into the hotter intervals of the shoulder seasons. In winter, it’s doubtless inadequate for many sleepers.

Ease of Setup

The Quasar 3D Insulated comes with our favourite pump sack, NEMO’s Vortex pump sack, to make inflation fast and straightforward. The Vortex fills up shortly and seals simply. The Quasar is simple to inflate in below two minutes or about 4 to 5 fills of the pump sack. After it’s totally inflated, the micro adjustable valve permits you to expel tiny sips of air to dial in your most popular stage of consolation. 

When it’s time to pack up, the deflation valve shortly dumps air from the pad, and the extra inflexible materials is simple to fold the best way you need. To make life even simpler, NEMO features a helpful little hook-and-loop strap to carry the pad collectively. The stuff sack is a bit of tight, however not so tight that packing up turns into an annoying activity each morning.

Ought to You Purchase the NEMO Quasar 3D Insulated Backpacking Sleeping Pad?

The Quasar 3D Insulated is a three-season quiver killer of a pad. Whether or not you’re automobile tenting within the entrance nation or planning a brief backpacking journey, the Quasar supplies plush consolation at an inexpensive value.

Though it’s not the lightest pad by far, the three.5-inch thickness and cradling help of NEMO’s 3D body-mapping baffles will hold you properly off the bottom and away from any sharp rocks, roots, and pinecones. It’s undoubtedly thick sufficient for aspect sleepers and the oblong form offers starfish sleepers sufficient house to unfold out. The Quasar even is available in a double-wide model for {couples} or anybody seeking to deliver 5-star lodge consolation into their tent.

NEMO’s Vortex Pump Sack and LayLow valve simplify setup and teardown, and their ultra-durable development provides additional peace of thoughts.

Sadly, the Quasar leaves a bit of bit to be desired within the heat division. Anybody on the lookout for a winter sleeping pad or to shave each ounce from their pack ought to take a look at NEMO’s Tensor sequence.

What Different Backpacking Pads Ought to You Take into account?

Ounce counters and winter backpackers fear not. We’ve obtained choices for you in our full record of backpacking sleeping pads.

Therm-a-Relaxation NeoLoft Overview: Though it’s the priciest sleeping pad on our record, it’s additionally probably the most premium. The NeoLoft takes consolation and sturdiness to the subsequent stage with an excellent mushy and stretchy high materials and a whopping 75D answer dyed polyester cloth for the underside. They’re calling it probably the most comfy backpacking sleeping pad ever made, and to this point it’s probably the most comfy one we’ve examined.

Large Agnes Divide Insulated Overview: The Divide Insulated is ideal for aspect sleepers or anybody that prefers vertical baffles. This pad naturally cradles your physique to really feel just like the filling inside a taco so it’s virtually unattainable to roll off. It’s additionally a bit of hotter and lighter than the Quasar whereas saving you just a few {dollars}.

Sea to Summit Ether Mild XR Insulated Overview: The Ether Mild XR is steadily changing into certainly one of our favourite backpacking pads. This pad is heavier than most ultralight pads however lighter than the entire ones listed on this assessment. The cell baffle design and pillow lock function deliver the texture of a standard spring mattress to a backpacking sleeping pad.