Seam Sealing (or Glue Rage!)

David,

I feel your pain, having spent 4 hrs or more seam sealing my MLD eVent Soul Side Zip.

Something I wanted to ask you about….the seams in question that you have not sealed are taped?

If they are taped, isn't that done in place of seam sealing by manufactures as a faster and easier way for them (does not mean the best way) to seam seal something?

If that is the case, are you then done?

Again, if this is the case, then it would mean that you are ready to go.

If not, I would wait til the job is done right with clean fabric to work with. (I am pretty anal about this sort of thing myself).

I found that if you stuff your bivy or sleeping bag full of comforters, blankets, other sleeping bags, it puffs up the item that you are seam sealing to make it easier to expose the seams you are sealing.

Also, when the seam sealer is dry, you probably want to dust it lightly with some baby powder.

I found that the seam sealer material was tacky to the touch and when it came into contact with other parts of the bivy that was seam sealed, it could stick to the other areas and tear the seal sealer.

The baby powder takes care of this problem easily.

Do it in a bathtub, so that the excess powder does not get everywhere or do it outside and give the bivy a good shake when you are done.

Hope that this helps and good luck!

P.S. The reason why manufactures don't offer this is probably because it is just so darn labor intensive. I have seam sealed my bivy and my sleeping bag….requires many hours of patience and a steady hand.

-Tony

Thanks Tony,

That is very helpful. I'm afraid I'm not a detail person. But it's probably good for my soul!

Maybe you're right about the taped seams. I'm not that clear after reading the ID instructions. Maybe someone with an ID bivy of similar design might pop in with the answer.

David,

Your zeal is to be commended, but I wouldn't skip a trip simply because there are still some unsealed seams (unless you're planning on some immersion testing).

A simple cleanup when you get home of any unsealed areas using alcohol prior to applying the goop will do the trick. At least that's been my experience with SeamGrip (if that's what you're using).

It IS a miserable job, no matter how many times I do it. My record is three tubes over two days on a one-man tent, and I was exhaling toluene (or…?) for a week.

You could always thin it with mineral oil or alcohol so it goes further and applies more smoothly. Just a thought…

Hi David.
Taped seams don't need any more sealant applied. My ID all e-vent bivvy was fully seam taped when it arrived, and didn't require any further sealing.
You can't tape sil-nylon as far as i'm aware, so you should only need to apply sealant to the sil-nylon seams on the bivvy, not the e-vent ones.

> You can't tape sil-nylon as far as i'm aware
Not true. I do it to my tents. But you need some esoteric and expensive silicone adhesive tape for this.

Otherwise, I agree.

Cheers

Thanks for the additional comments folks. They've put my mind at rest and given me more useful suggestions. Looking forward to my trip at the weekend!