That cheap air mattress I bought for hostels popped on night 2 in Prague

I was staying at the Mosaic House hostel in Prague last month and decided to save money by using my own air mattress instead of paying extra for a proper bed. It was one of those 15 dollar vinyl ones from a random shop. On the second night I woke up at 3am flat on the floor with a hissing sound coming from a seam. I tried patching it with duct tape from the front desk but it just peeled off after 10 minutes. Ended up sleeping on the hostel couch for the rest of the trip which was actually fine but my back hated me. Anyone else have a travel gear failure that forced a weird backup plan?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sarah29d ago

Did you check if the air mattress was actually meant for camping and not just for home use? I had a similar disaster with a cheap sleeping bag last year in a national park, it was so thin I woke up shivering with pine needles stuck all over me. Ended up wrapping myself in a shower curtain from the campsite store just to cut the wind, looked ridiculous but worked for the night. That duct tape trick never holds for long on vinyl, I've learned the hard way too.

umasullivan29d ago

@the_sarah you nailed it with the sleeping bag story, people just don't check the R-value or ground rating before they buy. It's like buying a tent off Amazon without looking at the season rating - you end up with a soggy mess at the first sign of rain. That duct tape thing is a classic trap too, I've seen folks patch their air mattresses three times before giving up and sleeping on the ground. The real trick is putting a cheap foam pad underneath the mattress, stops the cold AND protects the vinyl from rocks. But people skip that step because they think they're saving space, then spend the whole night cursing like you did.