Bushwalk Australia

I can't find it!

The mat was purchased in 2009. And I've spent 150+ nights on it at a conservative count. This will be the first time I've had to patch it.

It stays hard when pumped and not in use, but goes down over night and is 'just' uncomfortable after 6 hours (less if it's cold)
I've crawled all over it in the bath, I've soapy watered it and watched for bubbles. Having patched literally 100's of bicycle tubes it's not like I'm new to finding holes.... Any idea's?

I don't want to keep waking up to blow it up in the middle of the night or worse have it fail and not be able to find the hole mid trip.

Dirty seal? Or force really hard and try to force open the leak point.

GPSGuided wrote:Dirty seal? Or force really hard and try to force open the leak point.

X2 sometimes a bit of the insulation (tiny fibres) can hold the inflation valve from sealing properly.

How much pressure is in the mat when you have it in the bath? Maybe you need maximum pressure and a larger vessel to make it easier to find?

robbieb wrote:How much pressure is in the mat when you have it in the bath? Maybe you need maximum pressure and a larger vessel to make it easier to find?

Not a good idea to put high pressure into a Synmat there's a very good chance you'll separate the seams between the "ribs" and the mat will be permanently kaput.

Hey drakkar, I would suggest its the sealer plug that goes into the mat not seating properly also check that the little soft rubber seal, green I think on the deflate and grey on the inflate are both seated correctly too.

You have had a pretty good run out of it for 150 nights so it's cost you $1.33 per night to sleep comfortably which is pretty good value for money [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND SMILING EYES]


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I realise I've got my money's worth. But it seems silly to move on something that should be an easy fix.

I'd also rather spend that $200 for fuel and food for my next adventure rather.

I'll spend some more time in the bath twisting moving it too see... Points on pressure noted. Thanks

drakkar wrote:It stays hard when pumped and not in use, but goes down over night and is 'just' uncomfortable after 6 hours (less if it's cold)
I've crawled all over it in the bath, I've soapy watered it and watched for bubbles. Having patched literally 100's of bicycle tubes it's not like I'm new to finding holes.... Any idea's?

Warm to hot bath ... just hotter enough to be able to keep your hands in it. Makes a heap of difference finding those tiny holes. I had the same problem with mine; couldn't find the leaks, read about using a warm to hot bath and bingo all sorted.

neilmny wrote:

robbieb wrote:How much pressure is in the mat when you have it in the bath? Maybe you need maximum pressure and a larger vessel to make it easier to find?

Not a good idea to put high pressure into a Synmat there's a very good chance you'll separate the seams between the "ribs" and the mat will be permanently kaput.

I wasn't suggesting high pressure, just more than what would normally make it easy to fold over and inspect in a normal bath. If you can pump it up firm, it will give more chance of finding a leak.

Pressure is proportionally related to temperature and volume. Change volume, either by pumping more air in, or laying on the mat / Folding / Squeezing etc, and pressure will increase. A warm bath will also raise the pressure in the mat. As long as it doesn't exceed the rated pressure (I don't know what that is) then the seams should hold no differently to a person laying on it.

I have heard and seen the internal baffles let go on Exped mats, thankfully it hasn't happened to my Synmat 7 pump, but I did need the bath to find a pin prick hole that caused me issues for 3 nights in Pine Valley

Found the F$:@#%}G thing.

The hole is right in the centre of two ribs, so when I pressed down on it they squeezed together and stopped it.

New house, bigger bath, and a last ditch effort to save me having to buy a new mat before my trip over New Years.... it's now in the back of my mind though, this is the third hole in as many trips. Which makes me think the base has now worn down from lightweight to stupid thin.

Well you could dilute some silly cone with turps and paint the outside, which is how I stopped the slow leaks in my Mountain Designs mat [ I got tired of returning them for an exchange] and so far 60 nights in a row last winter it is still airtight

Good tip. Thanks.