Therm-A-Rest feature addition

Firstly i'll say hello. This is my first post here.

I dunno if anyone has seen the "REI Lite-Core 1.5 Self-Inflating Pad" or not, but its basically a Therm-a-rest with some anti-slip pads on it. They're basically rubbery circles on top of the pad. I recently started packing up a therm-a-rest prolite 3, and its great and all, but I did notice that when its fully blown up the slick nylon surfaces of the pad & sleeping bag cause me to slide off the pad (mostly on nights when i toss and turn). I can solve this fairly well by letting some air out of the pad, it even seems a bit more cushioned to do so.

Anyway, the rubber circles would solve that problem. (which is probably why REI's pad has them in their design). My idea is, maybe I could pour some patterns of rubber cement on it, or some kinda polyurethane-based adhesive or something (shoe goo? I'm not too sure what to use.) I don't think it would add any significant weight to the pad, and should act as a nice grip.

Anyone try out the REI Lite-Core 1.5 Self-Inflating Pad? are the grip circles that useful? does anyone know of any polyurethane-based stuff that would stick onto the pad and remain flexible and act as a grip for sleeping bag nylon?

Any ideas or feedback would be awesome thanks.

Several people use Seam Grip - it's basically what you're talking about. Some people even mix their own... silicone sealer + mineral spirits. It works well as a seam sealer and is less expensive.

So people have done this before? I wonder how long the stuff would stay stuck on there? pretty durable/peel off?

It's a common solution to the slippery pad problem. I'm not sure how long it would last. That just "depends" I guess. I have a tarp with seams sealed using the homemade solution. They seem to be fine, and the tarp is several year old. But... I haven't done that to a sleeping pad, I imagine your mileage might vary since you are laying on it and scooting around a little. Maybe others can address this question.

I would check with Thermarest before applying the silicon/mineral spirits mix. The mix is pretty well tested for use on silicon nylon but I have never heard anything about using it on the air-tight fabric used with Thermarest pads.

I am having a bit of a slick floor problem with my new Big Agnes Fly Creek. The floor looks a lot like silnylon but BA in an email to me recommended using McNett's Seam Grip for non-skid spots; not the silicon/mineral spirits mix.

You can just carry a piece of really cheap rubber non skid type shelf liner; and toss it on and under your T'rest to stay in place.

I have glued pieces of velcro to my thermarest with Seam Grip (which is not silicone), with success. Cascade designs even suggests Seam Grip as a repair material for pinhole punctures, so you can be sure it won't damage your mattress.

Welcome back, Earthling!!! It's wonderful to hear from you!

I used the silicon sealer on a Thermarest LE some years ago (before I switched to an air pad). Last I saw it, there appears to be no damage. And it did seem to help better than the stripes on the floor.

For my current NeoAir, I use a piece of 1/8" Thinlite under it (in anticipation of frost in high places), which seems to do the job. I did paint a few X's of Silnet on the Thinlite. I also put quite a bit of diluted Silnet on the floor of my Squall Classic, after its initial trip when I spent three nights chasing the NeoAir around the tent. The combination worked just fine on my latest trip.

Neither non-stick surfaces nor anything else devised can overcome the law of gravity, though!

I have seamgrip dots on my thermarest. I've put it through quite a bit, and they don't seem to be coming off. I'd say it is pretty durable.

I've made several big, full width Xs of silicone dots right from a caulking tube on my old full length UL Thermarest. I did it B/C I have a Contrail W/ a slippery silnylon floor. Works well. I'm sure the urethane SEAMGRIP would work too and may cost less.

Eric