Traded my inflatable pad for a foam one at 2am in a rainstorm

Last month on the Appalachian Trail near Damascus, my inflatable sleeping pad sprang a leak around 2am. I had two options: patch it with the kit I brought and hope the seam held, or drive 45 minutes to the nearest Walmart and grab a $35 closed-cell foam pad. I picked the patch at first, but after 20 minutes of hunting for the hole in the dark with my headlamp, I gave up and did the drive. That foam pad was stiff and noisy, but I slept better on a gravel bed than I ever did on that overpriced air mattress. Now I'm wondering if I should just stick with foam for good, or if there's a budget inflatable that actually lasts more than 10 trips. Anyone else made the switch and never looked back?

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