Camping in the Smokies and saw a guy using a leaf blower to inflate his air mattress

It was at the Elkmont campground last weekend. He had this huge industrial blower going for like 15 minutes straight, and the mattress was barely half full. Has anyone else seen a truly bizarre gear hack that just did not work?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim6932mo ago

Was he trying to wake up the whole campground? That reminds me of a guy I saw trying to use a car battery and a bunch of jumper cables to power a string of patio lights. Sparks were flying everywhere, and he melted the plug. He just stood there looking at this blackened mess while his site was still totally dark. Some people just refuse to buy the right gear.

caleb_thomas852mo ago

I had a slow leak in my pad once and just used a regular trash bag. You trap air in it, then squeeze it into the valve. It's slow, but it's totally silent and got the job done when my pump died.

thea_wood862mo ago

Honestly, that's kind of genius. A leaf blower moves a ton of air, so the idea is solid. The real problem was probably just a cheap mattress with a slow valve.