LayOn Air Sleeping Pad Review

The end of winter is in sight, and with that comes the start of a new camping season!

In our first gear review of the year, we’ll be looking at the LayOn Air Pad.

We first came across LayOn after meeting Urša Sačer, the founder of the brand, and she very kindly sent us her products for us to try out.

We would like to point out that this is not a sponsored review, and that these are our 100% honest thoughts.

With that said, let’s get started!

# Size and Durability

The first thing that you’ll notice about this pad is its dimensions. The whole thing packs incredibly small, and in that regard it goes head to head with some of the most high-end sleeping pads on the market. 

Size comparison, side-to-side with a classic 592ml Klean Kanteen bottle.

The weight, on the other hand, could be a bit better. Considering it is an air pad, at 630g it starts straying into “slightly heavy” territory, especially if you’re backpacking.

All in all, we found the weight to still be reasonable on long hikes, especially if you consider the compact size, and of course it would pose no problem for road trips! Still, it’s something to keep in mind if you’re set on keeping your pack as light as possible.

Inflated and unfolded sleeping pad.

When unfolded, the pad is 188cm long, 65cm wide and 7cm thick. These measurements will fit even the largest adventurer without any difficulty, and the thickness provides an impressive level of comfort for long periods of time. 

Something to keep in mind:

• While the sizing is a definite “fits all”, the pad might be a little too big for some people. Be sure to check the measurements of your tent to make sure it fits in properly! 

How durable is it?

The LayOn Sleeping Pad is made in Slovenia, Europe, with though 70D laminated nylon. It has a sturdy feel to it, and it has so far withstood everything that we put it through.

Keep in mind though that we don’t really like unnecessarily abusing our gear, even in the context of a review, so our tests don’t range beyond normal and reasonable use in the outdoors.

(No stabbing, shooting or throwing our gear off a cliff allowed over here!)



Close-up of the LayOn air sleeping pad and its material.

# Comfort and Insulation

Now we come to what makes or breaks a sleeping pad. If it fails on these points, then there isn’t much of a point, right? 

We can happily say that the LayOn Air Pad passed with flying colours! 

If you’re not used to the ridges, the shape of the pad can be a little intimidating at first. However, combined with the thickness of the pad, they provide an even and comfortable support across the entire body, and the width makes it so that your arms can easily rest on the pad instead of on the floor, as can happen with more narrow models. 

Close-up of the integrated air pillow.

Unlike most other sleeping pads we’ve tried in the past, this one comes with a raised integrated air pillow that also serves as its inflation pump!

We’ll be looking at that in more detail later, but for now let’s just say that we found the air pillow to be an extremely comfortable and welcome addition to the design! The head support was great and, even though it was only filled with air and no other padding, it still felt very cozy.  

Something to keep in mind:

• This sleeping pad can be quite noisy, especially if you are a restless sleeper. This is not a construction fault, as this characteristic is unfortunately shared by even the most premium air pads. Still, it is something to consider if you think it might bother you. 

The insulation of the LayOn Air Pad sits at a reasonable R-value 1.4, in line with most other air pads in this price range, and this should easily get you through nights with temperatures around 10°C or above.

If you’re expecting lower temperatures, we would recommend adding an other insulating layer, such as an aluminium blanket or a foam pad.

With it’s comfortable construction and great insulation, the LayOn Air Pad is sure to provide you a good night of sleep during your adventures in the outdoors!

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Would you like to learn more about the R Value and other characteristics of Sleeping Pads?

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# Inflating and Deflating

To help you visualise, here’s the video from the brand that shows you how to inflate and deflate this sleeping pad:

The inflating process:

The LayOn Air Pad uses the brand’s own unique AIRFLOW® valve system to inflate.

The way it works is by blowing air through a large pouch on the head side of the pad, which in turn inflates and acts as an air pump. This large volume of air can then easily be pressed into the rest of the pad, inflating it in as little as 8 to 10 breaths.

Once the pad is completely filled the air pump can be sealed, remaining inflated and acting as a head rest. 

We found this method to be extremely easy to use once we got the hang of it, which took just a few tries. Once we got the system figured out, we managed to get the whole thing inflated in just under a minute!  

The only catch is that, because the pad only has one opening, you won’t be able to use any other manual or electric pump to inflate it.

The way this air pad works reminded us of the old Therm-A-Rest NeoAir XLite Max SV:

• Both feature an air pump that acts as a head rest, with the main difference being that the Therm-A-Rest inflated automatically, without requiring any manual pressure on the air pump.

• Overall, we found the LayOn to be faster at inflating, as the NeoAir XLite Max SV needed more big breaths and more effort to fill up. It also had the tendency to leak air in between breaths, which might have been the reason its inflating system has been phased out in favour of a classic valve setup. 

Once inflated, the LayOn Air Pad kept its shape and fill throughout the night with no issue whatsoever. We imagine that even in the case of a loss of air, re-inflating it would take no time at all.  

The deflating process:

We found deflating the pad to be a little trickier:

• It’s as easy as it gets when you’re with someone else, all you need to to do is open the top and pull hard on all four corners. The pad will immediately deflate with no effort whatsoever, after which you can then easily fold it and store it back in its bag. So far, so good.

• If you’re alone, however, you obviously can’t pull on all four corners simultaneously, so what LayOn suggests is that you step on the middle of the pad and pull both sides up. This deflates it quickly. 
  
  

The problem is that stepping on your sleeping pad, probably with hiking boots, and then putting even more pressure on it by pulling it towards you seems like a sure-fire way to rip it or pierce it immediately. All you need is a rock or branch that you failed to spot and it’s game over, regardless of how tough the construction is.

We found that the safest thing to do was to deflate it by rolling it from bottom to top, in the traditional manner. Also, the LayOn Air Pad is meant to be folded instead of rolled, as it otherwise won’t fit back in the bag. All in all, it took us longer this way than with the method LayOn suggested, but it also felt safer.

LayOn Sleeping Pad after being deflated and folded.

# Pros & Cons

 Pros:

+ Made in Europe

 + Extremely compact

 + Overall lightweight 

 + Durable construction

 + Large surface

 + Very thick and comfortable

 + Integrated air pillow

 + Easy and fast to inflate

 + Very simple to deflate with two people

 + Remains inflated throughout the night

 + Good R-Value (1.4)

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 Cons:

- Slightly heavy for an air pad

- Might be too long for some people 

- Might be too large for smaller tents

- A little noisy

- Deflating system is tricky for a single person

LayOn Sleeping Pad being used, paired with its Magic Neck Travel Pillow bundle.

# Overall Thoughts

All in all, we absolutely loved the LayOn Air Sleeping Pad!

• The design is great, the compact size allows it to fit in a smaller backpack when used for shorter trips, and the quick and easy inflating system is very welcome at the end of a long and tiring day.

• It provided several good nights of sleep, even though we did need to compensate for the R-value (winters over here are cold). 

The only drawbacks for us are:

• Some ultralight hikers might find it a little heavy, and the size of the pad is quite big. We would be really excited to see multiple size options in the future! 

• Another point that we felt could use some improvement is the deflating system. While it remains extremely easy for two people, we found that rolling the pad was the safest option for a lone traveller. 

If you’re looking for a solid, compact and comfortable sleeping pad at a great price to take on your adventures, be sure to check this one out! 

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We’ll catch you in the next article with our continuing LayOn Series!

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