MAJOR repair advice

**Ladybird** · 03-15-2011, 14:04

I bought a thermarest 1.5 used, knowing it had some leaks, and figuresd for $25, it was worth the trouble. I think the last owner slept on a cactus. There are about 80+ teeny holes on the underside. So I was wondering if there was a possibility to bond an entire piece of fabric to the pad instead of a million little patches. I was thinking about finding some ripstop, and using a boat load of the hot glue to bond it. Any suggestions? Should I just trash it?

**Shug** · 03-15-2011, 14:11

It might work .....If it were me I would use contact cement rather than hot glue.
good luck on that.
Shug

**fred1diver** · 03-15-2011, 14:11

I would advise against adding a complete panel, but find grouping of holes and making a decent size patch would be better, I don't think ripstop would be a good choice, I suggest you take it one step at a time and take your time to do a good job! otherwise it could delaminate or you could miss some holes

I wonder if silicone would stick to the pad, if so just plug the holes with a thin layer of it!

**essbee** · 03-15-2011, 14:18

I don't think you will be happy after all your trouble. It will be pretty difficult to seal that many holes. Are you sure they are holes and not the material just breaking down? You will also add appreciable weight even if you do manage to plug the holes.

**Ladybird** · 03-15-2011, 14:38

I thought about silcone too. There are holes, I submerged it to try to find the leak, and the whole thing just started bubbling away. ...but now that you say it could be the material breaking down ... might be. I might try a few different techniques and not worry about a permanent fix for now. I also emailed the company to see if they can repair an entire side.