Therm-A-Rest says breath inflation "perfectly safe" for pads?

[Rex Sanders]

In Therm-a-Rest’s recent video on their new valves, the presenter said:

Our studies on years of Therm-a-Rest pads have shown that breath inflation is perfectly safe for you and your pad.

That’s certainly not conventional wisdom around inflatable sleeping pads.

Comments?

— Rex

[Sam Farrington]

Another argument for partially self inflating pads that require only a top-off.

[AK Granola]

I’ve read the various threads about this topic, and have never understood what the problem is. I’ve always inflated my mattresses by mouth, and nothing gets moldy, and it’s not hard to do. Even at 10,000 feet, blowing up my Neo air was no big deal. I just don’t really get it. I have a couple of thermarests from the mid 1990s, used many times, still in great shape. No smell, no sign of any mold.

[JCH]

“Even at 10,000 feet, blowing up my Neo air was no big deal. I just don’t really get it.”

Karen – you are clearly in much better shape and/or much more acclimated to higher elevations that this old flatlander from Florida :)  During a recent Yosemite trip, while setting up camp at the Young Lakes I got dizzy just bending over to pitch my tent.  Without the schnozzle, I’m fairly certain blowing up the NeoAir would have been a very unpleasant experience. The entire trip however, was purest heaven.

Regardless of all that…whether or not moisture from one’s breath inside a mattress is damaging in any way, I just don’t see the point of introducing it in the first place, especially when it is so easy not to.

[Greg Mihalik]

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/107503/

…”this fungus CAME from YOUR lungs, originally, right?…”

Nonetheless-

If you are using a “self inflating” mattress, like a thermarest, it is sucking in air that contains fungus and mold spores. Adding water may be all it takes. However, if the interior is treated with anti-mold stuff it May remain pristine.

But maybe not –

[Jerry Adams]

my thermarest prolite self inflating pad weighed 18.8 ounces when I bought it.

gained 0.5 ounces in 2 years – probably some sort of mold or something.  The weight gain has been gradual.

probably 100 cycles of blowing in a couple breaths of air

similar with my previous self inflating pad

I’ve never noticed any odor or anything

I would consider this an argument that it’s okay to blow into your mattress, although there’s probably something growing in there

[bradmacmt]

I’ve read the various threads about this topic, and have never understood what the problem is. I’ve always inflated my mattresses by mouth, and nothing gets moldy, and it’s not hard to do. Even at 10,000 feet, blowing up my Neo air was no big deal. I just don’t really get it. I have a couple of thermarests from the mid 1990s, used many times, still in great shape. No smell, no sign of any mold.

This.

Only difference is I still have one Thermarest that I’ve owned since 1985… still fine, still going strong.

Of the pantheon of things to worry about, this is not one I’d give two seconds thought to.

My .02

[Tipi Walter]

Thermarest needs to address their glue and lamination technology and why their pads so often fail in the field.  See pics.  I’ve been blowing up Thermy pads since 1980—orange standard with the metal valve—and I’ll continue to blow up my pads by mouth.  Sorta hate the bellows-sack inflation method.

Whether these bubble failures are due to the moisture in exhaled breath or not is something they should’ve already figured out 25 years ago.

I used to use their 40th Anniversary pad and this is #1 getting its blowout.

Here is my second 40th pad with the beginning of another delamination.

Then they discontinued their 40th Anniversary (for good reason) and so I went with their Trail Pro pad and in about 2 years got another delamination.  But remember, I live on these pads—at home and on trips.

Thermarest went to another Trail Pro generation of pads and this is what the new Trail Pro looks like—it’s on the right.  No failure yet with the new Trail Pro but it’s just a matter of time.  Let’s hope it doesn’t happen in the field again.

[Jerry Adams]

same here, a couple Thermarests delaminated.

My newest one has gone a couple years okay.  It also weighs about 2 ounces more than the one that delaminated.  Maybe they improved the gluing/foam so it doesn’t delaminate.  But it weighs more.  Too bad they don’t talk about this.  They probably want to avoid customer complaints so they will stay quiet.

My 30 year old pad is still okay, a guidelite.  But it weighs 2 pounds.

Maybe saving a pound requires having to buy a new one every few years.  If you didn’t use it so much maybe it would last 10 years?  This is a reasonable trade-off between cost and saving weight.

[Todd T]

I dislike blowing up my pad, but the mold concern is tee-ninecy (as we used to say back home) compared to the inconvenience. So I don’t need to know whether mold is an issue. Love my Exped Schnozzel.

[JCH]

“Sorta hate the bellows-sack inflation method.”

Fair enough. HYOH. Personally I much prefer the Schnozzle and it does double duty as a pack liner.

As for whether or not you believe there is any danger of/have experienced damage from your breath being introduced into the pad, like most experiences in life, this one is different for different people.  HYOH.  2 in one post :)

 

[Evan E.]

