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Self Inflating Mats
For many years the inflatable mattress (Metzler, Thermarest, Enviromat, etc) has
been the gear freak's ground insulating weapon of choice. It's only the
'Crusties' and those retentive about weight that persist with the EVA foam pads
of yore. As anyone who's bivvied out in the rain on an exposed snowy
alpine ridge will attest, inflatable mats are much better insulators than the
rest. And they're so much more comfortable. But they do have their
limitations. They're a little more expensive, and put a hole in one, and
you'll rue the day you skimped on the repair kit. Sleeping (or failing
to) on a deflated mat could cause you much grief.
Storage and Use
When you store your mat, leave it lying flat somewhere dry, with the valve
open. Never leave it inflated in the sun (you'll scare all the wildlife
when it explodes). Even if you leave it in the tent or hut for the day,
it's a good idea to undo the valve. Always use a ground sheet, or some
form of protection between the mat and the ground. When you inflate your
mat, it's best to let it do most of the work by itself. The more you
breathe into it the more moisture gets into the foam. This causes two
problems. Firstly you'll probably get a malodorous slime living in the
foam. Second, if you're in the snow, the moisture may condense and freeze
physically damaging the foam, or freezing the valve shut. When you carry
your mat on the trail, keep it inside your pack to protect it from jagging on
sharp sticks. If you roll all the air out of it, then unroll it and fold
it flat, inserting it down the back of your pack, this protects your back from
uncomfortable protrusions, but also moves the contents of your pack a little
further away from your centre of gravity. If you have a 3/4 length or
full length lightweight mat, both of these can be rolled up into small enough
parcels to be packed discretely in your pack.
Keep your mat well away from solvents (petrol, thinners etc). These
destroy the lamination between the low density foam and the nylon skin.
Repairs
One of the hardest things to do sometimes, is find the offending aperture.
As with a bike tube, blow your mat up and dunk it in soapy water.
Look for the tell tale bubbles and mark around the spot (chalk is good).
Let your mat dry.
For pinprick sized holes, roll all the air out of your mat, do the valve up and
put a small bead of Seam Grip or similar thick urethane adhesive on the hole.
Don't bother with a patch. The air being sucked into the mat
through the hole will draw the Seam Grip in and form a sealing plug.
For your Everest sized holes, buy an inflatable mattress repair kit. It
doesn't matter what kind of mat you have - any manufacturer's repair kit will
do. Do not be tempted to use a bicycle tyre repair kit, or a "LiLo" or
similar air bed repair kit. These don't work.
Again, if you have a broken valve, buy a valve repair kit. They're
actually much easier to fix than you might imagine.
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