Vaude has come up with an ingenious use for PrimaLoft insulation by creating an integrated air mattress, insulation pad combination. Called the Norrsken, this ultra light camping pad will stand up to the rigors of Alpine climbing and extremely cold expeditions.
The Norrsken air mattress/insulation pad is constructed with PrimaLoft Infinity, a high loft, continuous filament insulation that adds excellent thermal efficiency with a lightweight, small pack size. The insulation fibers are welded to the outer pad materials using a baffle construction. Cold points are avoided by offsetting the welding points rather than placing them directly opposite each other throughout the camping pad.
The PrimaLoft padding creates an insulation layer inside the mattress that interrupts the air flow between the ground and your body, keeping cold air from penetrating through the pad and reflecting your body heat back at you. This allows your pad to warm up noticeably faster than a regular air mattress and closed cell foam pad combination.
The PrimaLoft fiber is coated by a wafer-thin silicon layer that includes a small percentage of silver, giving it an antibacterial quality as well as guaranteeing the padding stays dry. The camping pad is constructed with two large outer chambers to add comfort and keep you from rolling off the sides. The outer material of the camping pad is made from lightweight 30D material on top and a tough 75D material on the bottom to reduce the chance of damage from uneven terrain.
The longer version of the camping pad weighs 600 grams while the shorter version weighs 500 grams, roughly 3 ounces heavier than a
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir
but about the same weight as a
Ridge Rest
insulation pad on its own. So the Vaude Norrsken offers you a great ultra light combination of both air mattress and insulation pad, helping you cut weight on those fast and light alpine climbs or long glacial trudges.