Sleeping Pad Failure – poll

I've had many fail on many different occasions. I've punctured them on yuccas, had mysterious slow leaks, broken valves, etc.

That's why I won't carry them for anything but car camping or short overnighters where a pad failure only means one cold night.

In the long run, I think it's easiest to just get used to sleeping without much padding.

Craig,

+1.

The exception is my BPL TorsoLite. But is is not that much more comfortable than a GG NightLight. It is pretty thin, but a good product.

My Prolite 3 sprung many leaks simultaneously. Sent to the t-rest with a $25.00 deposit and it came back with 6 patches and still leaking. I used a Neoair last summer which lasted thru the 15 nights of tremendous sleep it took to complete the JMT and it is still in good shape having used it on a couple of short trips this spring.

+1 to Craig and Nick,

I adhere to that modus operandi as well, learn to sleep with less if you can. I avoid packing items of gear that could potentially fail on me in the backcountry, an inflatable sleeping pad is one of those items, they're comfortable, but when they go out you're screwed. My expectations of comfort decrease exponentially when I'm on the trail so a foam pad is foolproof, inexpensive, multiuse and does the trick for now.

* I just realized in the midst of my ramble that I forgot to answer the poll question. NO, I haven't yet had an inflatable pad go out on me, but if any of those went out with the little amount of use they get then they're not worth their weight in salt.

I've had two Big Agnes downmats that have leaked flat during the night. I sent one back which was temporarily fixed. I've switced to NeoAirs. One of mine requires daily re-inflation, the other, every other day, but they are sooooo comfortable.
Don

Not yet. But my MontBell inflatable pillow sprang a slow leak for no identifiable reason! :(

My Thermarest Prolite had a leak right off the shelf. I sent it in and it came back with a patch and a bill for $10. I refused to pay and they waived the fee. One trip later it had another leak. I repaired it myself with silicone, but I am wary of trusting it anymore now.

If my memory is accurate, I have never had one fail over 15+ years of use. All of our family's original thermarests are going strong (used for car camping mostly these days by my parents) and both my wife's and my 3/4 1" LW T-rest pads @ 10-12 years old have never had a leak with rather extensive backcountry use. The only pad that even appeared to have had a slow leak, thus far, was a BA clearview, but it was no problem to throw a couple of puffs in at 4 am. Additionally, I have not had any leaks with the following, but less use:
– BPL/POE Torsolite
– POE ? w/ inflateable center (like Uber lite)
– Exped 3/4 DAM (older style sans built-in pump)
– Bender's DAM (no legit use yet, though, so no count)
– even old pool mats and canvas air pads used back in the day were fine.

I have kept my gear fairly clean and treated it with normal care and it has served me well. Hiking is all of the US, with some in central america, Europe and W. Asia.

I have a T-rest that came into the gear shop where I used to work about 10 years ago that was a warranty return, which they replaced, but it didn't leak, it delaminated. I kept it around just to play around with and let it live outside of my shed. Last I checked, it still held air, covered in mildew and moss (PNW staples).

A hammock solves this problem pretty effectively.

Edit: I didn't answer your question–I've had a Montbell fail twice on the sides where I folded it. More of an abrasion hole than a puncture and both were easily fixed. I've had several T'rests get punture holes, but they were from using no groundcloth, embers from a fire, sharp stuff in my pack, carelessness, etc. Normal usage never caused any issues with T'rests even the cheapest models.

My son had a "generic" self inflating pad fail. It was 15 years old or so. Never had any of my threm-a-rests fail. The BA IAC has never failed, but I've only used it a few times.

Have only used Thermarests. Only puncture in over 15 years was caused by my dog at home while it was drying off on the patio after a post trip washing. I don't let him near the Neoair. If I camp with the dog I take a closed cell pad. I do hammock primarily. Never an issue.

Yes I have popped a hole in my thermarest a couple years ago, but patched it and it is fine now. I am usually very careful about my site since I started carrying it, but there are those times when it is dark, and things happen!

I learned my lesson and go over my site with a fine tooth comb. I feel a full length inflatable is worth the weight if I sleep like a baby on it.

I had an Exped Downmat 7 replaced under warranty due to a very slow leak.

