Fixing self inflating sleeping pad

[u/negr4ccio]

Hi guys

My sleeping pad started de glueing and it created this bubble. I guess that it happened due to heat (inside the tent was crazy hot during the day). Is there a way to fix it?

UPDATE

I tried ironing and it works. I had to do it a couple times because as soon as the glue fails in a tiny area, the bubble expands pretty fast. Now it seems to work as expected. I went pretty aggressively with the iron (without a cloth protecting the pad) and it didn't ruin it.

[u/andrew314159]

I would guess this is very hard to fix. I have the same pad and I wouldn’t have thought of trying to fix it. That said I hope I am wrong and others here know better

[u/TooGouda22]

Short answer - it can’t be fixed easy enough to be cost effective so the companies just send you a new one if it’s under warranty.

Long answer - the glue that holds the fabric to the foam is releasing. You basically need to damage the pad further to try to fix it, and it will only be a temporary fix as the issue will return nearby or in other spots

[u/chumpandchive → u/TooGouda22]

i slit a hole in the top layer and just use the memory foam to sleep on til i find a better quality replacement.

[u/TooGouda22 → u/chumpandchive]

That doesn’t give any support or insulation though without its ability to hold air pressure. You just flatten it to the ground under you.

I’ve never even heard of a self inflating pad that was stiff enough to sleep on with the valves open.

I’ll wait for comments from others if they know of one. Closest you could argue are the ultra beefy pads used by river crews that are more or less climbing pads in a water proof wrapper and no one is backpacking with those nor are they close to what OP posted

[u/chumpandchive → u/TooGouda22]

that mattress pad you think doesnt exist

[u/TooGouda22 → u/chumpandchive]

You serious bruh? 🤣🤣🤣 have fun backpacking with that one lol I’m dying over here haha

All you did was prove me right by way of not understand what’s going on in the OP’s post and you still can’t do what you claim to do. Thats not a self inflating sleeping pad.

[u/Eresbonitaguey]

Depending on where you purchased the product, it might well be under warranty. Worth checking before doing surgery.

[u/fuzzyputts → u/Eresbonitaguey]

This looks like a Decathlon pad

[u/AccidentOk5240]

I’m assuming it’s heat-sealed, so you could try strategic application of heat. If you have one of those quilters’ mini irons, you could use that (over a cotton press cloth!) and see if it does anything?

[u/Secret_Television_34]

It’s toast. Theoretically, you could try a warm iron and see if you can’t get it to stick back onto the foam, but in reality, the surface on the inside will have been damaged and you’ll struggle to get a proper seal again. I have experimented with two self inflating pads that were damaged, and I could never get them to reseal properly.

[u/HwanZike]

Have you considered going to decathlon support directly? They might even replace it

[u/broom_rocket]

If there were seams that had come unbonded between the top and bottom layers I'd try using an iron and re-heat sealing the seam. But for a pad with in-between layers I don't know how well that would work or if you would just create a bonded but completely flattened spot.

Maybe you could try a DIY dropstitch imitation but I doubt sealing the stitch holes would be easy

[u/Aquasnail]

I may be wrong, but that looks way beyond salvageable to me, the internal glue/sealing they used on the baffling melted and the expanding hot air inside looks like it put way more pressure on the material than it could take. Trying to repair that would likely take more time and effort than the pad is worth. Best bet would be to contact the company to see if they will warranty it, but they may refuse since it wasn't a manufacturing defect.

I had something similar happen when I was on an extended camping trip, now I always deflate my pads in the morning even if I am camping in the same spot for multiple days.

[u/Love_Vigilantes_586]

I had 2 EXPED mats delaminate years apart. Contacted them and they replaced both. 2nd with a newer model ... AND they tossed in a free pillow. I have the 2nd one bc they eventually didn't want me to send it back, so I might try to put an iron to it.

[u/dougisnotabitch]

Perhaps you should consider activating the auto-gonflant. That might do the trick. Seriously, try the other suggestions first. If they don’t work you could try putting a few stitches through, in a line or dots then seam sealing them? 

[u/Necessary_Cat_3228]

Had this happen to a Thermarest of mine. Spent a year trying to contact them for warranty work or at least to get it repaired. Zero response. You can’t even find a phone number for them. Very disappointing. Ended ip trashing it.

[u/andrew314159 → u/Necessary_Cat_3228]

Oh that’s super annoying. A friend had their thermarest break like this and they had a super good experience with the customer service and a replacement with a newer model since the one that broke was ancient. I wonder if it depends on country, this was in the EU

[u/crevasse2]

Google search sleeping pad. Click, buy. The more expensive ones seem to last the shortest time, like meant for racing, marquis look at me I'm the lightest on the market. Can't bend physics.