|
Lazlo
Dec 19, 2011, 6:46 PM
Post #1 of 10
(7474 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 14, 2007
Posts: 5079
|
What, if anything, do you carry into the back country for sleeping pad repair?
I'm tempted to try gorilla tape.
Anyone tried something like this: (?)
How fast/reliable is seam grip with it's accelerant?
This kit looks promising:
http://www.mcnett.com/...Repair-Kit-P134.aspx
|
|
|
|
|
colatownkid
Dec 19, 2011, 7:36 PM
Post #2 of 10
(7460 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 27, 2007
Posts: 512
|
Lazlo wrote: What, if anything, do you carry into the back country for sleeping pad repair? I'm tempted to try gorilla tape. Anyone tried something like this: (?) [image]http://media.rei.com/media/bb/fad4b726-83bf-47e9-9b56-783c81c171bc.jpg[/image] How fast/reliable is seam grip with it's accelerant? This kit looks promising: http://www.mcnett.com/...Repair-Kit-P134.aspx [image]http://www.mcnett.com/Assets/ProductImages/TctProducts/CtSgfrkMn.jpg[/image]
I'm assuming you mean inflatable pads and not foam ones (don't know how you'd need to repair a foam one, but figured it was worth clarifying). I actually just finished repairing mine (front country) literally 5 minutes ago.
If you want "official" instructions, you can find them from Cascade Designs (Therm-A-Rest parent company) here: http://media.cascadedesigns.com/...t%20Instructions.pdf
1) Find the leak. Inflate the pad as much as possible, fold, and immerse in a tub of water of some kind if you can improvise one. Alternately, mix up a bit of soapy water and rub the soapy water on the pad surface. Fold the pad at multiple points all down its length until bubbles start showing up, indicating the leak. Circle this area with a marker.
2) Dry the affected area. (You should clean it too, but if you just used soap and water, I'm sure you can figure out how to clean the are. Alcohol swabs work well if you want to be OCD about it.)
3) Apply the patch to the area. This is probably the important question you have. For small holes, I just apply a coating of Seam Grip and let it dry. Though Seam Grip is supposed to set for 24 hours, after about 12 it's usually pretty good to go. So, if your pad has a hole, just apply the stuff right when you wake up and by bed time you should be golden.
For bigger tears, you need some kind of patch. I usually carry a bit of duct tape in my repair kit, but it's not the greatest on an inflatable pad. It usually just slows the leak but doesn't stop it entirely. I have actually had pretty good luck using a piece of nylon fabric cut to size (like you'd use to repair a tent or jacket), coating one side with seam grip, pasting that side over the hole, and then covering the whole patch with more seam grip. (Basically, you've applied seam grip to both sides.) Lasts forever and is air-tight. And yes, I've done both of these in the field. I feel like I've fixed just about everything I own with seam grip. That, a multi-tool, the aforementioned nylon fabric, floss, and a needle, make up pretty much my whole repair kit.
