I'm bringing an old Prolite along on a trip and i want to make sure i can patch it if needed. I always carry Gorilla Tape. I'm looking for feedback from those that have had to patch in the field, what worked, what didnt?

I've only used the Thermarest patch kit. It worked great and was really easy. The tricky part was trying to find the leak.

On our recent PCT trip we used a piece of Gear Aid Tenacious Tape to successfully repair a leak in my buddy's self-inflating Thermarest. You can buy at REI and likely many other places. I also used this same stuff to repair a rip in my down jacket.

So far so good.

I used Seam Grip glue like stuff. I carry a small tube with me in my repair kit. Lots of uses. It cured in an hour and and cures clear. Has lasted 3 years so far and going.

I asked Thermarest if Platy patches could be used for a temporary field repair of my NeoAir, and they said it might work. I expect that Tenacious Tape would be similiar. The surfaces of the self inflating pads are of course different from a NeoAir, but I think both products would work on both pads. TAR specifically mentioned to NOT use duct tape, as it leaves a hard-to-remove residue on the mattress when peeled off. That makes it very difficult for TAR to do a proper repair when you send it to them later.

I carry a Thermarest patching kit with me for any trip of more than one night--I don't intend to get up in the middle of the night and try to patch my mattress; ever! I have used the kit twice. Once was at a campsite next to a lake. I located the leak by the bubbles from the immersed mattress. The next time was in one of the Arizona Sky Island mountain ranges. I located the leak this time by swabbing a small amount of soapy water on the surface of the inflated mattress until I saw bubbles. You can lighten the Thermarest kit a lot by trimming the instructions and leaving some of the glue packets and patches at home. I am still using the patched Thermarest Prolite 3 with the youngest patch being over three years old.

Edited by Rincon on 07/24/2010 14:02:33 MDT.

"I asked Thermarest if Platy patches could be used for a temporary field repair of my NeoAir,"


Where are you finding Platy Patches? I have one left, and can't find new ones anywhere. They are no longer on the Platypus web site, either.

Kind of a pain, because I used them all the time. Much nicer to patch a Platy than have to toss it and buy a new one for one little hole. (Okay, nicer for me -- not so nice for Platypus I suppose.)