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The nightmare of a blowout of a air mattress has been part of the decision of what to carry. In my own experience they work most of the time, and the few times that they don't it's a annoyance but still usable, as the slow leak allows hours of time before having to refill. For the comfort level they give over CCF the risk has been worth it.
What is your worst experience with a air mattress?
Had a Big Agnes pad on my 2014 hike that developed a leak in the seam in SNP. I tried several times to patch but because of location of hole the patch would not hold. Got in touch with BA and they mailed me a replacement to Harpers Ferry for no charge. Finished the hike with pad and used many times since with no issues.
Only issue i have ever had was with "blown baffles" sounds like a shotgun going off, still stays inflated but with 1 baffle twice as large as the rest where the glue comes loose inside the mat. Manufacturer replaced everytime.
I prefer a firm mattress anyway, so CCF isn't such a sacrifice in my case.
I choose no 3 I've only had annoyance problems with my air mattress. I have a small leak somewhere i may have to add a little air in the night.
I started a thread on this back in 2017---
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthr...est?highlight=
I always carry 1/2 (6-8 sections) of a z-rest in addition to whatever else I'm sleeping on. It provides protection for the inflatable, a quick lunchtime seat/nap pad, extra insulation, or a ground option if I'm hammocking.
The one time I opted to leave it at home, my Big Agnes failed.
That was the last time I opted to leave it at home!
Have had some valve issues and some slow leaks, but reasonable given extensive use and that I am not always so careful.
Had a friend puncture one badly in the winter (user error.... had it in a garbage bag outside the pack and snagged it) where repair wasn't working out well, but some spruce bows and a thin ccf got him through comfortably
I have a full length Thrmarest that I used befor mt thru and am still using without any problems.
My experiences, rom that thread: This is the fourth synmat 7 (I originally bought two) that has done this on me. This latest failure was a replacement pad for one of the originals that failed. Exped has replaced the previous ones and I just mailed this one out yesterday to a probable replacement, as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tipi Walter
This particular model is no longer produced, according to Exped, and I got a 3-D model for my last failure which hasn't had a problem, but it's real early. The older synmats failed in the 60-night range.
Current 3-D update, this pad has performed flawlessly for over two years and over 100 nights. Still have a couple of years of warranty left, too.
I heard Exped went to this configuration to solve their delaminating baffle problem though it seems excessive---each individual tube gets its own blow up valve.
Attachment 46564
Have had two mattress failures that left me on the hard ground, though was once able to borrow a pad mid-trip. Have used A 20+ year old Thermarest on my last couple of trips.
Now, that's funny:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Tipi Walter
Annoyances only for me. I've had a total of 3 punctures(2 tiny, 1...not so tiny) on the Exped Downmat UL7 and Synmat HyperLite that I've used for the last 7.5yrs. All 3 have been on top, and due to my own carelessness. I've woken up on a flat pad 1 time, and spent a total of maybe 10 minutes applying patches(though a lot more than that *finding* two of those leaks, which were tiny pinholes).
Both my Expeds are older ones like people have had problems with delaminating, so part of me keeps expecting to pop a baffle, but they just keep ticking, in spite of me being pretty rough with them-no room to spare in a small 1p shelter, so they get knelt and sat on a lot.
Before that I had a slow leak that I could never find on a Big Agnes Insulated Air Core, which would partially deflate during the night.
Pretty good, overall, I think.
Every now and then, I do get the what-ifs, and debate going back to a self-inflator with 50D instead of 20D fabric, but the loss of cush, and increased weight and bulk, outweigh whatever concerns I may harbor about inflatables(and which my personal experience has lent little credence to in real life use).
Correct. Comes with numbered snozzles to prevent cross-contamination.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tipi Walter
My Therm a Rest blew a few baffles at the top initially and looked like a pool toy with a pillow top. Initially not a big problem, but then the rest of the baffles started popping at random times, waking me up, and making it useless within two days.
