Leaking sleeping mat . Best way to find and repair

[Slacker]

After a uncomfortable night on Ruabon Mountain I need to find and repair leaks in my mat .
So what are your top tips on finding leaks and what do you use to repair them ??

[Bearbonesnorm]

What type of mat is it?

[JohnClimber]

Fill a paddling pool with water (or a bath), fill your mattress with air put it on the water and stand on it to hold it under water and look for the bubbles.

Mark the holes, dry the mattress and use these http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_273923

Cured 2 holes in my Neo Air last year and it's working perfectly now

[Slacker]

alp kit wee eric and the bigger one .

[Bearbonesnorm]

alp kit wee eric and the bigger one .

What John describes will find the leaks but you really don't want to allow the mat to draw any water inside itself ... as long as you inflate it as much as possible and keep pressure applied to it you should be fine.

If the seams are leaking you could try running a hot(ish) iron across them.

[Slacker]

Thanks both, I am sure I have some of those patches, they were pretty naff at sealing tubes .
never even thought of water getting in !! Will give it a go tomorrow

[Gari]

A bowl of water with lots of washing up liquid in it. Inflate the mat as hard as you can and if poss leave in a warm room for a while(increases the pressure in the mat) then simply spread the water around on the surface of the mat liberally, any leaks should show up as bubbles in the liquid. Saves any immersion too.
Lost count of the amount of WW rafts I have repaired using this method, industry standard
Don't skrimp on the washing up liquid!!