|
|
|
|
|
Lazlo
Dec 20, 2011, 2:13 AM
Post #3 of 10
(7428 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 14, 2007
Posts: 5079
|
colatownkid wrote: Lazlo wrote: What, if anything, do you carry into the back country for sleeping pad repair? I'm tempted to try gorilla tape. Anyone tried something like this: (?) [image]http://media.rei.com/media/bb/fad4b726-83bf-47e9-9b56-783c81c171bc.jpg[/image] How fast/reliable is seam grip with it's accelerant? This kit looks promising: http://www.mcnett.com/...Repair-Kit-P134.aspx [image]http://www.mcnett.com/Assets/ProductImages/TctProducts/CtSgfrkMn.jpg[/image] I'm assuming you mean inflatable pads and not foam ones (don't know how you'd need to repair a foam one, but figured it was worth clarifying). I actually just finished repairing mine (front country) literally 5 minutes ago. If you want "official" instructions, you can find them from Cascade Designs (Therm-A-Rest parent company) here: http://media.cascadedesigns.com/...t%20Instructions.pdf 1) Find the leak. Inflate the pad as much as possible, fold, and immerse in a tub of water of some kind if you can improvise one. Alternately, mix up a bit of soapy water and rub the soapy water on the pad surface. Fold the pad at multiple points all down its length until bubbles start showing up, indicating the leak. Circle this area with a marker. 2) Dry the affected area. (You should clean it too, but if you just used soap and water, I'm sure you can figure out how to clean the are. Alcohol swabs work well if you want to be OCD about it.) 3) Apply the patch to the area. This is probably the important question you have. For small holes, I just apply a coating of Seam Grip and let it dry. Though Seam Grip is supposed to set for 24 hours, after about 12 it's usually pretty good to go. So, if your pad has a hole, just apply the stuff right when you wake up and by bed time you should be golden. For bigger tears, you need some kind of patch. I usually carry a bit of duct tape in my repair kit, but it's not the greatest on an inflatable pad. It usually just slows the leak but doesn't stop it entirely. I have actually had pretty good luck using a piece of nylon fabric cut to size (like you'd use to repair a tent or jacket), coating one side with seam grip, pasting that side over the hole, and then covering the whole patch with more seam grip. (Basically, you've applied seam grip to both sides.) Lasts forever and is air-tight. And yes, I've done both of these in the field. I feel like I've fixed just about everything I own with seam grip. That, a multi-tool, the aforementioned nylon fabric, floss, and a needle, make up pretty much my whole repair kit.
Thanks for the in depth response. Seam Grip is certainly the $hit.
Mostly, I'm looking for first hand opinions on what is best for back country repairs. Seam Grip is too long of a wait for me.
|
|
|
|
|
ptlong2
Dec 20, 2011, 3:31 AM
Post #4 of 10
(7414 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Aug 10, 2010
Posts: 102
|
One time I repaired one with pine tar and a band-aid. On another occasion I fixed a pretty good tear with the Thermarest Hot Bond adhesive. It was actually too quick. You boil the package in water to get it ready, then you put it on the damaged section. But in the mountains where it's cold the stuff was setting up as I applied it. Not a long wait in that case!
The real problem with inflatable pads are the slow leaks, the ones that don't show up with the soapy water or immersion tests but still require adding air at 3 a.m. This is not that uncommon a problem. I've had three Thermarest pads end up like this. It's good to be an REI customer at times like that.
|
|
|
|
|
edge
Dec 20, 2011, 3:44 AM
Post #5 of 10
(7409 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Apr 14, 2003
Posts: 9120
|
ptlong2 wrote: The real problem with inflatable pads are the slow leaks, the ones that don't show up with the soapy water or immersion tests but still require adding air at 3 a.m. This is not that uncommon a problem. I've had three Thermarest pads end up like this. It's good to be an REI customer at times like that.
Does REI really offer replacements at 3 am?
