I’m the new owner of a Stratospire 2 and I would appreciate feedback on the advantages/disadvantages for different techniques to seam-seal Silnylon. My previous double wall shelter did not require seam-sealing and more recently I’ve been using a taped cuben tarp for most of my outings, so I have zero experience with seam sealing silnylon.
Based on postings on this and other forums, I gather that after diluting silnet or other silicon based sealant with mineral spirits I can do one of the following:
1) neatly apply diluted solution with a fine brush a la Franco’s video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYjOkxR4sgc
2) sloppily and more thoroughly apply solution across seams and then wipe excess with towel. This is what’s demonstrated in the Tarptent video:
http://www.tarptent.com/ttvideos.html#seamseal
3) or, neatly apply sealant solution to the threads using a fine syringe (I saw this in a BPL posts).
So what are the advantages/disadvantages for each approach based on ability to keep water out, strengthen the seams, and the overall aesthetics of the final product. Everyone seems to have their preferred approach but Ive found no discussion as to why one approach is better or worse than another. I can certainly speculate on each. I suspect Tarptent’s approach would do fine job at sealing and strengthening the seams which is a plus, but how does the final product look? Or, does the solution simply integrate into the fabric so that the techniques doesn’t really matter all that much?


