Don't buy the REI Flash Sleeping Pad!!!

Over the years I have bought quite a few sleeping pads at the REI garage sale to patch up. Consider it a hobby. (I have sold them for cheap for all 6 of my family members and a few friends). During the last sale, I picked up 4 pads, 3 of which were REI Flash brand.
(One regular wide, one regular regular, one 4season regular)

When I went to patch them, I found that they all were not leaking from a scratch or puncture, but they all have a defect in the welded seams.

Enjoy:
Shown here

What a terribly made product. Comically so.
But ultimately REI stands behind their products, so buy it and return it if you want. I don't care.

Caleb Schwarz wrote: Over the years I have bought quite a few sleeping pads at the REI garage sale to patch up. Consider it a hobby. (I have sold them for cheap for all 6 of my family members and a few friends). During the last sale, I picked up 4 pads, 3 of which were REI Flash brand.
(One regular wide, one regular regular, one 4season regular)

When I went to patch them, I found that they all were not leaking from a scratch or puncture, but they all have a defect in the welded seams.

Enjoy:
Shown here

What a terribly made product. Comically so.
But ultimately REI stands behind their products, so buy it and return it if you want. I don't care.

I consider this a PSA....thanks.  How about the Big Agnes sleep pads? I am in the market for one.

If you get a good one they are actually very nice pads. Comfortable and easy to inflate. Unfortunately many have problems with seams. 

I had one of the REI pads (old grey flash) and when it started leaking I dunked it in the tub and found it leaking from the entire face.  The "airproofing" had failed

I will not buy another one.  Brand name Thermarest been going strong for like 8 years now.

Buck Rio wrote:

I consider this a PSA....thanks.  How about the Big Agnes sleep pads? I am in the market for one.

Go w/ Sea to Summit. They've had 0 delaminations and seam issues and only 23 issues with their valves....ever. Their QC is ridiculous. I know a rep and have met with one of their product designers. 

+1 on the Thermarest.  Mine's still going strong after 9 years of abuse.  Klymit has some great stuff too - if you can afford it.

Buck Rio wrote:

I consider this a PSA....thanks.  How about the Big Agnes sleep pads? I am in the market for one.

I have two BA pads and a tent. All 3 have been fantastic so far. The newer pad design with the 2 part valve for quick deflating is SO much better than their old design. 

RockinOut wrote:

Go w/ Sea to Summit. They've had 0 delaminations and seam issues and only 23 issues with their valves....ever. Their QC is ridiculous. I know a rep and have met with one of their product designers. 

i learned my lesson with a Sea to Summit "dry" bag.  shit if you ask me.  

Nathan G wrote:

I have two BA pads and a tent. All 3 have been fantastic so far. The newer pad design with the 2 part valve for quick deflating is SO much better than their old design. 

I currently have two Therm-a-rest "car camping" type pads, and both have seam separations....but they are also like 25+ years old. 

I hate sleeping on the ground, so I want a pad that feels like I am in a bed.  Weight is no problem, I will not be carrying it in a pack ever.

I've been through tons of pads in the last few years and I've actually had really good luck with the newest flash surprisingly. Possibly one of the best I've owned. Big Agnes pads are comfy, but I've popped 2, likely my fault though.

This is the one

​https://www.rei.com/product/110723/rei-co-op-flash-insulated-air-sleeping-pad​​​

If weight is not an issue and you only have a few bucks, the LightSpeed branded pads at Costco are hella-cheap and work really well, been using mine for about 3.5 years now. These are CAR CAMPING only as they are three inches and bulky, but they work well, are great Thermarest knockoffs and give plenty of padding. A video showing them is below. Not sure if ALL Costco's have them. Tis a real bummer about the Flash pads, but why reinvent the wheel??? Cheers. 
https://video.costco.com/v/1644436618/light-speed-outdoors-3-deluxe-pad-slash-shelters-tents/

I have bought three Thermarest pads over the years, because I wanted different weights/R-values. My highest-R pad is the oldest and still going strong after 8 years--I slept on almost every nigth for a month this past December/January. The lightest pad hasn't been used in a while because I don't do ultralight hiking as much any more, but back in the day I used it more often than the highest-R pad, and it's still going strong after 7 years.

Redyns wrote:

i learned my lesson with a Sea to Summit "dry" bag.  shit if you ask me.  

I have a Sea to Summit dry bag. 8 years later, still going strong. Maybe you got a lemon or abused the crap out of it?

Caleb Schwarz wrote: Over the years I have bought quite a few sleeping pads at the REI garage sale to patch up. Consider it a hobby. (I have sold them for cheap for all 6 of my family members and a few friends). During the last sale, I picked up 4 pads, 3 of which were REI Flash brand.
(One regular wide, one regular regular, one 4season regular)

When I went to patch them, I found that they all were not leaking from a scratch or puncture, but they all have a defect in the welded seams.

Enjoy:
Shown here

What a terribly made product. Comically so.
But ultimately REI stands behind their products, so buy it and return it if you want. I don't care.

Thank you for the heads up Caleb!

Time will tell, but mine has treated me well so far even open on rock bivy's on the captain! (the more yellow pad under the purple quilt)

my buddy had a self inflating thermarest go figure

Apparently regardless of the brand it seems YMMV 

Caleb Schwarz wrote: Over the years I have bought quite a few sleeping pads at the REI garage sale to patch up. Consider it a hobby. (I have sold them for cheap for all 6 of my family members and a few friends). During the last sale, I picked up 4 pads, 3 of which were REI Flash brand.
(One regular wide, one regular regular, one 4season regular)

When I went to patch them, I found that they all were not leaking from a scratch or puncture, but they all have a defect in the welded seams.

Enjoy:
Shown here

What a terribly made product. Comically so.
But ultimately REI stands behind their products, so buy it and return it if you want. I don't care.

Comical indeed! That's not a leak that's a sieve! 

Thanks for sharing. I have owned a dozen or so pads over the years. Out of 4 inflatable Thermarests, only one developed an issue. It wasn't even a catastrophic failure, but it developed a large bubble in the middle that made it much less comfortable. 3/3 Exped pads failed. 1/1 Klymit failed. Can't remember what others I've had.

Just remembered my GF had a Thermarest that failed on one of our first dates. Despite my protests and offering up my pad she slept on the rope that night. Keeper.

Just want to throw my 2cents for exped pads. They aren’t the lightest but super firm and durable and have a built in hand pump. Mine has seen lots of abuse and is still rocking.

My thermarest ( ultralight style at the time) has been going strong for 16 yrs!

Just to echo everyone, the thermarest x-lite and x-therm can't be beat. Incredibly easy to patch and the valve can be replaced for $6 in minutes.

My personal favorite is my size large x-lite (25" wide) cut down and resealed to 3/4 length. I'm 5'9" and have wide shoulders so it's perfect. Weighs in at 11.8oz.

Caleb Schwarz wrote: 

My personal favorite is my size large x-lite (25" wide) cut down and resealed to 3/4 length. 

What was your technique to reseal. I tried that once and it didn’t last long at all.