Air Mattress Pump Bags

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I use my Sea to Summit pump/dry bag to store may clothes when not in use as the pump for my two REI FLASH insulated air mattresses.

Yeah, it’s too large but I just roll it down to deflate and close the dry bag top. Works fine.

[Ken Thompson]

Exped Schnozzle makes a great pack liner.

[Dena Kelley]

Agreed- I also use mine as a pack liner.

[Adam Salinger]

So, in an effort to make multiple uses out of everything I carry…I’ve cut a small hole in the corner of my Nylofume Pack Liner Bag. Then…I’ve run the corner of the bag through a valve I cut out of the heavy blow bag that comes with the Thermarest pads… I used Tenacious Tape from the inside to hold the valve to the bag and not let any air come through.  It holds well…but it’s not permanent either so that when my liner bag wears out I can move the valve onto the next one.

The bag now serves as my pack liner, pad blow bag and either a small “tarp” to lay my backpack on at night to keep off the ground…or…if going to sleep in my tent with wet gear…the place I seal all the wet clothes up inside to keep the tent from increased condensation.

[David Gardner]

Very cool! Weight savings of…?

[Adam Salinger]

For that particular switch…1.9 oz for the lightweight blow bag…2.7 oz for the standard blow bag

[jscott]

Schnozzle all the way for me. And it works as a dry bag.

[David Gardner]

Anybody know if a Thermarest Uberlite fill bag will also work as a dry bag? Or an easy test method to find out?

[Adam Salinger]

Think they all just have that drawstring on top.  Not sure how to make the top water tight

[David Gardner]

A more accurate question would be whether the fabric is waterproof. I am hesitant to cut up my pump bag so I was thinking of doing it vice versa and turning my pump bag into a pack liner. I figure if about 6 inches of the top is rolled and I wrap a strap around top to bottom it it would be good enough for rain. Assuming of course that it’s waterproof material.

[Michael B]

1. Anybody know if a Thermarest Uberlitefill bag will also work as a dry bag? Or an easy test method to find out?

plug the hole at the bottom, fill the bag with water, and see where the water comes out. Or email Thermarest and see what they say.

[David Gardner]

Interestingly, and giving me a false sense of hope, it comes with a built-in plug and the inflation instructions show rolling the top down to seal the bag before pumping the air into the Uberlite. Nevertheless, I don’t think so:

Could see dual use as a camp shower though.

I wonder if it’s just the seams leaking…

[Adam Salinger]

Ahhh.  Nope. It is not waterproof whatsoever.
They do sell a waterproof blow bag, the Blocker Lite, at 2.7 oz.

[Bob Chiang]

I use a plastic bag/pack liner to blow up inflatable pads without a proper connection fitting.  I think I saw the technique on a video.

You just fill the bag with air and then gather the open end of the bag in your fist. Then insert the pad’s fitting into the gathered end of the bag, seal the joint by grabbing the pad fitting, and start squeezing the bag.  It can take a bit of fiddling to get the “system” to work.

[Adam Salinger]

Yes!  I did that for years. But after ending up with an extra blow bag, I decided to make use of the valve for the perfect fit. :)

[Alex V]

Is there consensus that using the pump bag helps the longevity of your air mattress? I have been leaving mine behind.

[Adam Salinger]

There has been a lot of talk over the years about mold growing inside Air Mattresses based on the condensation from breath inflation.  I’ve seen some pretty nasty pictures combined with seeing lots of moisture on the inside of my own mattresses once I started looking, to move to using a pump bag.  If you search BPL you will find some threads about it and if you google it you will find many more.  I didn’t want to carry one more thing (and I’m not big on using stuff sacks to begin with) which is why I experimented and came up with what I posted above.

[Dustin V]

+1 on the Schnozzel pump bag. It’s well designed for multiple uses, but mainly it’s large enough and shaped to be a pack liner and the little toe strap on the bottom makes it easier than others for inflating your pad.

[Alex V]

I think I have some mold in my pad now that I’m looking. Looks like black stuff on the inside of the pad. Is there any way to fix this? What is the impact of having mold on the inside if your pad? Besides it being gross.

[Adam Salinger]

I typed this out a while ago and will post again here…

The goal is to get as much moisture out from inside your pad as possible making it hard for any more mold to grow. Using a pump bag or an air mattress pump–Fill the pad with cool, dry air (but….because in this process, air will expand…do NOT fill the pad completely) and then lay the pad in the sun so the air inside can warm up. Once it has warmed up (it will expand), open the valve and release the warm air that hopefully has some moisture in it from inside the pad. Repeat this as many times as you need depending on how much moisture you have inside that pad.  Make sure not to leave it in the sun too long…just long enough to warm up.

Once you get it completely dry….make sure to store it with the valve open…And…anytime you use it again….make sure it’s totally dry before storing it.

[Author]

Posts