The $40 sleeping pad leak that taught me to deflate at home first

I bought a budget inflatable pad for $40 and packed it straight into the car for a weekend trip up near Lake Placid, only to find it hissing air by 2am on the first night. Turns out a tiny pinch in the storage bag had worn a weak spot right where the valve meets the fabric, and I didn't catch it because I never inflated it in my living room before leaving. Does anyone else do a full setup and leak check on new gear before they trust it on a real trip, or am I just the unlucky one here?

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lily_stone762mo ago

Wait, you actually don't inflate everything before you leave? I do a full setup in my bedroom for every new piece of gear, not just pads. Tents, stoves, even my camp chair gets a test run. That said, I once had a pad pass the living room test and still fail on site because the ground had a sharp rock I didn't clear. So were you able to patch it on the trip, or did you sleep on the car floor for the rest of the weekend?

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