I too love the Exped Schnozzel and how it doubles as a pack liner. I made my own adapter thing to fit on the Thermarest valve but I see now  Exped makes one  and it is carried by Campsaver and some other big companies. http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/mats/universal-valve-adapter

[AK Granola]

Tipi – that’s an alien in there! Watch out.

I’m not in all that great of shape, in fact I had to bail on my JMT this summer due to altitude nausea and inability to eat, but it didn’t affect my breathing at all. I do sit down when inflating my sleeping pad, I suppose that helps.

I have plenty of fungus and mold in my fridge, from fermented cabbage, yogurt, blue cheese, mushrooms. I’m probably immune to anything that tries to crawl out of my sleeping pad at night.

[Rex Sanders]

Side note: Bungzy was not impressed with Therm-a-Rest’s new valve and matching pump sack, especially their claim of “three times faster” inflation:

— Rex

[Ben C]

If the pad wasn’t translucent, I don’t think anyone would be concerned at all about mold. But since you can see it, the willies set in.

[Greg Mihalik]

^^^

So if there is mold in the walls of your bathroom you should ignore it?

When you deflate your air mat in the confines of your tent you breath that air in.  IF you are sensitive to mold you MIGHT have a problem.

just saying …..

[Ben C]

I do occasionally get mold on the walls of my bathroom and I do clean it. Honestly, though, it’s more about aesthetics than a fear of mold.  Mold is like mushrooms; it grows anywhere you allow it to stay a little damp, with no ill effects to most people unless you have a whole lot of it

I would also clean dirt from my bathroom floor, but I sleep on it under my tarp, again with no ill effects. Aesthetically, though, it wouldn’t work in my bathroom either.

I don’t worry about deflating in a closed tent. I sleep under a tarp. ;) It’s also just not that much mold, and I don’t detect a lot of spores coming out of it. I’ve got worse things to worry about.

[Tom K]

I have had two Exped Synmat 7s delaminate when I was blowing them up manually.  Correlation does not prove causation, but I have not had the problem since I started using a Schnozzl type bag with a different brand.  The fact that I introduced two variables clouds the picture, but I strongly suspect the delamination was connected to the moisture and resulting fungal growth inside the pad.  Maybe their metabolism produces weak acids or other compounds that affect the glue?

Note:  I also use the inflation bag as a dry bag for my sleeping bag and down clothing.

[Franco Darioli]

When I started to read the comments it came to mind that maybe exactly what we exale could make a difference.

think of “bad breath” , it contains chemicals and that is how we smell it.

So, maybe, the  (very minor but there) chemicals we exale could make the difference.

Of course i’m not a chemical scientist or any scientist of any sort for that matter .

[Todd T]

I have had two Exped Synmat 7s delaminate when I was blowing them up manually.  Correlation does not prove causation…

So what you’re saying is, it’s possible the delamination caused you to blow up the pads manually?  :-)

To me, the Schnozzel is great not just because it relieves me of blowing up the pad, but because the pad itself (Exped Synmat HL M at this point) has a check valve.  I never lose any air already pushed in.  None of my other pads ever had that.  Maybe they all do now, I don’t know.

[Tom K]

“So what you’re saying is, it’s possible the delamination caused you to blow up the pads manually?”

Possibly…

[Tipi Walter]

I had an Exped downmat blow a baffle “weld” and delaminate on Day 1 of a 19 day winter trip.  Not nice to fool Uncle Fungus—and it was not caused by any kind of human inhalations—as the thing inflated with a built-in hand pump—

[Jerry Adams]

“So what you’re saying is, it’s possible the delamination caused you to blow up the pads manually?  :-)”

Good point : )

Maybe it’s just random, someone that had a failed matt just happened to have inflated by mouth.

Maybe there are different failure modes, sometimes like Tipi, it was not because of mouth inflation but other cases it was.

I’ve noticed delamination right where I put all of my body weight with my hand on the matt when I layed down.  I’ve since tried not to do this and it hasn’t delaminated since, but it’s only been two years.

I’ve never had the delamination bad enough I couldn’t finish my 1 week trip.  I would hate to have to cut my trip short because my pad failed.  Paying $80 once every few years to replace wouldn’t be that bad a deal.

[Tipi Walter]

Jerry—That’s what I do—upgrade a pad after a few years even if it isn’t busted.  I call it Precautionary Procurement.  But my Exped downmat was new so sorry about that.

There is a solution for a pad failure in the field—
1)  Carry a high Rvalue ccf pad and double it up to get 7R or 8R.
2)  Carry an emergency minimal NeoAir inflatable to use with your ccf pad—in case your regular inflatable dies.
3)  Or cache a backup pad somewhere on your route so you can get it in an emergency.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Count me among those who have some rather old t-rests that have been inflated by mouth for 20 years plus withno ill effects. However, those have just foam inside. What I wonder about is whether the reflective layer(s) in the neoairs and their ilk could be damaged by moisture. Thatbreed of pad has not been around long enough to be sure of that one way or another. I blow mine up, but i wonder.

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