i recently have thought it would be a good idea to have a ccf pad as a back up for the exped down air mat (DAM) in cold weather. but this past week end i choose not to take one.
wouldn't you know it... i was inflating it for the night (about 10:30pm) when i noticed that it wasn't inflating.
i discovered the center of the valve had popped out, leaving a hole a little smaller than a pencil to let air out.
there were not many trees to choose from in the site BB was set up in, and the two trees i ended up using were further apart than i needed.
the webbing i had on that hammock was from wal-mart & that turned out to be to big of a stretch for it.
it kept letting me sink down, even after i readjusted it.
after re-tightening it a couple times it seemed to be ok, but when i went to bed, it let me sink to the ground again.
i was afraid that if i kept on re-tightening it, it would break, so i decided to let my back-side rest on the ground. that seemed to take enough weight off the hammock to keep most of me slightly suspended, so most of the insulated hammock was uncompressed.
but then came the valve failure
so i found a stick just the right size w/ a slight taper, carved the end that would be showing smooth, & glued it into the hole w/ the adhesive that came w/ the pad.
i let it sit on the ground w/ a rock resting on it to keep the stick snug for about 20 min, then put it on top of me in the hammock w/ the valve at my underarm for a while to get warmth to continue curing.http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...5/P2170011.JPG
it held air most of the night, but by morn i was touching bottom in places. but it still was filling in the edges w/ warmth. and i had put my empty pack under the hammock so as i touched the ground i would be resting on it (& a couple other things).http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...5/P2180051.JPG
any way, i was nice & warm most of the night, but cool on the bottom by morn... but not cold enough to try putting more air in the DAM.
any one else herd of an exped DAM valve prob?
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