Farewell, my 21+ year old Thermarest mattress!

[WalkaboutTed]

I think I killed it, though.  It was a double mattress I bought in 1996 at REI for $120 with the annual dividend/sale.  I noticed on my last trip to New Mexico that my husband's side wwoudn't stay inflated. How convenient. 

Since I've owned it, too many times to count, have I inflated it fully (I like a firm mattress) and then gone up to 8000-9000 feet or more.  Then "oops!", sometimes I would notice it and let a little air out, just a little late.  That mattress has seen quite a workout over the decades.  

So, goodbye, Thermarest, hello memory foam 6 inch mattress!
Ted

 

[WanderingCanuck]

Only 21 years?? Patch it up! ;-)

 

[masterplumber]

Going up in altitude reminds me of my first air mattress experience. Not a Thermarest but rather a queen size velour topped model I bought in the eighties so my wife and I would be comfortable on our trip to check out Colorado before moving here. I pumped it up with a shop vac in California at basically sea level. The first night was great and we got a good sleep. The second day we drove to the top of Mount Evans. Woke up in the morning to a flat mattress and no amount of patching would resurrect it. I think we blew every seam in the thing. Funny thing is, I still have it all these years later - it makes a great tarp.