sleeping pad tethers

How do you all tether in an inflatable sleeping pad? I've got a newer Thermarest Xlite and the valve seems like it won't keep a clove-hitched cord on it. I'm a little hesitant to try to poke a hole in the edge of the pad -- too much risk of popping it. I figure just looping a sling around the middle of the pad while I sleep would probably do the job, but it seems a little insecure especially when pulling the pad out of the bag and when rolling it back up again in the morning.

Take a look at pad straps for down quilts.

Basically super thin cord that goes round the pad.

I put a double length sling around my pad inflated and duct taped it on. feels robust and hasn’t blown away yet 

Tape works fine.

Tape with cord.

Wait....you guys tether your sleeping pads?!?

Marlin Thormanwrote:

Wait....you guys tether your sleeping pads?!?

Thank you. I too don’t get what the fuck is going on.

Colonel Mustardwrote:

Thank you. I too don’t get what the fuck is going on.

Have you ever had your ledge fail? Everything has a tether for me!

WadeMwrote:

Have you ever had your ledge fail? Everything has a tether for me!

Ah, nope. I didn’t read the forum title, lol! Makes way more sense. Carry on.

WadeMwrote:

Have you ever had your ledge fail? Everything has a tether for me!

Ledge Failure?
that happens?

seems a little gear inspection could eliminate that? At least It has for me.. 

Quinn Hatfieldwrote:

Ledge Failure?
that happens?

seems a little gear inspection could eliminate that? At least It has for me.. 

tensioner buckle failed on my old A5. So not a complete failure but that corner dropped 2 ft and nearly shot me off at 2 am. Not much to inspect there…

Ooooffff! Yeah- that sucks!

I swapped out my A5 bed for Runout Customs.. metal buckles   

I have since upgraded to d4!

Kevin DeWeese wrote:

Inflatable pads go inside my sleeping bag 

I put my Portaledge inside my sleeping bag..

no tethers 

If it ain't clipped, it's gone. This is not Big Wall Theory; this is Big Wall Fact. 

I've never figured out a clip-in loop for my Thermarest. I put it inside my bivy sack. 

I sewed/glued a little webbing loop on the very corner of my thermarest, like this:

The shock cord tether also holds it rolled up.

The glue is a gutter sealant called GS-121 which is my absolute favorite multi-use glue.  It's ridiculously strong/durable (I patched holes in my haulbag with it!) and cures very flexible.  The only downside is that takes several days to fully cure, so it's not useful to bring up the wall.

Bonus tip: for most nights in a portaledge, a deflated sleeping pad (at least one with foam in it like this one) provides perfectly adequate insulation from convection heat losses.  Save yourself the time/annoyance of deflating a sleeping pad on a portaledge.

My REI Air Rail sleeping pad developed a fast leak on my last wall. Yup, it keeps you almost as warm when deflated.  

I know some folks that had the wind pick up their ledge and dump them out of it in the middle of the night.