My new inflatable sleeping pad popped on its first trip to the Adirondacks

I was trying out the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite I got on sale, and a sharp rock must have poked it while I was setting up camp. It went flat in about 15 minutes, which was a rough night. Has anyone else had this happen and found a good, tough repair kit they trust?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason_ward3mo ago

My buddy's pad got shredded by pine needles last year. He swears by the Gear Aid repair kits now.

brian_jackson3mo ago

Wait, pine needles can do that much damage?

wade7671mo ago

The real killer nobody talks about isn't the puncture itself, it's how pine needles get forced INTO the foam through the fabric when you roll the pad up tight. I've seen it happen to two different pads now where a needle pokes through the outer layer, then when you compress the pad for storage it drives that needle like an inch deep into the foam. By the time you unroll it next trip you got a slow leak that only shows up after midnight. Gear Aid patches work okay but I honestly just started carrying a small piece of tenacious tape cut to size before I even leave the house. Saves you from having to do a field repair half asleep in the dark lol.