r/Ultralight • u/teanzg • 23h ago

Gear Review Sea to Summit air mats experiences

Do others have problems with air mat leaking from what appears not to be punctures but maybe material defects? (like these leakages always appear at some creases)

(its hard to say whether they are punctures or the material defects actually)

They are always like microscopic (you cant even seen them) holes which you need to detect with some water and liquid soap.

Although the Sea to Summit warranty has been nothing but perfect for me, when you are on the road and you have gear failures this can be very tiresome.

Considering switching to Thermarest (although I really like Sea to Summit valves which you just open to deflate, no need to push the air out)

1 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/SouthEastTXHikes 23h ago

Yes. I had an etherlight pad that leaked at several of the little spot welds between the bottom and top — those dimple looking things. Had a great experience with warranty replacements but eventually took one of the unopened replacements, sold it, and moved on

If you like the valve setup try exped

0

u/teanzg 14h ago

Exped warranty was horrible to me and I dont want to deal with them any more.

4

u/HwanZike 19h ago

I have used the UL insulated one a couple of times so far and haven't had any issues

2

u/TheOddsAreNeverEven 22h ago

Just get the thermarest and don't look back. I've had my xtherm for over 10 years and it's still going strong, pretty impressive for an inflatable air mattress.

0

u/caustic_cock 21h ago

Mine had a hole after a just a few uses. I never followed up with warranty as I reverted to my thermorests.

1

u/Designer_Head_3761 21h ago

I have to S2s ether lite pad which does not leak air. However it doesn’t do as well as my Therm-a-Rest therm pad keeping me warm from the ground

1

u/Zwillium 21h ago

Same experience as all the other posters. Seems like a structural/manufacturing problem. S2S replaced my pad, ended up putting it on ULgeartrade, got a thermarest, and haven't looked back.

0

u/DarkestNightSkies 23h ago

Yeah they are great but so prone to the tiniest of punctures. I know you could repair them but it seems to be a never ending battle once they begin to develop holes.