I believe I would be very unlucky to puncture it in use (a tent floor + groundsheet under the tent and the mat is not exactly thin).

The only thing I'm careful about is not to leave it inflated inside a tent exposed to sun, becuase then there is a real risk of it popping.

Stuart

I need to qualify my answer. I hike a lot in deserts. And contrary to what many people think, finding a sandy spot to sleep is rare. Usually I have to contend with rocks, peebles, brush, etc. Not the ideal place for an air matress. In these areas, during the past year or so, I have been using a BPL TorsoLite with an 1/8" foam pad. So far, so good. No Thermarest has ever made it a year.

In the mountains, it is strictly foam pads for me. Even though I am a side sleeper, they allow me to get a good night's sleep.

The only Therm-a-Rest I've had fail was when my cat sharpened it's claws on my wife's new Prolite 3 which required 7 patches to fix.

I did have a MEC Kelvin Summer Pad leak and then when I was sitting on it using soapy water to find the leak, one of the internal baffles came unglued which rendered the pad useless since had a beach ball sized bump on it now, but MEC did let me return it and I used the credit towards a NeoAir.

On a 110mile trip we has a pro lite valve leak so that person had an uncomfortable couple of nights. Ive had a couple of therema rests that have leaked over the years. my torsolite and POE ether are still going strong though.

those MEC pads suck. If they didn't have the "We take back anything" guarantee they might have good product. everyone I know and hiked with one of them has had it leak on them.

my $0.02

My wife neoair went leaking during our last hike, but it was because mices chewed it :)

I've had a couple t-rests leak over the years.

My wife has had hers leak more than once, spent a ton of time tracking down the leak, tried to patch it in the field, failed, slept horribly, and took a number of tries to get it all sealed up (after getting back home).

I always used to claim my 2lb t-rest was worth it, but I'm not so sure any more…I'm going to give closed cell foam another try this season.

Never had one leak. Started using a NeoAir last summer and love it!

I haven't had an inflatable pad fail in ~24 years. Most use has been with 2 thermarests. More recently added the Exped Downmats, NeoAir, etc. No problems with any, ever.

Edit: Meant to add, I never carry my pad outside the pack. Carrying a pad outside is pretty much an invitation for poking holes in it, given that it's usually one of the first things to hit the ground. I also don't use my pads around camp or fire… they're just for sleeping.

I am a side sleeper who hikes exclusively in the mountains of the PNW – usually on the PCT. As my age has increased, my ability to sleep comfortably on thin foam pads has decreased. Gone are the nights when a Ridgerest was marginally sufficient.

I thought I had found Nirvana when I got the first Big Agnes Insulated Air Core pad. (and that was AFTER they fixed the initial fabric leak problems they had at launch.) Two and a half inches of shear comfort for my long-suffering shoulders and hips! I always use a ground cloth or tent floor under my inflatable pad. Nonetheless, two successive pads in two hiking seasons developed irrepairable internal valve failures sufficient to lose most of their air within a few hours. I took them both back to REI.

The second failure forced me to borrow a friend's new BA IAC to complete the JMT. It developed a small leak at the base of the valve stem after only three nights. This one was small enough that it could not be found in the field, even with immersion, but which was at least manageable enough (several puffs twice a night to reinflate) that I was able to finish the trail, it ended my relationship with NA forever.

I replaced it with a 2009 Thermarest Prolight Plus. We'll see how it fares on the Colorado Trail next month.

For the same weight as the TR, I could carry (and frankly would rather have) two Ridgerests. The problem is the exponential difference in bulk between the two.

Nirvana is a joke!

Wandering Bob

Back when I used an inflatable pad, I never experienced a failure. I can't see any reason for using one today, however, since closed-cell pads are available that are so cheap, compact, and light.

a POE and Big Agnes pad.

I had a thermarest in Joshua Tree fail early in an outward
bound course. Somehow got a cactus needle in the foam.
Every time I patched it, the needle would poke a fresh hole
from the inside.

My wife had one de-laminate after spending time in the hot
trunk of a car at the outward bound basecamp. It made
this huge bubble in the middle of one end if you tried to
inflate it by blowing into it.

Thats two failures.

I use closed cell foam now.