Extending my sleep pad

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Last winter I noticed my full length Thermarest Trail Pro mattress was about 1 foot short with my new LL Bean -20 F. bag on top.

So this year I’m thinking of gluing fuzzy (“female” side”) Velcro to my Z-Pad type sit pad and the “male” side Velcro to the flat edge of my Thermarest foot to keep this pad in place.

WHAT GLUE should I use? (Gorilla Glue?, some kind of “super caulk” like LEXEL?)

I’m thinking clear LEXEL caulk B/C it sticks to virtually any clean surface, is flexible and strong, but maybe you guys have found something better.

[David Thomas]

Fabric cement from the sewing aisle of any big box store?

Some Velcro comes with pretty sticky stuff already on the back.

Any auto parts store has Permatex sealer that sticks a heating pad to the bottom of my oil pan for years at a time.  Gets to 250F+.  Gets to -40F.  Drive over sand and weeds and snow.

[Jerry Adams]

I’ve used the Velcro that comes with sticky stuff on it.  It works fairly good.

[Ken Thompson]

Seam grip. Or Exped textile glue.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

AHA! Seam Grip. Thank you Ken. I have a tube and it is tenacious stuff.

Jerry and David, I’ve tried the self-sticking Velcro on another mattress/sit pad combo and it did not “stay stuck”. So I went to fabric glue which worked for 5 years.

But if Seam Grip eventually fails I will try Permatex automotive door seal glue B/C it has to glue rubber to painted steel.

[Lester Moore]

Also consider contact cement – it has worked well for over two years in attaching velcro patches to the heels of three pairs of trail runners to attach spandex gaiters. Even where the patch extends onto the compressible foam portion of the heel, the contact cement has kept the patch attached well.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Less, What is the brand of the contact cement you used?

[Lester Moore]

DAP WeldWood brand is what I use, with 3 coats on both surfaces that are to be glued together. Each coat is applied and let sit until tacky but no longer wet (5 to 10 minutes or so). It’s organic based, so there a solvent smell until dried. Also has to be used a moderate temps (not too cold). And you have to get the alignment right on the first try – there’s no going back after both surfaces touch each other.

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