Bushwalk Australia

Having not had an Exped mat fail yet, I didn't appreciate how bad it could be. All the internal seams on one half popped progressively as it was inflated, rendering it completely useless, and resulting in us having to bail on a night on Bogong. Very unimpressed. Whilst it's probably 4-5 yrs old, I doubt it would have been used more than 12-15 nights.

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I had the experience of being ejected off an aero-bed when the baffles gave way. It happened in a loud pop and was quite impressive.. even with the hard landing. Completely useless from then, couldn't even stay on..

Recall recently you mentioned having had no dramas with your mats.
Maybe make a nice pillow?

Yes, I did recently say that I'd had no problems with my other Exped mats - obviously I spoke too soon!!

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If anyone has a failed mat they're about to throw away, I'm looking for a valve and bits to disassemble and play with so I can try making my own heat sealed inflatable pillow. Happy to pay for postage !

Be happy to offload it, coz otherwise it's going in the bin.

Pm me.

andrewa would you mind adding your experience to this thread, for the sake of posterity/googleability?

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=27865

Added to other thread as requested.
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CasualNerd wrote:If anyone has a failed mat they're about to throw away, I'm looking for a valve and bits to disassemble and play with so I can try making my own heat sealed inflatable pillow. Happy to pay for postage !

I think I have one here I'll check and get back to you

Moondog55 wrote:I think I have one here I'll check and get back to you

andrewa has kindly sent me one to play with, but I'll wait to see what i can do it it before I take another

I have ordered a special mini iron I'm hoping will allow me to reseal it somehow, or at least learn more about how they're made and repaired.

CasualNerd wrote:I have ordered a special mini iron I'm hoping will allow me to reseal it somehow, or at least learn more about how they're made and repaired.

My UL7 blew out two baffles down the middle a week ago two days into a five day hike which made for some sleepless nights.
I am planning on doing some experimenting with it as well so I would be very interested to hear how you go.

Nerdtrails wrote:My UL7 blew out two baffles down the middle a week ago two days into a five day hike which made for some sleepless nights.
I am planning on doing some experimenting with it as well so I would be very interested to hear how you go.

A lot of people cut and reseal thermarests to shorten them without issue, but I haven't found anyone fixing expeds yet, which is weird being that they're so expensive, frequently fail, and probably constructed the same way.

CasualNerd wrote:A lot of people cut and reseal thermarests to shorten them without issue, but I haven't found anyone fixing expeds yet, which is weird being that they're so expensive, frequently fail, and probably constructed the same way.

Somebody posted a picture on the forum a while ago of partially cut open Exped showing how the baffle had torn inside and that it's a different type of material to the outer that may not be as easily bonded which may be the reason for people not being able to fix them.

In my case if two baffles had not failed 2/3rds the length of the pad down the centre starting at the valves I would have tried just cutting and shortening the pad or reducing the width if it was a side baffle.
Over all a bad spot for easy repairs unfortunately.

Nerdtrails wrote:Somebody posted a picture on the forum a while ago of partially cut open Exped showing how the baffle had torn inside and that it's a different type of material to the outer that may not be as easily bonded which may be the reason for people not being able to fix them.

I don't suppose you have a link ? I tried searching for this !

I've ordered some TPU tape too, maybe I'm a bit too hopeful but it's worth having a go.

CasualNerd wrote:I don't suppose you have a link ? I tried searching for this !

I've ordered some TPU tape too, maybe I'm a bit too hopeful but it's worth having a go.

Here you go http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=27919.

Thanks !

Looks like some wide TPU tape would make it possible to repair, but would be a fiddly job.

If anyone has a failed mat they should definitely cut it up and post some pics before tossing it !

So the exped opens up very easily with a mini heat sealing iron set at 200c, just warm the edge and pull it apart. Sadly it's a down mat so there's a mess of feathers making it a messy job.

The baffles failed in exactly the same way as those in the other thread (or at least the one baffle I've reached) by cracking through the connecting clear joining tape.

I think I can make some strips of lightweight TPU packraft material and seal them in at the original baffle locations and seal it all back up. Easier said than done, but who knows !

I'll be fascinated to see the outcome!

I've replaced it with another Exped UL downmat - but another Exped failure, and I'll be on to another brand.

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I was recently speaking to the manager of Bogong about this issue. The baffles don't pull away as such, they tear. He said that the UL type mats have had a different baffle material since 2017 which has resulted in significantly less issues. I have six exped mats, three of which are the burlier synmats( no problems, two Synmat 7 UL, one of which was replaced under warranty.

My Airmat 7 that has been sitting rolled up loosely under my bed for about 4 years delaminated with some impressive bangs when I inflated it yesterday. The downmat which had been sitting with it is so far fine.

If anyone in sydney or elsewhere wants the carcase...