How To Repair Thermarest Hole

Finding out that your sleeping pad has a hole in the backcountry stinks. I got ill considering of it in Yellowstone. Wish I knew so what I know now on repairing a leak in your sleeping pad while camping.

Day trips can provide all the adventure and more that you could promise to have from nature. But sometimes, the only mode to explore our smashing national parks, forests, and recreation areas is to plan an overnight or multi-solar day journey into the wilderness. This is a fantastic way to reconnect with nature and thrill at sleeping nether the stars with the basis only inches beneath yous. The whole experience can be ruined, all the same, by a faulty sleeping pad bringing your dorsum as well close to the ground for comfort.

The picture to the right shows my sleeping pad once it's been fully repaired. But these repairs were done by Therm-a-Residue, one time I returned dwelling house. What do you do if y'all discover holes in your pad while you're in the wilderness?

3 Steps to Fixing Your Sleeping Pad on the Fly

If your sleeping pad does spring a leak, yous rarely notice out nigh it under good circumstances. Of class, the best thing to do is to brand sure all your equipment is in proper working gild before heading out the door, merely accidents happen no matter how prepared you are.

And sometimes, y'all're just likewise busy to bank check your pad. When Allyson and I were in Yellowstone National Park a few years ago, my Therm-a-Rest sleeping pad was perfect for five days straight of camping in both the backcountry & frontcountry ( Check out REI's selection of Therm-a-Rest sleeping pads!)

However, something happened in between a night of frontcountry camping & a backpacking trip that punctured my sleeping pad. I had no idea about it until nosotros were 10 miles into the backcountry and abroad from 'culture'.

Because of my sleeping pad not staying inflated, I slept essentially on the basis all dark. Not having an inflated sleeping pad between you and the footing is a recipe for disaster. And I cruel sick. Really ill. As in 103 degrees, barfing my brains out ill. And that sucked. Especially because we were but i week into a 2 week trip. We were supposed to go to the Thousand Tetons later and instead all we did was bulldoze past and wave. Bummer.

If only I had known then what I knew now. If you exercise detect yourself in this predicament, here are three tips for identifying and patching the leak earlier yous have to resort to positioning your sleeping bag on the comfiest looking rocks (and getting sick).

backcountry campground in yellowstone

The Backcountry Campground I Got Ill At

Step one: Make Certain the Leak Isn't Coming from the Valve

A crack in the valve or the sealant immediately effectually information technology would exist the easiest defect to spot. The pressure level on and immediately surrounding the valve from the air flowing in and out of it makes it among the virtually likely areas to jump a leak, so you lot should definitely check here for problems before inspecting your pad inch by inch.

If you tin can't find the source of the leak at that place, go to Step 2. If the leak is in the mattress immediately surrounding the valve, go to Pace 3. If, notwithstanding, procedure of emptying or a quick visual check finds that the source of the leak is in the valve itself, practise not despair: Websites like backcountryedge.com and even general sellers like Amazon and eBay can provide you lot with valve repair kits. These will provide with a replacement valve and directions for removing your quondam valve and putting in the new one.

However, that does trivial to aid yous in the backcountry. What I'd recommend doing is taking duct tape (hopefully you lot accept some in your first assist kit), and wrapping information technology effectually the valve right before going to bed. This will help keep your pad inflated for much of the night.

clean, in the front country, and sick

Mail-Backpacking: All Cleaned Up With Perry Ill & Allyson All Smiles

Step ii: Detect the Leak if It's Elsewhere

Time is of the essence if you lot need to find a leak that is elsewhere on the pad. If yous accept a bit of soap and tin spare a bit of that and some water, the quickest way to observe the source of a leak is to gently douse the mattress in soapy h2o. Bubbles will form around the leak, and y'all can fix to work repairing it.

If yous don't have lather or water to spare, put your flashlight on its highest setting and first looking effectually the pad's seams. This is the next near probable area after the valve to develop holes. Run your fingers lightly over the area after your flashlight's been there; y'all might be able to observe a gap that's otherwise invisible to the optics.

If the trouble's not in a seam, search the bottom of the sleeping pad first. If yous notwithstanding can't find a leak here or in the top, y'all're SOL. Deplorable, Charlie.

grand tetons

Driving By the Grand Tetons (Flick Taken From Car)

Footstep iii: Repair the Leak Using Whatever Is on Hand

If the leak is somewhere in the pad itself, repairs can be a elementary matter, if you lot have the correct gear. You accept two options: Duct Record or Krazy Gum/Goop Marine glue that volition be readily available at most major stores.

If yous have glue, attempt to employ it every bit thinly and evenly as possible–you don't want to wind up supergluing your pad to your tent or sleeping bag. Make sure you cover the entirety of the tear's edges, yet. Fifty-fifty though the glue may but accept 5 to 10 seconds to dry, give it ane or 2 minutes just to be certain earlier attempting to inflate the pad once again.

Just we never have any mucilage in the backcountry. However, we always take duct tape wrapped effectually an empty motion picture canister (which doubles equally a pill bottle or spice container). This universal Always fixer should be in your backpack anyway due to its ability to patch holes in anything, and it volition concord your sleeping pad together until you tin can practice a full repair with epoxy back at home.

An ideal time in the backcountry is one in which the merely challenges you face are to the heart rate and a mind expanding with the wonder of nature. Only at that place's no need for despair if you lot get an unwelcome surprise in the grade of a sleeping-pad leak. Merely a little actress training with repair kits and glue volition ensure that roughing information technology doesn't have to be too crude.

To Sum Up…

The nigh challenging role is identifying the leak earlier you go to bed. If you don't even know about it or can't detect it, well, yous're in problem and might become sick like me.

But if you are made aware of the leak before tucking in for the evening and can apply the strategies listed in a higher place to identify information technology'due south location, you should accept no problem repairing information technology.

Remember, duct tape isn't a permanent set up. Many companies, including Therm-a-Rest, will repair your sleeping pad for gratis. That's what they did with mine. Only you should have a dorsum-up plan for when you're camping ground in the wilderness ( check out REI'due south selection of Therm-a-Rest sleeping pads! ).

Did This Article Help You?

Then please share your thoughts in the comments below, or give it a Like or a TWEET.

Finally, aid united states of america keep helping you. If you're shopping for a sleeping pad (or whatever other outdoor gear), you can use one of the links on our site to become to REI, Backcountry etc. By using ane of our links and then buying something, we get a pocket-sized percentage of your purchase. Information technology costs yous nothing extra, but helps us out a bully deal.

Here are the places we'd recommend buying a sleeping pad: