You’ve done the hard work: assembling the tent, staking out the doors, blowing up the mattress and unfurling your sleeping bag. Congratulations. You’ve made a cozy cocoon to settle into for the night. It’s a wonderful night and you full asleep under a star-speckled sky.
The next thing you know, you’re awake, the cold ground numbing your butt. You roll to the side, letting pressure off the mat to blow a few breaths in to get you to morning.
Over the morning’s coffee, the last camper caffeine fix of the year, you tell yourself not to forget to patch that pad.
And then it’s March. (Hey! Who let that happen!)
Daylight savings has passed and it’s finally time to buck up and just fill the tub to test those mats.
You push down on the baffles so they’re just under the surface, a line of bubbles escaping.
Sometimes the bubbles come slowly bloooop-bloooooop-bloooop, signalling a slow leak. Other times, it’s fast; a jet stream of bubbles.
Both speeds signal the same thing and means your mat needs some TLC.
Some things to consider when you’re testing and patching your mat:
- You don’t have to fill the tub the whole way. Just give yourself enough depth to submerge your pad
- The first time we tested, the water was cold. The second time, I filled the tub with warm water. This was a much more enjoyable testing experience.
- You’ll want to mark where the holes are as you find them. This is easier said than done. The method that worked best for me was to dry off the section on the pad with a hand towel and then mark it with a ballpoint pen.
- Let it dry and cut out the patches to fit. They should be slightly larger than the hole.
- Let everything cure and test your work in the tub.
- Did your pad pass? Great work! Next up is the weight test. Blow your pad up and place something heavy on it overnight. We had a couple of rubber bins with craft supplies (my contribution) and camping gear (Ben’s contribution). Textbooks and art books also work quite well.
- Congratulations! You’ve just given yourself your best shot at a full night’s sleep in the backcountry. High five!
More resources:
Thermarest has a super helpful section on their website for fixing air mattresses. Mine happens to be from them. Unfortunately, my summer pad has too many issues and I’m sending it in for the experts to take a look.
Sometimes you don’t have the “best” tools for the job. You might not have the perfect patch kit, or the best tape. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. That’s totally OK!