I was on the trail, they shipped me a new one. They'd only commit to a seven day delivery. It in fact arrived at the destination within two days. Based on the seven day projection, I purchased A Klymit Static V2, which I liked a whole lot more than the original.
my xtherm decided it didn't want to do it's duty one night with a low around the mid 30's but to my surprise I still didn't freeze. between the heat reflective qualities of the pad and the fact that for some reason I hauled my lithium instead of a quilt I made out fine.
I still use thermarest pads and enjoy them, I have not lost the faith yet but I don't think I am ready to gamble on the uber light.
In my early days, I used a WalMart air mattress, issued to NATO, or so it said. One trip, I shoved my tent poles down into the pack when loading. That night, somewhat under the influence, after dark, for what seemed like a long time, it would not inflate. Took a while to figure out the tent poles had poked a hole. Two nights, no comfort. But hammocking has changed that forever.
At my age... that ground is hard!! I've had a couple of bad experiences with BA pads.... but every time they were more than reasonable and sent me replacements. Yes. a blow out or slow leak is a real annoyance but the comfort of a blowup is worth the risk. I tried to find and fix a slow leak by blowing it up and putting it in a stream to look for bubbles but the stream was too fast moving... lesson learned.
Had an issue Thermarest fail at the beginning of a 4wk operation in asscrackistan in February 02. That really sucked.
Had a non-self inflating one fail, while hiking, not catastrophically but enough to be on the ground before the sun came up.
Went back to CCF and use a z-rest. Hike with it on top of my old ULA Circuit and it acts as a "pack umbrella" if it's raining/snowing and something to sit on during longer breaks (easily removed/replaced from top of pack).
I've only had 1 issue and I believe it was self-inflicted. I always use a tent footprint. My son borrowed my Big Agnes Insulated Air Core to take on a camping trip with his high school. The air mattress was about 5 years old. He left the mattress fully inflated inside a tent on a 95F day. The mat started leaking around the valve/fabric joint. I tried gluing but it still had a slow leak. Tossed it in the trash and tossed it up to life lesson. I was just happy that my son signed-up to go camping on a trip with his school!
My newer Exped, the Synmat Hyperlite I bought in 2015, popped a baffle on an overnighter last night. I emailed Exped with a pic, and received a response saying they'd replace it just 9 minutes later.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwenM
They replaced an original style Schnozzel bag for me before, and my friend and his wife's Winterlites that failed, all with newer versions that have been problem free, since.
They obviously had a rough spell on the engineering or manufacturing side of things awhile back, but Exped's customer service is as good as it gets.
Thermarest self inflaters are the best and most reliable ive ever owned im my 40 years on the trails. In those years I have owned 3 and still have them.
I had an issue with one Thermarest short UL I purchased used that had separated a week after buying it, but the company replaced it free of charge, no questions asked... that was 10 years ago. Ill stick to Thermarests because the company's customer service was so good.
I wanted to buy a newer insulated air mat, but Im a bit leery about how flimsy they look n feel.
Not sure why, total luck, but literally a thousand or two nights on inflatables and never had a total blowout. I've had a couple of slow leaks requiring topping off in the middle of the night, annoying, but never total failure. I've owned almost all thermarest's of various models (plus now an Exped double), they kept getting lighter ya know, still have all the old ones, use them car-camping with the grandkids. We must have a dozen inflatables sitting around between my wife and I.
So yeah, bottom line, totally worth the risk, since I think the risk is very low assuming you clear you site properly.
That all being said, when it's critical, like in winter, I have a light closed cell under the inflatable, more R, less chance of a puncture too.
A popped baffle on an REI Flash pad is the only problem I’ve had.
I was on a canoe camping trip last month and woke at midnite with my Exped synmat 7 flat with a blown seam. I glued it up and it seemed to hold air, but an hour later it was flat from a different spot. Spent the rest of the nite sleeping on my life jacket. They were quick to send me a new one, but I guess I'll always carry something for a backup now.