I have a Stephenson’s Warmlite sleeping pad that is going on about 20 years now. The flap that closes to prevent air escaping has deformed (or the opening around the flap) and part of the flap does not seal completely leading to a slow leak. I contacted Stephenson’s and they said they cannot fix it. I think it was something about this older style air valve not being replaceable.
When trying to figure out the cause of the leak, I used super glue, a piece of nylon repair tape and dental floss to glue the floss on to the valve flap. If I pump up the pad, pull on the floss and secure the plug in the opening properly, it stays fine and will remain so sleeping on it for several days. This fix is only as good as the bond to hold the floss which is constantly getting stressed by pulling on it. It has failed before.
Anyone have any better ideas I could try. I was wondering if heating the flap with a heat gun might get it to deform back to shape properly.
