Will a bike puncture kit work on a Thermarest?

[gordon taylor]

I suspect not, but my ancient Thermarest repair kit contains half a tube of rock-solid "Seam Grip" glue. I really don't want to spend six or seven quid on a new tube and a lot of patches that I don't need. I can't find any cheap stuff, even on Ebay.

 

Rubber cement is the wrong thing. Yes?

[Biggsy]

Thermarest is made of nylon, right?

This article says a nylon ski jacket can be repaired with nylon patches and rubber cement (and a warm iron 12 hours later).  I can't vouch for that being true, but it sounds hopeful!

[gordon taylor]

DON'T PANIC!

I've found an Ortlieb repair kit in the shed with some glue in it that smells similar.

I'll try that.  

edit: Thanks Biggsy, I'll read that first.

[Zoidburg]

If that fails Sikaflex will work for patching.

Honest, I am not just saying this because I recomended it in another thread.

 

[toekneep]

I think the glue has to be silicon based because I recently had to find something to repair the tent. Just as an aside, my Thermarest has developed a slow leak but it doesn't seem to matter. It is comfortable enough to get me off to sleep OK and the fact that it is almost flat by the morning hasn't been a problem.

[Martin]

I've got a Decathlon Therm-a Rest stylee

I had the temerity to sleep on top of a broken bottle at the end of a DIY 300; it did respond well initally to a p*nct*r* ptch held on with PVC glue but it still goes flat after a night.

[Tourist Tony]

I sat down on a thorn on mine in the S of France somne years ago. Lilo repair kit was bought....and with the addition of superglue, the patch was secured.

[gordon taylor]

The patch seems to be holding, and the mat is still inflated after two days.

My tale of puncture-woe is one of thick gormlessness. I used the mat as padding in a bike bag on a flight. Several of the bike-induced holes went right through both sides.

Idiot. 

[Kim]

The patch seems to be holding, and the mat is still inflated after two days.

Hmm, wouldn't it be more useful to check that the mat stays *deflated* (unrolled, with the valve closed)?

[rafletcher]

If that fails Sikaflex will work for patching.

Honest, I am not just saying this because I recomended it in another thread.

 

Sikaflex does a hole load of stuff, and Sika have stuff for all the rest it won't!  I assume that was in the vinyl thread 

[gordon taylor]

NEWS FLASH>>>

The mat is still inflated but the new patch is lifting at the edges. Drat. It'll never survive tight rolling and packing.

I'll try Tony's superglue idea next.

 

[bikefish]

McNett Seam Grip can sometimes be made into liquid again by dunking the tube into boiling water. Seems to store longer by keeping it in the freezer.
Re bike puncture patch glue - seal didnt hold for long - mat wasnt completely deflated though...

[TimO]

Bugger, it looks like my newer, and smaller Thermarest has developed a slow leak.  I'll have to use the old one for the DunRun, but at some point I'll have to repair the better one.

Did anyone work out a successful technique for repairing their Thermarest?

[tatanab]

Did anyone work out a successful technique for repairing their Thermarest?

Thermarest have two types of repair kit Thermarest Fast & Light Repair kit - Ultralight Outdoor Gear and Thermarest Universal Repair kit - Ultralight Outdoor Gear
I've used the Fast and Light successfully on a Neoair.  I've yet to have  a problem with a self inflator.

[andygates]

"use the right stuff" seems to work pretty well, eh?

On which note, the right stuff for bike-bag packing is bubble-wrap and clothes. Max that weight allowance!

[TimO]

I'm amused that these are for "repairs in the field", since I have no idea where the leak is in mine, but it seems to be quite small.

Shoving it into the bath is probably going to be involved in discovering where the hole is.

[Cunobelin]

... some glue in it that smells similar.

So we have a glue sniffer in our midst, eh?

I did the same in a shop in Switzerland; I knew what glue I needed but didn't speak the language.

... and connoisseurs as well!

[andrewc]

I wasn't happy to find that my very expensive Thermarest NeoAir didn't include a repair kit, they charge £8 - 9 for that 

Someone on OutdoorsMagic suggested using this stuff to find a slow leak  http://www.onlinebearings.co.uk/rocol-leak-detector-spray-pr-16334.html