|
|
|
|
|
colatownkid
Dec 20, 2011, 2:13 PM
Post #6 of 10
(7371 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 27, 2007
Posts: 512
|
Lazlo wrote: colatownkid wrote: Lazlo wrote: What, if anything, do you carry into the back country for sleeping pad repair? I'm tempted to try gorilla tape. Anyone tried something like this: (?) [image]http://media.rei.com/media/bb/fad4b726-83bf-47e9-9b56-783c81c171bc.jpg[/image] How fast/reliable is seam grip with it's accelerant? This kit looks promising: http://www.mcnett.com/...Repair-Kit-P134.aspx [image]http://www.mcnett.com/Assets/ProductImages/TctProducts/CtSgfrkMn.jpg[/image] I'm assuming you mean inflatable pads and not foam ones (don't know how you'd need to repair a foam one, but figured it was worth clarifying). I actually just finished repairing mine (front country) literally 5 minutes ago. If you want "official" instructions, you can find them from Cascade Designs (Therm-A-Rest parent company) here: http://media.cascadedesigns.com/...t%20Instructions.pdf 1) Find the leak. Inflate the pad as much as possible, fold, and immerse in a tub of water of some kind if you can improvise one. Alternately, mix up a bit of soapy water and rub the soapy water on the pad surface. Fold the pad at multiple points all down its length until bubbles start showing up, indicating the leak. Circle this area with a marker. 2) Dry the affected area. (You should clean it too, but if you just used soap and water, I'm sure you can figure out how to clean the are. Alcohol swabs work well if you want to be OCD about it.) 3) Apply the patch to the area. This is probably the important question you have. For small holes, I just apply a coating of Seam Grip and let it dry. Though Seam Grip is supposed to set for 24 hours, after about 12 it's usually pretty good to go. So, if your pad has a hole, just apply the stuff right when you wake up and by bed time you should be golden. For bigger tears, you need some kind of patch. I usually carry a bit of duct tape in my repair kit, but it's not the greatest on an inflatable pad. It usually just slows the leak but doesn't stop it entirely. I have actually had pretty good luck using a piece of nylon fabric cut to size (like you'd use to repair a tent or jacket), coating one side with seam grip, pasting that side over the hole, and then covering the whole patch with more seam grip. (Basically, you've applied seam grip to both sides.) Lasts forever and is air-tight. And yes, I've done both of these in the field. I feel like I've fixed just about everything I own with seam grip. That, a multi-tool, the aforementioned nylon fabric, floss, and a needle, make up pretty much my whole repair kit. Thanks for the in depth response. Seam Grip is certainly the $hit. Mostly, I'm looking for first hand opinions on what is best for back country repairs. Seam Grip is too long of a wait for me.
Seam Grip is my first-hand opinion of what's best for back country repairs. However, if you can't wait that long, which is certainly understandable, I have had decent success with a piece of duct tape. It didn't completely fix the problem, but slowed the leak enough that the pad was still functional but might need a little air added sometime during the night. However, that's the extent of my first-hand experience.
Really, it all depends on how you define "backcountry" and "repair." Basically, my feeling with the backcountry repair kit is that I don't want to be bringing a whole pile of things to fix everything that could possibly go wrong; I just need solutions that will work reasonably well for most problems for the time I need them to work.
If you're going on a shorter trip where you couldn't wait for seam grip to dry, the duct tape solution will probably work until you get home, at which point you can do a proper front country repair. If you're on an expedition-length trip of some kind, the duct tape will work until your next day in base camp, resting, waiting for weather, etc., at which point you'll have time to do the better repair needed, especially since you brought a more complete repair kit for the longer trip. Does that make sense?
For what it's worth, I've heard of, but don't have first-hand experience with, using bike tube patch kits to repair sleeping pads. Those are definitely lightweight and probably more closely resemble what you're after.
|
|
|
|
|
coastal_climber
Dec 22, 2011, 2:45 AM
Post #7 of 10
(7314 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 17, 2006
Posts: 2542
|
just use gorilla tape. Simple. fixed.
|
|
|
|
|
Lazlo
Dec 22, 2011, 3:39 AM
Post #8 of 10
(7309 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 14, 2007
Posts: 5079
|
coastal_climber wrote: just use gorilla tape. Simple. fixed.
Have you used Gorilla Tape for a pad repair?
|
|
|
|
|
coastal_climber
Dec 22, 2011, 11:21 PM
Post #9 of 10
(7274 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 17, 2006
Posts: 2542
|
Lazlo wrote: coastal_climber wrote: just use gorilla tape. Simple. fixed. Have you used Gorilla Tape for a pad repair?
Yup. Gorilla tape for most repairs.
|
|
|
|
|
Lazlo
Dec 23, 2011, 2:35 AM
Post #10 of 10
(7260 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 14, 2007
Posts: 5079
|
coastal_climber wrote: Lazlo wrote: coastal_climber wrote: just use gorilla tape. Simple. fixed. Have you used Gorilla Tape for a pad repair? Yup. Gorilla tape for most repairs.
Sweet. Thanks. I'll be picking up a roll then.
|
|
|
|
|
|
