Solo or Two person Shelter Tut or Redcliff??

[Daniel_M]

When I bought my my trail shelter the other day it gave me the option to buy a sealer so I did. It was just a spray bottle. Said to spray the whole tent down. So I gave it two coats and hit the seems 3 times. Is that all I needed to seal it?


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I'd definitely pitch it tight and run a seam sealer.

Seam Sealing
Seam sealer is included, and sealing is done by the customer in order to save costs and expedite your shelter.
1. Pitch your shelter tight to allow sealer to penetrate and waterproof the stretched seams, stitch holes and thread.
2. Fabric should be clean and dry (this sealer claims to cure in wet or damp conditions). Use a paper cup, mix sealant and mineral spirit (paint thinner) until you have a slurry about the thickness of molasses. Using a 1/2" inch paint brush, apply to all sewn areas, seams, bartacks and holes.
3. Curing: leave the tent pitched until the sealant is not tacky, the longer the better. Fully cures in 24 hours but dries tack free in about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

 

[Jtelarkin08]

I'd definitely pitch it tight and run a seam sealer.

Seam Sealing
Seam sealer is included, and sealing is done by the customer in order to save costs and expedite your shelter.
1. Pitch your shelter tight to allow sealer to penetrate and waterproof the stretched seams, stitch holes and thread.
2. Fabric should be clean and dry (this sealer claims to cure in wet or damp conditions). Use a paper cup, mix sealant and mineral spirit (paint thinner) until you have a slurry about the thickness of molasses. Using a 1/2" inch paint brush, apply to all sewn areas, seams, bartacks and holes.
3. Curing: leave the tent pitched until the sealant is not tacky, the longer the better. Fully cures in 24 hours but dries tack free in about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

I need to look good in my package because I'm not sure mine came with a seek sealer


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[Daniel_M]

This is what I've always used. Just thin it a bit with mineral spirits to brush it on.

Access Denied

 

[Jtelarkin08]

This is what I've always used. Just thin it a bit with mineral spirits to brush it on.

Access Denied

Do you seal the inside or outside of the seem or both?


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[Daniel_M]

Do you seal the inside or outside of the seem or both?


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Just the interior.

 

[dog812]

kifaru made a good Seam sealing video years ago...
Seam Sealing a Kifaru Tipi - YouTube

 

[machinethomas]

FYI the My Trail Pyramid shelters have taped seams


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[Jtelarkin08]

FYI the My Trail Pyramid shelters have taped seams


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so that mean they dont need to be sealed??

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

so that mean they dont need to be sealed??

Yes typically taped seams don't need sealed

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[wildcat33]

FYI the My Trail Pyramid shelters have taped seams

So what is it about seam taping that the small guys can't do it and the mass produced tent makers can? I've had to seamgrip seams on older tents that were going south and it looks like chit. Call me shallow, but for 600$ or more I don't want the first order of business to be gooping up all the seams.

 

[dangerousD]

Do you seal the inside or outside of the seem or both?


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Either side works. Only do one side. From what I've seen I think most guys do the exterior unless the shelter is too large to reach all the seams.

 

[bounds]

So what is it about seam taping that the small guys can't do it and the mass produced tent makers can? I've had to seamgrip seams on older tents that were going south and it looks like chit. Call me shallow, but for 600$ or more I don't want the first order of business to be gooping up all the seams.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but tape is applied by a machine. It's exactly what you said, they're mass producing these things and have the money to justify having an expensive machine. "Bigger" companies also are appealing more to the masses which probably runs them into a lot of potential first timers and less experienced people. This would likely cause a lot of customer service issues if they were to have their customers seal their own shelters.

The "boutique" gear companies are already taking the time to make it when you order it, so it just increases the time and cost of making a shelter. Plus, as mentioned earlier, the space and man power to set every shelter up and seal those by hand is limited.

Some of the smaller companies do offer seam sealing as an option though.

 

[Lawnboi]

So what is it about seam taping that the small guys can't do it and the mass produced tent makers can? I've had to seamgrip seams on older tents that were going south and it looks like chit. Call me shallow, but for 600$ or more I don't want the first order of business to be gooping up all the seams.

Sean taping is typically don on PU coated nylon. I'm under the impression, only from Internet research that silnylon materials are not able to be taped like PU coated.

That brings up a whole debate of silnylon vs PU coated nylon.

 

[dotman]

So what is it about seam taping that the small guys can't do it and the mass produced tent makers can? I've had to seamgrip seams on older tents that were going south and it looks like chit. Call me shallow, but for 600$ or more I don't want the first order of business to be gooping up all the seams.

You want to pay another $100, it's to keep prices down. Just remember you are not being forced to buy quality expensive gear

 

[dotman]

so that mean they dont need to be sealed??

I would still do it as seam tape isn't perfect and in my experience breaks down over time faster.

 

[dog812]

It doesn't take long, I don't know why you wouldn't do it??
Personally when I am planning a trip, i want to make sure everything is as good as I can get it. Last thing I want is a dripping seam on to my sleeping bag to ruin my hunt, because of me not taking ten minutes to Seam seal my tent.

 

[Tsnider]

So what is it about seam taping that the small guys can't do it and the mass produced tent makers can? I've had to seamgrip seams on older tents that were going south and it looks like chit. Call me shallow, but for 600$ or more I don't want the first order of business to be gooping up all the seams.

stick to Coleman and similar products.

All of the upper tier floorless manufacturers make you seam seal for simple reasons. even if they did pay their employees overtime to go out and setup every shelter they hand build and apply seam sealer, they would then have to spray them down with water to test all of them to avoid returns from whiners. the best method is to teach people how to do it, so if they want to reseal they can. SeekOutside claims you dont have to with theirs because of the type of stitching but im willing to bet very few people are skipping the seam sealing.

 

[wildcat33]

stick to Coleman and similar products.

Whoah there buddy, you should be more careful about dropping the C word in a gear forum. We're all friends here.

 

[mfllood3800]

I have a seek outside and it came with seam sealer, so I assume they want you to seal the seams, so I did.
How ever I went to Ace Hardware and bought a tube of silicone (clear) and some thinner. Mixed it in a cup, sealed everything I could reach on the outside, then went inside and got the very top of the places I couldn't reach from the outside. I applied extra sealant to guy line tie out areas and the top cap and stove jack area.
Took a whole 30 minutes and it is done in a manner I know and saw first hand that it is right, with no missed areas.

 

[AustinL911]

FYI, Seek Outside will seam seal for you if you want to wait a couple extra weeks to get your shelter. I skipped that option because I knew my excited ass was gonna pitch the shit out of that thing in the backyard at least a few times before its first hunting trip. Minus whale seal it while I'm at it.

Neighbors think I'm crazy. Do not care.