Slidin' on Therm-A-Rest
Dirk van Assendelft
Therm-A-Rest "mattress". It is wonderful, except for one thing. There
is no friction between my sleeping bag and the Therm-A-Rest, and
consequently, I keep sliding off. Does anyone have any suggestion for
"fixing" this problem, such as an add-on to the Therm-A-Rest?
Dirk van Assendelft Computer/Network Specialist for Law
dvan...@wlu.edu Washington and Lee Univerity
(703)463-8582
David Paul
>I have finally traded in my old Army issue foam pad for a standard
>Therm-A-Rest "mattress". It is wonderful, except for one thing. There
>is no friction between my sleeping bag and the Therm-A-Rest, and
>consequently, I keep sliding off. Does anyone have any suggestion for
>"fixing" this problem, such as an add-on to the Therm-A-Rest?
Campmor (800)CAMPMOR sells a rubber belt that wraps around the matress and
keeps this from happening. You probably could get them somewhere else also.
Peter L. Hurd
>I have finally traded in my old Army issue foam pad for a standard
>Therm-A-Rest "mattress". It is wonderful, except for one thing. There
>is no friction between my sleeping bag and the Therm-A-Rest, and
>consequently, I keep sliding off. Does anyone have any suggestion for
>"fixing" this problem, such as an add-on to the Therm-A-Rest?
Let some air out. I slide off a really full thermarest (unless both it &
I are in a bivy sac) but if it's not so full, I have no problem, at
least not on moderate slopes...
--
Pete Hurd pe...@zool.su.se
Zoologiska Institutionen Ph# 46-8-16-40-37
Stockholms Universitetet Fax 46-8-16-77-15
Stockholm S-106 91 Sweden http://mule.zool.su.se/pete.html
Jon Heaton
: dvan...@liberty.uc.wlu.edu (Dirk van Assendelft) writes:
: >is no friction between my sleeping bag and the Therm-A-Rest, and
: >consequently, I keep sliding off. Does anyone have any suggestion for
: >"fixing" this problem, such as an add-on to the Therm-A-Rest?
You should be able to buy velcro by the yard at your local sewing shop.
Just sew a swatch to your thermarest and then sew the mate to the bottom
of your sleeping bag and you are all set! *innocent gaze*
Jon ;-)
Marlin T. McKamey
Dirk:
That problem is addressed in the "Complete Walker III" by Colin
Fletcher. I forget exactly what he says to do about it, but it's in there
and it's not harmful to your bag.
Mac
KMacM
dvan...@liberty.uc.wlu.edu (Dirk van Assendelft) writes:
Re: Slidin' on Therm-A-Rest problem
Yep; it's a problem, alright; you'll slide on even the most level of
campsites! You can purchase a "anti-sliding" device from Campmor, et al
that slips around the pad and gives you a little purchase. If you want to
go the cheap, easy and light way, tho, I'd suggest a couple of pieces of
velcro; you can glue the stiff portion on the pad, and lightly stitch the
soft portion to your bag, at whatever point is comfortable for you, and it
works just fine! Takes very little, really (less than you'd think) to
hold the bag in place; the worst of the sliding is definitely cumulative;
it takes quite a bit of tossing and turning! So--that takes care of the
bag sliding on the Therm-a-rest; for the pad sliding on the tent, that's
another fix; for car camping, we use double pads; really helps keep the
floor of your tent from taking a beating; we use old blue foam on the tent
floor, then the Therm-a-rest and Ridge-rest on top. I'd also bet that the
woven runners you put under throw rugs to keep from slipping would work,
too; they're cheap and lightweight, also.
Good luck!
envyTHEdead
Richard Warren
They (?) make a no-slip band for the Thermarest. They are
probably sold at REI and etc. The material itself is sold at
RV dealers as non-skid material on a roll. By the way
I love my thermarest and have never had a bad night's
sleep on it. My brother packed his tent one morning and
discovered that he had been sleeping on a walnut all night.
Richard Warren
Raleigh, NC
Tom Bigham
> There is no friction between my sleeping bag and the Therm-A-Rest, and
> consequently, I keep sliding off. Does anyone have any suggestion for
> "fixing" this problem, such as an add-on to the Therm-A-Rest?
>
I've seen those rubbery spider mat things that you slip over your
Therm-A-Rest to create some friction. They aren't real cheap, and
wouldn't you end up with half of it wasted on the side your not sleeping
on (or does it slide on the ground too?)? Anyway, how about buying a set
of those funky stick-on rubber flowers that keep you from slipping in the
bath tub?
--
t. holland bigham
biological sciences, purdue university
"which did come first, the chicken or the egg?"
