I've had 2 Airics from Alpkit, both have failed after relatively light use.
Don't want to diss Alpkit too much as I own pretty much everything else they do, It's great kit on the whole.

Just wondering if due to the price difference/weaker materials – or that it'd happen with a proper matt and I've just been unlucky.

Both matts had been used in bothies and tents, I've always been careful to check for any sharp edges etc before laying it out. Checked both thoroughly in the bath for holes/valve, appears to be small holes on the seam and a couple more in the center. – They've not been near sparking fires either fwiw

Pay the extra or keep going on 17quid jobs?

had a thermorest in peru when I walked the inca trail – bloody thing was flat as a pancake – stupidly I hadn't checked it beforehand. Rough few days.

Got a Alpkit one – seems very nice, but haven't used it lots……yet.

I'd ask Alpkit about yours – they seem very nice guys and probably happy to help.

i have, but it was through carelessness and pretty much any sort of matt would have been holed – it went through bottom and top surfaces!

the patch kit was really good though – it uses a pan of hot water to help smooth, compress and heat the repair to give good sealing. neat, pleasing to do , and the repair is still going strong eight years later…

that's the only problem i've had too, so i reckon they're worth the cash.

Got a T'rest in 1991, punctured and repaired in 1996, developed a big blister in 2001 – gave me a new one under the lifetime warranty. Still going strong. I've had a lightweight 3/4 version for 5 years too (probably all you need really).

yep, countless times. They also delaminate and you end up with a giant blister, hilarious. Thermarest has a lifteme warranty and ive certainly cashed mine in a few times

Bike punture kit works on the older smooth ones, on the furry ones i use aquasure glue and just blob a bit on the hole. The little wheels for rolling motorbike puncture repair patches on are ace for t/rest's too.

yeah, but through stupidity !! As sockpuppet says the repairing process is very satisfying.

Cheers, spoke to Alpkit, very helpful – but difficult to know if it's just wear and tear or an unlucky product failure.

Didn't realise Thermorests were lifetime warranty though.

Glad I read this post; had a Fat Airic a few years ago and it wasn't very robust – will happily invest in a Thermarest now after reading this.

I have a 3/4 Ultralite [unused] for sale if anyone is interested 🙂

We have 3 Fat Airics and they all go down slowly overnight (even when our 6 year old girl uses it), and you can feel the ground by the morning. Had them in them all in bath and there are not obvious leaks so I can only put it down to their construction. When I can afford I'm buying Thermarests.

bought 2 x wee arrics on the strength of the reviews all round

clearly people reviewing them hadnt used them for 1 or 2 nights maybe a week at most …

we tested ours out camping for 2 nights at moray – thought excellent these are great. packed them up for our 3 month cycle tour of nz.

2.5 weeks in we had mats that were as less useful than a piece of tarpaulin. both had delaminated within days of each other…..they blamed us storing them in a warm tent without deflating them during the day – which would be a reasonable excuse if we didnt pack our kit up and stick them in their drybags and into our panniers at the beginning of each day. Got a refund out of them as a good will gesture mind ….

thermarest – world wide replacement – any stockist will replace your mat provided you have a valid reason for replacement

currently using a kathmandu mat – which rrped at a similar price to thermarest but got it for 1/3rd price and it was all we could afford at the time.

Podium, Mail me details, Taylor_Daniel(AT)hotmail(DOT)co(DOT)uk

Cheers

they blamed us storing them in a warm tent without deflating them during the day

Is this instruction documented anywhere? I can't believe you have to inflate and deflate them daily. What a hassle.

several flats in my 1992 thermarest, all fixed with park glueless pathces.

One of our Fat Airics goes down overnight too. Had it in the bath twice and talked to Alpkit about it and can't figure out why. Less of an issue when our 18month old sleeps on it though.

Is this instruction documented anywhere? I can't believe you have to inflate and deflate them daily. What a hassle.

Undo the valve in the morning, top up with air and close the valve in the evening. Not really a lot of hassle is it?

More of a hassle than just blowing it up and leaving it. Never done this with my old Thermarest. And, yes, I am lazy 😉

But my main point is, I can't see anywhere online where Alpkit tells you to do this, so how can they then not warranty the product when it fails?

used 2x 3/4 thermarests for 75 days continuously in a tent (inflating/deflating each day) – pompino trip

Also used them for 60 days continuous (in campervan as an additional pad on top of the foam mattress) without any deflation/inflation. I think they required one half puff of air once to firm up after 50 odd days.

never a problem.

Now using one with a bivvy, and again no hassles. Sometimes they're stored rolled up for 6-9 months at a time.

Very reliable bit of kit.

My thermarest is 10 years old. Probably 300+ nights use. It hasn't punctured yet.

But my main point is, I can't see anywhere online where Alpkit tells you to do this, so how can they then not warranty the product when it fails?

No idea about Alpkit, but Cascade Designs do (http://cascadedesigns.com/Therm-A-Rest/FAQ)

Is it OK to leave my mattress inflated in my car or tent?
No. Don’t leave your mattress inflated in your car or tent on a hot day! The air trapped in the mattress will expand, and the heat can lead to fabric delamination or a burst pad and will not be covered by your warranty. You don’t have to roll it up as long as the valve is left open.

I always opened the valve on my Airic but then I left it under the skylight in the campervan on a scorching hot day and it delaminated due to the heat. Alpkit suggested ironing it which did indeed glue it back together and get rid of the bubble! Alas since then it also loses air very slowly overnight, so it's not quite back to normal yet. I wonder if tubeless sealant works in them? 🙂

hi

thermarests rock – had them for years – easy to fix WHEN they puncture as they will if you use them a lot – mine have done countless camping and multi week cycle tours – patches are easy to use – small puncs repair with just the glue – def advise buying a kit when you buy the mat too – i would avoid alpkit ones as mates had issues with them…

paul