Quasar 3D Sleeping Pad

The Nemo Quasar 3D is an air sleeping pad and camp mattress shaped to keep you on it. The baffles curve up gently at the edges, so the pad cradles you, and the last baffle at the head end sits a little higher to stop your pillow escaping. It comes Insulated or Non-Insulated.

Who it's for

Restless sleepers, side sleepers and anyone who has woken at 3am half off the mat with a hip on the tent floor. The Quasar 3D is a deep air pad that packs small enough to carry on an overnight walk and is comfortable enough to use at a base camp or on a mate's lounge room floor.

The Double is the pick for couples: one pad, no gap down the middle.

What R-value means for you

R-value measures how well a pad stops cold ground drawing heat out of you. Higher is warmer, and the Insulated Quasar 3D has the higher R-value of the two.

• Quasar 3D Non-Insulated: the summer pad. Warm nights on the coast, Queensland for most of the year, the Top End in the dry.
• Quasar 3D Insulated: the one for cool nights. Spring and autumn in the ranges, the Victorian high country, and anywhere the ground stays cold after dark.

If you walk year round in southern Australia and want one pad, take the Insulated. Its PrimaLoft insulation is made from recycled material.

Comfort and noise

The baffles run across the pad and are body-mapped: shaped so the centre sits slightly lower than the edges. You feel it as a gentle cradle that nudges you back to the middle when you roll over in your sleep.

At the head end, the raised baffle works like a small headboard. It holds a camp pillow where you left it, and on a warm night with a jumper stuffed in a sack it will do the job with no pillow at all.

The fabric is a polyester ripstop that is soft against bare skin.

Inflation and packing

The Vortex pump sack comes in the bag. Scoop air, roll the sack down, and the pad fills without you going light-headed. Your breath stays out of the pad, and so does the moisture in it.

The Laylow valve sits flush with the surface and lets air out in small taps, so you can lie down and tune the firmness. Open it fully and the pad empties fast for packing. A velcro strap holds the roll and a stuff sack is included.

Weight

The Non-Insulated Quasar 3D is the lighter version and the Regular is the lightest size, so a Regular Non-Insulated is the one for a summer walk where grams count. We would take a Wide if you are broad across the shoulders, and the Long Wide if you are tall.

Durability and repair

The ripstop shell is made from post-consumer recycled polyester and is bluesign approved. A repair kit comes with the pad, so a thorn through the floor of the tent is a quick fix at camp.

Looking after it

Sweep sticks and burrs off the tent floor before you inflate. At home, store the Quasar 3D unrolled with the valve open so any moisture inside can dry out.