Scott Kathe
correctly the Therm-A-Rest people sold an aerosol can of some type of
adhesive that you simply spray on both side of the pad. You need to spray
the bottom too, so the pad won't slip out from under you. This is a problem
you probably haven't encountered yet. I got this stuff about five years ago
and I don't know if it is still out there--but it worked great:) You just
need to shell out more money to the Therm-A-Rest people:(
Scott
Eric Lowe
>
> >I have finally traded in my old Army issue foam pad for a standard
> >Therm-A-Rest "mattress". It is wonderful, except for one thing. There
> >is no friction between my sleeping bag and the Therm-A-Rest, and
> >consequently, I keep sliding off. Does anyone have any suggestion for
> >"fixing" this problem, such as an add-on to the Therm-A-Rest?
I suffered the same problem when I first got my Therm-a-rest. Being a
'mover and shaker' when I sleep I almost always woke up on the cold, hard
tent floor rather than the comfy, warm Therm-a Rest. Something had to be
done!
I went down to my local marine outlet and purchased some rubbery stuff
called "Scoot-Gard". S.G. is basically a soft rubber mesh that's designed
to stop things from sliding off a table while boating. It comes in a roll
and is sold by the foot. I bought about 3', at a cost of cdn$2.25, and put
it between my sleeping bag and the T.R. Haven't slid off since.
Great Stuff. "Scoot-Gard". Ask for it by name.
--
/~~~~~~~~/
/ /~~~~~~ Eric Lowe
/ ~~~~/ /~~/ El...@galaxy.gov.bc.ca
/ /~~~~~ / / "just my two cents..."
/ ~~~~~~/ / /
~~~~~~~~~~ / /
/ ~~~~~~/
~~~~~~~~~~
Paul Rubin
Dirk van Assendelft <dvan...@liberty.uc.wlu.edu> wrote:
>I have finally traded in my old Army issue foam pad for a standard
>Therm-A-Rest "mattress". It is wonderful, except for one thing. There
>is no friction between my sleeping bag and the Therm-A-Rest, and
>consequently, I keep sliding off. Does anyone have any suggestion for
>"fixing" this problem, such as an add-on to the Therm-A-Rest?
There are various solutions:
1) REI sells a elastic web thing that slides over the thermarest
and adds friction across a foot-wide band.
2) I remember seeing some kind of cloth cover that zipped over the
whole thermarest in a camping store once. This looked nice
but I didn't want to carry the extra weight.
3) I think there is some kind of stuff you can spray onto the thermarest
that changes the texture. I don't know where to get it, how often
you have to renew it, whether it destroys ozone, etc.
4) The thermarest mfgr has finally recognized the problem; recent
thermarest models (Deluxe LE or whatever) are covered with a
new fabric that isn't slippery.
Mike Quigley
You have to break the nylon/nylon contact.
Bill Blair
>From: mcka...@halcyon.com (Marlin T. McKamey)
>Subject: Re: Slidin' on Therm-A-Rest
>Date: 6 Oct 1994 01:49:47 GMT
> Dirk:
> Mac
or get a thermarest spider
Also I heard they have a spray
myself - I always try to find flattish camp sites anyway
B2
--------------------------------------------------------------
W.D. Blair
Communications Integration Group
Defence Science and Technology Organisation
Fern Hill Park A.C.T.
Ph: (06) 265 8016 Fax: (06) 265 8030
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Todd Ourston
: I have finally traded in my old Army issue foam pad for a standard
: is no friction between my sleeping bag and the Therm-A-Rest, and
: consequently, I keep sliding off. Does anyone have any suggestion for
: "fixing" this problem, such as an add-on to the Therm-A-Rest?
A few years ago, I bought a small aerosol can of some stuff that leaves a
tacky surface on Therm-A-Rests. I sprayed it on my Therm-A-Rests, waited
a couple of hours before packing them away, and I have not had a problem
with sliding since then.
As I recall, the product was specifically intended for use with
Therm-A-Rests, and it may have been marketed by Therm-A-Rest. Ask a few
backpacking shops about it and perhaps you'll turn up someone who carries
the product.
One thing to keep in mind if you use the spray, however: you don't want
to spray both sides of your pad because the tacky surface will collect
dirt and debris if you place it on the ground. Even if you always use a
tent or a ground cloth, you may run into trouble if you rollup your pad
on the ground.
Deanna Bergstrom
: I had this problem when I first got my Therm-A-Rest too. If I remember
I did this to my Thermarest 6 or 7 years ago....I just decided it
needed doing again this year, and found my can of spray stuff
had clogged up. Cascade Designs (maker of ThermaRest) still makes
the stuff, so I bought another can and spray my and my SO's
Thermarests. Slip-free sleep again.
