Bought a $90 camp pad over a $40 one, and the cheap one lost all its air by 2am at Lake Ouachita
Went camping with my brother at Lake Ouachita two weekends back and he brought his $40 pad while I brought my $90 one. His went flat in the middle of the night both nights, so he ended up sleeping in his car while I was fine in my tent. The baffles on the cheap one just gave out, you could hear the air leaking out slow. I get wanting to save money but a bad night of sleep ruins the whole trip. Anyone else been burned by a cheap pad that seemed fine in the store?
Blaming the pad price is easy but maybe your brother just got unlucky. I've seen $40 pads last years and $120 ones spring a leak on night one because someone set up on a stray pine needle. Half of it comes down to how you inflate them too, blowing a ton of hot wet air in there overnight will wreck the inside of any pad no matter what you paid. Sounds like he also skipped a patch kit, which is the real rookie move here.