Reading about the Zpacks Hexamid coming with taped seams got me wondering- does anyone tape the seams of their silnylon shelters using the same laminating techniques used for attaching guy out reinforcements?

Seems that it would add a ton of strength over a normal seam sealed tent, and extra waterproofness. I mean, with a sealed seam, enough tension could cause the stitching holes to open up a bit (something I'm quite familiar with) that could start to let some water through. Maybe it's not enough to cause a problem- I dunno... But if you cut something like a 1.5" wide strip of silnylon and bonded it to the inside of your flat felled seams, it "seams" like it would be far more secure...

When you get rain gear or other commercial products with "fully taped" seams, what materials are they usually made from, and how are they taped?

BM

You can tape silnylon successfully. You need a tape with a siloxane adhesive rather than an acrylic adhesive. Yes, they exist now, but they are a bit more expensive. They are a specialist item and harder to find: they won't be at Walmart.

There are two sorts of siloxane adhesives: those designed to release and those designed to make a permanent bond. Obviously, you want the latter. Also, you need to allow the siloxane adhesive 72 hours (3 days) to polymerise with the silicone coating. Until that happens the bond is weak.

I have been using such tapes for maybe 10 years now on my tents.

Cheers

Do you use something like this, Roger?
http://www.rescuetape.com/buy-rescue-tape

(Described as 1" wide by 20 mils by 12'--$25 USD for 2 rolls)

This looks interesting, seems to tick a few boxes. However I wonder how it would go on silnylon.

Here's a description

"Rescue Tape is extruded of high performance silicone elastomer.  It is self-fusing, and cures at room temperature.  Its high thermal conductivity allows rapid heat dissipation, resulting in lower temperature rise.

Rescue Tape is suitable for use wherever a tough, high temperature (to 260O C), permanently resilient insulation or seal is required.  Properly installed, Rescue Tape provides a moisture-free permanent seal around hoses, fittings, tubes and wire harness bundles, offering low cost solutions to common problems in extreme environments."

I don't think so. I know those sorts of tapes (I think): the stretching action breaks micro-beads of reagent within the adhesive, and a chemical reaction is triggered. That is NOT how I would tape a silnylon seam - it would likely pucker up badly. Also, I think the adhesive layer is fairly thick on the rescue tape.

The best stuff to use is a transfer tape. It is betetr than a tape with a carrier. This is briefly discussed at
http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_Fabrics.htm#Seam
That was written in 2006: the availability of good siloxane tapes has improved since then.
Search on 'silicone transfer tape' or look at
3M91022, 3M96042, 3M9731
ChampionTape D5915
AdhesiveApplications NT1001
SpecialityTapes D752
etc etc etc

Beware of tapes meant for gold plating use: they are meant to release. You do NOT want that: the tape will lift and the adhesive will get dirty and not stick again.
I am not sure about splicing tapes: I don't think they make permanent bonds either.

You can also get double sided tapes which are siloxane/siloxane or siloxane/acrylic. The latetr are useful for bonding PU-caoted fabric to silnylon.

Cheers

I assume you use the tape to waterproof/reinforce sewn seams for which the traditional method of silicone painting works well. What advantages do you find in taping for DIY, home use? I guess it turns out stronger and neater but probably heavier too, do you still find it worth it?

Hi Inaki

Yeah, good question.

I used to use a lot of transfer tape, but recent tents have relied more on something like Permatex Flowable sealant - even spread over a large area. On the other hand, the extra weight of some transfer tape and a strip of silnylon is very low indeed.

Where I find a bit of tape is useful is to back up a sewing line with a narrow extra layer for strength. I have done that at stress points like around the neck of one of my ponchos. Then I used sealant on the outside as well - nothing like cold water leaking slowly down the neck!

Both work. The tape is rather expensive; the sealant is more messy.

Cheers

Since I'm cheap and already have sealant on hand I was thinking of going that route- but I'm afraid of the mess. Gluing on some guy out reinforcemnt patches is one thing- managing long strips of fabric is another... Maybe I'll do an experiment on some test parts first to see how it goes...

BM