That $180 inflatable pad deflated on night two in Big Bend
I bought this thicker inflatable sleeping pad last month thinking it would beat my old foam one. First night was GREAT, super comfy. But on night two out in Big Bend, I woke up at 3am on hard rocky ground. The seam right by the valve split open, no joke. I patched it with duct tape but it kept leaking air all night. Spent $180 on it and it lasted two whole nights, what a waste. Now I'm back to my closed cell foam pad, it's heavy but it never fails. Has anyone else had a brand new inflatable pad fail this fast, or did I just get a dud?
That seam splitting right by the valve is such a gut punch. Reminds me of a cheap air mattress I bought for a camping trip in college, not even a real pad, just one of those $30 ones from Walmart. Blew it up in the tent, felt fine, then around midnight it started sagging under my hip like a slow leak. Turned out my buddy's dog had walked across it and poked a tiny hole with a claw. We tried the whole "find the leak with soapy water" trick in the dark and gave up. I ended up sleeping on a picnic table bench with a towel as a pillow. That was the trip I learned to always carry a foam pad as backup.