Poll: Carry a Thermarest Repair Kit?

[rickb]

Some people carry the Thermarest Repair Kit, and others don't.

[Blue Jay]

I find that as long as you put something under a Thermarest they last a very long time (I don't want to say never and jinx myself). If you don't have anything under them your movements cause the nails in shelters and the rocks and sticks on the ground to quickly wear holes in them.

[Mausalot]

I love the therma rest (certainly over the ridge rest) and find the extra tritch of weight (and packability) worth it. I think a repair kit is part of the deal. Just like when biking, you always bring a repair kit. Sleeping without some sort of cushion is just damn uncomfortable. Especially in those Maine log based shelters.

Cameraman, 2000 Miles to Maine http://homepage.newschool.edu/~at2k/

[max patch]

Didn't carry it and didn't need it. IF it ever puctures I'm sure I could survive until I reached the next town.

[Jaybird]

can 85.71% of the participants be wrong??????????????????????????????????



NO & I never needed one....

in fact....most times...dont carry a pad!

[NotYet]

I don't carry one because I don't carry a Therma Rest. My Ridge Rest never leaks no matter how many holes it gets...duct tape is all that's needed for it!

[C-Stepper]

(didn't answer poll, by the way. Bought a prolite 3 mattress today, already have a ridgerest. Haven't decided which I should carry for my first overnighter in October.)

So...can you not use duct tape to repair the mattress? Just wondering, since most carry at least a little anyway.

[Alligator]

(didn't answer poll, by the way. Bought a prolite 3 mattress today, already have a ridgerest. Haven't decided which I should carry for my first overnighter in October.)

So...can you not use duct tape to repair the mattress? Just wondering, since most carry at least a little anyway.

I've never had to repair my ultralite, but I've heard that you don't want to put duct tape on it because it makes the patch harder to put on later. I have since upgraded to the Prolite 4, very nice and always carry the patch.

[peter_pan]

I got off the ground and into a hammock year round. My warm cozy Nest under quilt is lighter than a thermorest and doesn't need a special repair kit.

[VAMTNHIKER]

My real answer was:

Yes, I needed one (badly) and it was at home... since then I have carried one and have not needed it yet!

[orangebug]

I've been off the ground and in both an HH and Speer. I use my Thermorest 3/4 Ultralite to keep me off the cold fabric. It also wraps around the stays of my Kelty Flight for cushion. I'll probably buy the Wally World blue closed cell mat to compare, but I'm pretty happy with my combination.

Bill...

[Footslogger]

Carried one in 2001 and used it once. Guess that in itself is justification to have drug it along.

On my thru in 2003 I chose to stash it in my bounce box. Never needed it. But if I had needed it I would have only been 1.5 to 2 weeks away, worst case scenario.

Just my experience ...

'Slogger
AT 2003

[cabalot]

i always use a footprint under my tent. mabe thats why i never needed a repair kit?
if you tent a lot in rockey areas like new jersey and PA and CT, a footprint is well worth the weight.
mike

[ELi]

I have one of the "Ultimate Chair Kits" on my thermarest- the Ultimate one stays on there all the time- so it lends another layer of protection for my thermarest.

[Lone Wolf]

I use a Ridgerest. Don't need no stinkin repair kit for it.

[Flash Hand]

Duct tape won't work. Air still escape. I went to Damascus outfitter and got it fixed for free, but the next day, the air still escape from some where else other than the fixed area.

Next time, yes I will bring the repair kit. Its not that heavy.

Flash Hand

[SGT Rock]

Get off the ground and quit worrying about it.

[U-BOLT]

Duct tape won't work. Air still escaped. I went to Damascus outfitter and got it fixed for free, but the next day, the air still escape from some where else other than the fixed area.

So it didn't escape from the duck taped area.

When in need of repair, duck tape is there.

[Youngblood]

I have had 'elusive' leaks in thermarest mats before where I couldn't locate them the first time I submerged them in a tub of water. I got some interesting information from a friend yesterday about a different type of air mat (Stephenson's Down Air Mat) that might explain why... he told me that apparently, the fabric can swell and self seal small leaks when the fabric is saturated with water.

Here is what he wrote to me from a conversation he had with William Stephenson about finding leaks.

"Here is the process he uses to find a small leak:

1. Begin with a dry, fully inflated DAM.

2. Take some bubble soap-the type kids use to blow bubbles with, and dilute it with water by half.

3. Using a chip brush (apparently this is a small 1” wide paint brush) brush the solution on the DAM doing only small sections at a time. Be sure that you are not producing bubbles when you brush it on. The idea is to not overly wet the mattress while putting the bubble solution on it.

4. When you find the leak mark it.

5. If you can’t find the leak, send it to him and he will (that’s a good consolation). "

Hope this will at least shed some light on how to find those 'elusive' leaks.

Youngblood

[hikerdude]

Thermarest needs to update it patches. The glue in single foil tear packs is nice updated stuff, but the patches are not of the prolite material of the future, but made of the outdated 1990 fabrics I feel like they want to ditch on us.

I enjoy fixing things out in the field and carry all 5 patch kits in the kit, even if they are all the wrong color.
But you pay $90 for a New ProLite sleeping pad, I would like patches to match the orange polyester/polyester top and black nylon/nylon bottom patches. So check first. Or maybe that's just the way it is.