NEMO Tensor All-Season Overview | CleverHiker

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The NEMO Tensor All-Season is considered one of our favourite backpacking sleeping pads available on the market. It’s among the many lightest, most comfy, warmest, and most handy sleeping pads we’ve ever examined.

CleverHiker gear analyst Casey Handley used the mother model of the Tensor All-Season for over 400 miles and 20 nights on the Arizona Path, and founder Dave Collins lately used it for five nights and 80 miles in Wyoming’s Wind River Vary. The Tensor All-Season’s 3.5-inch thickness and soft nylon are cozy and smooth on the pores and skin, however this cloth additionally presents above-average sturdiness. The Tensor is simple to inflate because it comes with the most effective pump sacks available on the market, and its dual-use nozzle converts to a dump valve for fast packing within the morning.

Nonetheless, this pad does have some downsides. The Tensor is a high-quality piece of drugs, so its price ticket is fairly excessive. This implies it may not be your best option for newbie backpackers or hikers who solely camp a couple of nights per yr. Moreover, although the Tensor could be very aggressive within the weight class – particularly the mother model – there are a couple of lighter pads available on the market. So, ultralight backpackers might choose a barely lighter selection.

All issues thought-about, we’ve been very impressed by the efficiency of the NEMO Tensor All-Season in our testing. Its heat, consolation, weight, sturdiness, and ease of use mix to make it a wonderful selection for backpackers of all ranges, from long-distance thru-hikers to weekend warriors.

Consolation

Relating to staying comfy, the NEMO Tensor All-Season is a superb selection. It’s nice for the standard summer time backpacking journey, nevertheless it’s additionally a comfortable choose for low temperatures and chilly sleepers. Whether or not it’s 60°F and clear or 20°F and snowing, this pad’s 3.5-inch thickness means you’ll keep cushioned and heat with minimal danger of bottoming out. It’s comfy for sleeping in any place, however aspect sleepers will particularly admire the assist for his or her hips and shoulders, lowering strain factors for a extra restful evening. 

The Tensor’s 30D ripstop nylon high has a clean really feel that’s smooth in opposition to the pores and skin and gained’t catch in your base layers. The insulation and easy horizontal baffles really feel sturdy and durable evening after evening, offering glorious assist on tough terrain with out dropping its soft really feel. Therm-a-Relaxation presents this mannequin in a number of sizes and shapes, together with huge, lengthy, and mummy, to suit completely different physique varieties and sleep types. 

Our solely minor criticism with regards to consolation is the pad’s valve location. We like that the valve sits flush with the pad on the highest nook and closes securely, hardly protruding in any respect. Nonetheless, not all our testers love the valve’s placement, as you may often really feel it when shifting positions at evening. This can be a small gripe, and lots of of our testers had no points with this. However should you suppose this may hassle you, you might wish to think about a pad with a nozzle positioned on the aspect seam.

Total, the Tensor is, palms down, among the many most comfy backpacking sleeping pads available on the market.

Weight & Packability

The Tensor All-Season is a powerful performer with regards to weight and packability. The common mummy model of this pad is 14.1 ounces, placing it among the many lighter fashions we examined, nevertheless it additionally boasts a really excessive R-value. With these specs, the Tensor All-Season is light-weight and presents the most effective weight-to-warm ratios available on the market. In reality, in comparison with the opposite backpacking pads on this weight vary, no different mannequin comes near the Tensor in insulation capabilities. 

One factor we love concerning the Tensor’s packability is its valve. The only-valve design means that you can dump air throughout deflation, leading to very quick packing instances the place you don’t should work to squeeze air out of the pad. The Tensor additionally comes with a easy velcro strap, which helps you to simply pack the pad and stuff it away in seconds. 

Though the Tensor inflates to three.5 inches thick, options robust 40D nylon cloth on the underside, and has substantial insulation, it nonetheless packs down small. When compressed, it’s lower than the dimensions of a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle, making its packed measurement aggressive with thinner and far chillier pads. This is among the most handy pads to pack up that we’ve examined, and while you’re residing out of a pack, this actually makes a distinction.

The Tensor isn’t the lightest pad available on the market, although. A few insulated pads beat the mother model of the Tensor on weight by an oz. or so. If you happen to’re in search of absolutely the lightest insulated sleeping pad on the market, the Tensor isn’t fairly it. That stated, the Tensor was the extra user-friendly pad in our side-by-side testing, with a greater pump sack and far quicker deflation instances. Each ounce issues for backpackers, together with us, so this could possibly be a dealbreaker for some ultralight backpackers. However contemplating the Tensor general, we predict its upsides outweigh this minor weight penalty.

Heat

When paired with a high quality sleeping bag, the NEMO Tensor All-Season is suitable for cold-weather tenting right down to round 15°F. Additionally, this pad is nice for chilly sleepers, even should you’re not planning on tenting in sub-freezing temps. Providing a really excessive R-value of 5.4, this pad options metalized movie insulation that gives excellent heat to maintain you comfy in chilly temperatures. Its sq. baffles provide an impressive steadiness between assist and a little bit of give, and the quilted design traps heat air successfully. 

NEMO makes use of a basic 20D nylon on high of the Tensor that’s smooth to the contact and non-slippery, however on the underside, it employs a burlier 40D ripstop that provides sturdiness and helps block out the chilly. At 3.5 inches thick, this pad will hold you removed from the chilly floor beneath, so that you’ll keep insulated in harsh circumstances the place nightly restoration is important. Shedding physique warmth could be uncomfortable and harmful, and this pad retains you properly away from these points.

Regardless of being impressively heat (it’s technically a 4-season pad), the Tensor All-Season gained’t be the very best match for everybody. If you happen to plan on utilizing your pad immediately on the snow (with out paring it with a foam pad) otherwise you prefer to camp in extraordinarily chilly winter climate, the R-value of the Tensor Extreme Conditions may be a greater match. NEMO additionally makes the Tensor Path for backpackers extra involved with reducing their pack weight than chilly climate insulation. 

Total, we predict the Tensor All-Season hits a candy spot for the kind of protection most backpackers will need on the commonest backcountry expeditions. And it’s price remembering that this pad has the most effective warmth-to-weight ratios available on the market for retaining pack weight down.

Ease of Setup

This is among the Tensor’s key strengths. The All-Season comes with the most effective pump sacks available on the market, the Vortex. It snaps onto the inflation valve securely and is simple to fill, roll, and repeat. It solely takes 4-5 sacks to inflate the All-Season totally, drastically lowering effort and time. The whole inflation time is lower than two minutes, which is a superb benefit after an extended day on the path.

The opposite spotlight is a single flat, low-profile, two-in-one valve that makes changes and deflation straightforward. This valve has two flaps – open the primary one, and also you’ll discover the one-way valve. It has a small button inside for micro-adjustments, permitting you to set free small quantities of air and dial in your excellent degree of firmness. Pulling the second flap opens the dump valve, permitting the air to hurry out quickly. The dump valve is nice for packing the pad up since you gained’t should roll and squeeze extra air out whereas packing. Plus, the storage sack is roomy, so that you gained’t should wrestle to get the pad again inside.

The pump sack is environment friendly, however a tad cumbersome, so ultralight backpackers might decide to depart it at dwelling. It additionally lacks the multifunctionality that some opponents provide, like doubling as a water-proof stuff sack. Meaning it’s going to add a few ounces of weight to your equipment however will solely serve one objective. Prior to now, we’ve typically left pump sacks at dwelling, however this one is so handy we’ve discovered ourselves bringing it alongside on most journeys. Total, we’re big followers of the benefit of use of the Tensor All-Season, and we predict this class is considered one of its primary strengths.

Sturdiness

This pad is a dependable selection for long-term use. We’ve examined the Tensor All-Season from cacti-filled deserts to snow-filled camps at 13,000 ft to beds of lava rock, and it has held up impressively properly over a number of seasons of use. Its 40-denier nylon backside protects in opposition to punctures and abrasion, which is essential for tenting in rugged environments. The only, 2-lid valve has only a few components to scale back the prospect of failure, and NEMO features a restore equipment in case of failure within the discipline. The mixture of considerate design and rugged supplies means you’ll be able to belief the All-Season to carry out in difficult circumstances.

