Velcro for a silnylon tent floor?

[Harrison Carpenter]

I just got back for a two-night trip. Both nights, I had to deal with my NeoAir sliding around on my silnylon tent floor (in a TarpTent Notch, BTW). This, despite the fact I'd painted on strips of silicone+mineral spirits solution.

Now I'm thinking of Velcro… attaching it to the floor and to the pad. Does that seem realistic? What do you all think? Nobody with experience on this?

[Jerry Adams]

I smeared some silicon:mineral spirits on floor to make it less slippery.

Does make it collect dirt a little more, like someone mentioned, but if you do 10:1 mineral spirits:silicone not so bad

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

It's a tough situation. Personally I've done little dots/dobs of silicone caulk on the bottom of my pad. It works alright but certainly not ideal. Painting the floor with a slurry is a committing move that will add 1-2oz to your tent and in my experience makes it a total dust magnet. It's tough to sweep out a tent after, and a non-freestanding tent can't be shaken out, so you live with more dirt in the tent.

In general I don't think silnylon is a great material for a floor (slippery, modest waterproofness) and I would prefer a similar denier of PU coated nylon, which delivers grip and much higher waterproofness at the same weight, with the downside of lower tear strength. Most mainstream tents use PU nylon and IMO it's a better choice. Silnylon is good for the canopy.

[Franco Darioli]

A couple of solutions .
One is , as already suggested, to also stripe the bottom of your mat .
See here :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPYPN3CeQCI
the other is to get a piece of no-slip mat, the type that is used under carpet or for glassware on a shelf.

[Peter Nash]

Sounds like a good idea. I've thought about this in the past, but never got around to trying it. Now I'm using a Hexamid with a mesh floor, so it wouldn't help me.

You should do the experiment and let us know how it works. I'm sure many here would like to know.

[twig .]

I use a foot square piece of thin foam (like Gossamer Gear thinlight, but denser foam) as a sit pad and then put this under my mattress at bed time. It reduces the slip to almost nil and provides an extra level of puncture protection and insulation under my hips.

[Greg Mihalik]

Something to ponder –

Your matt is sliding across the floor, I assume in the "downhill" direction…

If you essentially "bond" your matt to the floor, the floor will transfer that to the corners and sidewalls, pulling them downhill with you.

In a Hexamid you will be loading 1/16" shock cord indirectly connected to a stake. In a shelter with a bathtub floor/wall you are loading the connecting seam.

That might not be a good thing.

[Harrison Carpenter]

Ah, yes. Gravity won't be deterred by Velcro– so its pull would be transferred, wouldn't it? The slope I was sleeping on wasn't steep, by any means. That's why the sliding surprised me.

[Stephen M]

Often putting your pack (if dry) and maybe clothing under the pad can help.

[Harrison Carpenter]

Franco: the video says "100% silicone"– pardon me for being naive, but was that a silicone sealant (like Permatex)?

[Peter Nash]

Greg's insight sounds true:

"Your matt is sliding across the floor, I assume in the "downhill" direction…

If you essentially "bond" your matt to the floor, the floor will transfer that to the corners and sidewalls, pulling them downhill with you. . . . That might not be a good thing."

But in practice, if you're sleeping on a slope steep enough for this to be a concern you're not going to get any sleep anyway. Mats will slide around on silnylon without any slope, just from tossing and turning.

The Velcro idea merits a try. I'll buy a pint of Michigan craft beer for the first person to post pictures and a report on such an experiment.

Of course anyone claiming the beer has to show up in Norton Shores MI to claim it. Offer good for one year. Offer void where prohibited, etc., etc.

[Franco Darioli]

100% silicone..
I use a locally made brand, Selleys.
It,Selleys, has many silicone products but only one (that I know of) that is labelled "100% silicone"
I have tried some of the others , they stick at the start but peel off afterwards.
I never used Permatex but I think that is is just an already thinned (with some type of mineral spirit) version.
The types that don't work (for me) are the ones with additives such as anti-mould .
I have also used many tubes of GEII (from Tarptent..) that works the same as the Selleys.

BTW, I have no idea of the what and why some silicons don't work, i just know the ones that do.

[Jerry Adams]

"kitchen/bath/plumbing" has mildewcide? I would rather not have that. Might be toxic or affect performance?

"3 hour shower ready" – I wonder what they do to it to make it cure faster. I would rather just have the regular silicone. But I'm in no hurry for it to cure.

[Sam Farrington]

What is your tent.
There are several varieties of silnylon out there, some more slippery than others.
Another issue is whether the tent pitches with the floor FULLY taut. If not, all the friction in the world inside the tent won't keep the floor from slipping and bunching up on the ground underneath.
I've had great luck with silnylon floors, but only taut ones, and only on level or almost level ground.
Among so-called self-inflating pads, the Nemo comes with the sil chevrons underneath, slips less than the Thermarest, packs smaller, and has more insulative value – see Roger Caffin's article on this site about pads. Tried a Thermarest this spring, and am going back to the Nemo.

[Harrison Carpenter]

As I said in my first post, I've a TarpTent Notch. I, too, have had luck when the Trent's been setup on level or nearly level ground– the problem is that you can't count on finding such campsites!

For the record, I use a Thermarest NeoAir– as a side sleeper, I've never found self-inflating pads comfortable.

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