If you use this stuff, don't over-do it. It only takes a very
light spray to make the mat non-slip. If you use a light
spray, you won't have problems with picking up dirt, and it'll
still last for years.
Deanna
Bill Tuthill
: 4) The thermarest mfgr has finally recognized the problem; recent
: thermarest models (Deluxe LE or whatever) are covered with a
: new fabric that isn't slippery.
Yep, my wife got one of them Deluxe LEs or whatever. It weighs the
same as the regular rust-colored Thermarest but is 1/2" thicker when
inflated. They achieve weight savings by having strips of hollowed-out
foam. The aqua color is nice, but it takes longer to dry because the
non-slip knit fabric is more porous than the traditional rust nylon.
Considering the price ($90) I would recommend the regular kind ($55).
This past summer, Cascade switched the regular from two-sided rust
nylon to dirt-resistant tan oxford-weave bottoms with non-slip green
knit-weave tops. Price is still $55. Has anybody tried one of these,
and is it worth switching? The trouble with Thermarests is that they
last so long you seldom have to buy a new one. I'm still using the
old metal-valve type that takes 2 hours to self-inflate.
Ed Wall
: Jon ;-)
You could also purchase the material that goes on the back of a rug
to keep it from sliding. Or you could stick those things you put on
the bottom of a bathtub, onto your mat.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
wal...@cig.mot.com | "Sometime the lights are shining on me;
Ed Wall - System/Network Support | other times I can barely see. Lately it
ITS Admin - Motorola Inc. | occurs to me, what a long strange trip
W: (708) 632-2313 | its been." (Garcia, et al)
Michael Ely
>same as the regular rust-colored Thermarest but is 1/2" thicker when
>inflated. They achieve weight savings by having strips of hollowed-out
>foam. The aqua color is nice, but it takes longer to dry because the
>non-slip knit fabric is more porous than the traditional rust nylon.
>Considering the price ($90) I would recommend the regular kind ($55).
I use a spider mat rapped around my ThermoRest Ultralight and it works fine
for me. I just leave the mat on it when I roll it up. I dont know what the
mat weights, but I never notice it. TTYL
Mike
richard hihn
: is no friction between my sleeping bag and the Therm-A-Rest, and
: consequently, I keep sliding off. Does anyone have any suggestion for
: "fixing" this problem, such as an add-on to the Therm-A-Rest?
I understand there is something which can be sprayed on the mattress
which will create friction and thus prevent the problem. I think
someone on this group said they fashioned some sort of cover made of
non-slip material (velcro?) and attached it to the mattress. I just
make do with the original mattress. Someone suggested doing without
the mattress altogether...we really don't NEED one!
Dick
: Dirk van Assendelft Computer/Network Specialist for Law
Dan Hanson
the mattress altogether...we really don't NEED one!
Dick
--
If you are going without a mattress, you are obviously not making
camp where I do, usually it is cold (canadian rocky mountains)
and rather rocky in some places. I think a mattress is
neccessary if only for insulation purposes. (either that or camp
all the time with a bag rated to -40 Celcius) just my 2 cents
worth.
Elf
--
Lawson Benjamin W
: Re: Slidin' on Therm-A-Rest problem
[whack]
: go the cheap, easy and light way, I'd suggest a couple of pieces of
: velcro; you can glue the stiff portion on the pad, and lightly stitch the
: soft portion to your bag, at whatever point is comfortable for you, and it
: works just fine! Takes very little, really (less than you'd think) to...
It's also a good way to add a little ventilation, too ;)
Your local supplier should carry a spray adhesive -- the name of which
eludes me for the moment. They should stock it next to the pads if they
know what the hell they're doing. All you do is spray it on your pad in
a well ventilated area, wait until it dries (about an hour) and voila!
No more sliding. Don't know if it's suppesed to wear off, but I haven't
had to re-spray mine yet. I guess if your pad slides on the floor of
your tent you could spray both sides... never had that prob, personally.
--
Ben Lawson * "Specialization is for insects."
bwl...@nic.smsu.edu * --Robert A. Heinlein
Eric Lowe
think about that phrase for a second), and it seem to be a bone of
contention for so many netters out there, why not just get a different
sleeping pad?
The Air-O-Lite pad is simply closed cell foam, cut in a retangle. Oh sure
it's bulkier, and not as *cool* looking, but it's lighter and it works.
Hey, and there's almost no slipping. Closed cell foam insulates fairly
well, it's soft enough, durable, self inflating, and CHEAP!
BTW, I got a Therm-A-Rest four years ago for Christmas and I use it all
the time (with Scoot-Guad rubber webbing to stop the slipping). I am only
suggesting another alternative. Sometimes having the popular equipment
isn't always the best equipment.