Although the Tensor All-Season is hard, like all air pad, it’s not impenetrable. The highest of the pad is 20D nylon, which is able to work properly for normal use however is extra prone to put on and tear in comparison with some burlier pad choices. The 40D cloth on the underside is great for sturdiness, nevertheless it additionally provides a little bit of weight in comparison with lighter pads, which can be a downside for ultralight backpackers.

These cloth decisions imply that the All-Season holds up very properly, and we predict it offers a wonderful steadiness between weight and sturdiness. However like all air pad, punctures can occur. That’s why we at all times carry a patch kit within the backcountry and clear our tent websites freed from sharp rocks and pokey sticks.

Ought to You Purchase the NEMO Tensor All-Season Sleeping Pad?

The NEMO Tensor All-Season is on the high of the record for heat, consolation, and packability, particularly in chilly circumstances. If you happen to’re in search of one backpacking pad to cowl a variety of circumstances – from heat summer time adventures to chilly shoulder season excursions – this is among the finest sleeping pad choices available on the market.

Due to its spectacular R-value and revolutionary, light-weight design, this pad is a superb selection for heat at evening that gained’t weigh you down on the path. The Tensor All-Seaon isn’t the lightest insulated sleeping pad available on the market, nevertheless it’s not too far off. And its warmth-to-weight ratio could be very spectacular.

The factor that finally gained us over with this pad is its ease of use. It has a wonderful pump sack that makes inflation very quick and simple. And deflation is fast, too. Its dump valve permits all of the air to hurry out of the pad, making it very quick to roll up and stow away. That is an space the place the Tensor shines in comparison with a number of the main competitors within the sleeping pad market.

At 3.5 inches thick, the All-Season will comfortably complement any sleeping place. The 20D nylon high is smooth and quiet, whereas the 40D backside is rugged and sturdy. With a little bit of care, this pad will final for years of use and a whole lot of nights within the backcountry.

Nonetheless, there’s no approach round it: the Tensor All-Season is an costly funding. As a consequence of its excessive price ticket, this pad may not be match for price range consumers, informal backpackers, or summer time hikers who will choose a much less specialised pad. Additionally, should you solely are inclined to camp in scorching summer time temperatures, the All-Season’s insulation may be greater than you want.

All in all, all through our testing we hold returning to the NEMO Tensor All-Season as considered one of our favourite all-around backpacking sleeping pads. We actually admire its consolation, comfort, and warmth-to-weight ratio.

What Different Backpacking Pads Ought to You Take into account?

Try our full record of the Finest Backpacking Sleeping Pads for all our high suggestions. 

Therm-a-Relaxation NeoAir XLite NXT Overview: The XLite NXT is the closest competitors to the Tensor All-Season, and each are really glorious merchandise. The Tensor narrowly beat the XLite out for Finest Total Backpacking Sleeping Pad this yr, nevertheless it was shut. The XLite can be heat, sturdy, and comfy, nevertheless it weighs a bit lower than the Tensor, which may be a deciding issue for ultralight backpackers. That stated, we a lot choose the Tensor’s pump sack and dump valve for fast inflation, deflation, and simple packing up. 

Therm-a-Relaxation NeoAir XTherm NXT Overview: The XTherm NXT is our different best choice for chilly climate consolation as a result of it’s even hotter than the Tensor All-Season – its 7.3 R-value is heat right down to round 0°F. The XTherm shouldn’t be fairly as thick, weighs extra, and prices extra. What you get is a pad for hardcore winter circumstances like overnighting in icy mid-winter temps.

Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated: The Rapide SL shouldn’t be fairly as cozy because the Tensor All-Season, nevertheless it’s simply as thick, packs smaller, and comes at a a lot cheaper price. It additionally presents a powerful R-value – solely a bit decrease than the All-Season – so it’s a unbelievable different for cold-weather tenting. The most important draw back with the Rapide is that it’s significantly heavier.

REI Helix Insulated Air: The REI Helix is far more inexpensive than the Tensor All-Season however nonetheless presents a soft three-inch thickness and a excessive R-value for insulation. On the flip aspect, the Helix is a bit clunkier to arrange, weighs extra, and isn’t as sturdy, so it’s higher as an entry-level pad for shorter journeys from early spring to late fall.