How do you repair a thermarest?!?

[PhilParry]

Got a thermarest or two...went camping the other weekend and it let SWMBO down...literally - she wondered why she woke up with a sore hip!!!

Anyone got any idea if you can repair them? I was hoping I could fix it like an inner tube, but what about if it's at the seam?

Phil

 

[spamel]

You can get a repair kit and you boil the stuff that you use to glue the patches into place. When it cools off, it bonds perfectly. If it's on a seam, it may be a bit more difficult. If it is a branded Thermarest, send it back to them and they can repair or replace. Here in Germany, it's €15 to repair a thermarest, not sure inUK.. try phoning them up.

 

[PhilParry]

Thanks Spamel for the quickest response ever!

Phil

 

[falcon]

Blacks sell the repair kit for about £7......though I've heard people suggest you could try gaffer tape. You pays your money and takes your choice.........

 

[spamel]

Black nasty will work for a while, but once the residue of the tape is on the mattress, it makes a proper repair that wuch more difficult.

You may be able to get the repair kit from evil bay, there's all sorts on there!!

 

[Brian]

Phil.

As Spamel said, you can get proper thermarest repair kits, you get patches and adhesive, I've used it on mine a few times and it works pretty well mate. Field and Trek sell them I think.

Brian

 

[bogflogger]

Have you checked the Valve as well?
(You can get spare Valve cores.)

Do the old water/bubbles trick in the bath to find the leak.

Stick a proper Thermarest repair kit patch in place using the hot melt adhesive.

I have a patch on mine made of adhesive Ripstop Tape and LP85 Seamseal which has worked for 15 years!

Don't use Gaffer Tape!

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

i have the same problem ,

not a thermarest same quality though.

i tried the bath tes and coulden't find anything though it goes down in about 30 mins! i'm thinking slow puncture.

 

[Brian]

Richard,

when you do the bath test do you squeeze the thermarest to put it under a bit more pressure, you should get some bubbles even with a slow puncture. If you cant find the puncture you could always chuck it in the bin and get another one

Brian

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

i shall have to get in too i s'pose!

i daren't chuck it it was such a bargin!

it's an "Enviromat" which come up about the same price as thermarest, mine is full length 1.5" thick and folds, then rolls to the size of a loaf of bread!

i bought it from Oxfam they sold it as an excersise mat for £2!

i used it on a "Diploma of Outdoor Activites" course for months up mountains and it seemed fine till one winter camp i kept waking up frozen all weekend, on the hard floor.(i had to make do with spare clothes and towel etc to insulate the floor).
then out came the Army issue roll mat till now!
i shall give the mat another test soon!

 

[Wintrup]

Hmmm. I've got some experience of this.

Puncture holes are very difficult to find. Very elusive. My method was to inflate the mat and immerse, section by section, front and back, in a bath clear water (deep enough to immerse the sections). Look out for any trace of bubbles and locate the hole with you finger. Keep the location under your finger, dry the area and mark with a felt tip pen (you may need to experiment with markers to see what takes). Deflate the mat fully. Again locate the hole and put a dab of all-purpose glue over the hole. Now open the valve and it will suck in some of the glue. Leave in a dry warm place until set. Inflate and leave to see if it stays up.

If there are multiple punctures you may need to go through this procedure many times.

 

[Rod]

The best, cheapest and quickest for any small snags or holes are self adhesive bicycle repair patches. All fixed in no time.

Hope this helps

 

[led]

I found that whilst bicycle repair kits might work for the short term, they don't last particularly long (but I suspect that depends to some extent on the face fabric of the mat). One thing I've learnt is to take along a wool blanket with me, and to always keep the mat covered when sleeping near an open fire (having accumulated too many small spark holes ).

 

[Jon Mawer]

Two words, Duct Tape!

 

[Joeri]

I just had a small puncture in mine a week or so ago. The repair set instruction told me to just put in some of the adhesive and let it dry. It seems to be fixed, but still have to check if it holds. Otherwise I'll use a patch... Seems the simple and safe way...

 

[Wintrup]

tried puncture repair kits and the patches don't seem to hold over time. A dab of glue on a deflated mat, then open the valve has given the best results. Especially for multiple punctures as was the case with my mat.

 

[cmr_hiker]

fill a bathtub with water and inflate the mat. throw it in the bathtub to find the exact leak spot then treat those spots accordingly.