Use in the field
Avoid using it on sharp surfaces, always make sure there is a groundsheet or tent footprint down first. Choose the smoothest surface to camp on, and remove surface rocks or sticks that may cause damage to the mat.
Expect your sleeping mat to get a bit dirty in the bush – this is something you can deal with at home. However, there are a few things worth cleaning up immediately if they come into contact with a sleeping mat. Insect repellent with DEET can damage material, and sap from trees can stick to material and be hard to remove. Wash off with a cloth soaked in water. If the sap is hard to remove, consider using alcohol wipes from the first aid kit.
When setting up your sleeping mat, over-inflate it slightly. When you lie down, release air until the mat feels super comfortable. Roll on your side and make sure that your hip is not touching the ground. If leaving camp set up for the day, especially in warmer months, release some air or leave the valve open to avoid the mat over-inflating as the air expands in the heat.
Repairs in the field
While a leaking air mat on a trip can be disheartening, to say the least, it’s usually fairly straightforward to fix with a repair kit. Remember, a repair done on a trip doesn’t have to be the final one, it’s just to make the mat functional until the end of the trip. Even if you don’t have patches designed for sleeping mat repairs, you may find that first aid kit tape suffices for the rest of the trip, and you can do a more thorough repair at home.
The first thing is to find the leak. Sometimes this is easy as you can hear the air leak or see a hole. Other times, this can be much harder, especially if there is a tiny hole or a really slow leak. In these cases, it works well to use water to identify the leak (for details, see Care and maintenance on the following page). However, you need to make a judgement: is it worth getting your sleeping mat wet? Are you able to dry it adequately before doing the repair and subsequently using it? If not, given that you have a slow leak, you may be better off just accepting the fact that the mat will leak a little over the course of the evening, and you need to re-inflate it during the night. This is usually a better option than sleeping on a wet mat, with a repair that needs to be done again and again. However, if you have good sun and warm conditions, and you can dry out the mat, then locating the hole by immersing the mat in still water is helpful. It may be possible to locate the leak with soapy water – bubbles will form. Do this away from water sources.
After finding the leak, let the leak area dry, then clean it with an alcohol-based wipe from a first aid kit. Then follow the patch instructions and glue. Some adhesives need time to dry before applying the patch, curing. In general, make sure that the patch covers at least ne centimeter surrounding the hole, but follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Fixing leaks on a seam can be more challenging, so take extra care to patch well.
