been looking too
Had one years ago - hard to find.
Thanks for link to Le Baron - have friend sending a World Famous Chevron. Will let you know how it works out.
CC
Why waste money on expensive…
brand-name crap when you can go to your closest military surplus and buy a well-built, heavy-duty air mattress that’s cheaper & will last a lot longer?
Your nearby military surplus
actually has military surplus? Mine doesn’t, oh maybe the odd canteen cover or helmet liner but otherwise “made in China.”
Caveat emptor
Take REI sales reps’ words with several grains of salt. I was buying a second pinch light after being impressed with the first one of its brand I’d bought. The sales guy tried to get me to buy another brand (which I already own and find inferior despite its higher price). He said that the one I was going to buy wouldn’t do this that and the other–I told him it was in Demo Mode and promptly took it out of same, then showed him its capabilities. He didn’t know the products well enough to be making such negative comments!
Proper storage
I’m of the type that buy the best and not worry about it. Having said that, my ex-ex-whatever didn’t “buy” into my philosophy… so one of the cheapie item is this Coleman air mattress from K’mart! And I was sure as hell it wouldn’t have last 3 trips…
What I didn’t count on is my ex was ultra-anal on cleanliness and tidiness!
So, whenever we break camp, we would both be kneeling there in the tent WIPING down both top and bottom side of the air mattresse so not a single piece of dirt would remain on the air mattresse!!!
The el cheapo air mattreses lasted several seasons and was still air tight!
My thinking is, the walls of the cheap mattress are probably made of less abrasive-resistant material. But by wiping it ultra-clean, we eliminate ANYTHING that might rub or chew on the thin wall. So the mattresse stay air tight throught several years of use.
I could never be bothered to be so careful with my mattresse. But if you want to save money by buying cheap mattress, you might do well by being extra careful in cleaning it up after every use.
You do get what you pay for
Buy thermarest. You deserve it!
Fix A Flat
I doubt Fixaflat would work. It is meant to roll around on the inside of a tire, hopefully coating the leak area. Think about what would happen in an air mattress: pooling of product on bottom, blow out of product from valve upon deflation, lips glued to valve…
I tend to sleep on my sides/back/anyplace in between so I need a nice thick & comfy mattress. I bought a pair of Gander Mtn self inflating mattresses that I am pretty sure are 4" thick, wide enough to fit my shoulders, and plenty long enough for my 6’ height. I think it may be the Grizzly model and expect to pay $80 or so. Have used it for a couple years now without any problems. It’s actually pretty comfy uninflated! The only drawbacks are the weight of about 7.5 lbs, and the effort required to deflate.
Tom
AquaSeal might work
Or Gorilla Tape.