Cheap eBay hiking pole tent

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

nobby8126

Nomad
Oct 16, 2010
373
235
Isle of Wight
just got the royal mail noticed to pay £11 import tax hopefully will have it Friday. if it is top 210T i think it listed whats the best Seam sealer i should try?

thanks again all for your help and the guys who gave me the Bivi advice however will stick with this for this trek may look to that for next time:emoji_thumbsup:
I made my own with a mix of clear silicone and white spirit. Painted it on and it worked a treat. Stinks while you do it tho.
 

skidmk1983

Member
May 8, 2017
21
3
hertfordshire
It held up really well mate. It got hammered by 60kph winds on a cliff top and stayed dry as a bone. bloody noisey but dry.
heres the link to the vid
top man cheers for the link! hopefully mine wont be too different, will put the vagisil on the tie points and hopefully will be leak free;)
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,355
2,368
Bedfordshire
As per Nobby8126's recommendation.

Silicone for seam sealing, use clear, low modulus sealant from building supply sellers, B&Q, ScrewFix, etc and mix with white spirit. Takes a good bit of mixing to get the silicone to dissolve into the spirit. I would not recommend other solvents. Some suggest acetone, and while that will dissolve the silicone, it evaporates too fast for my liking, and tends to eat gloves.

Use a brush, I would recommend a Lining Flitch, I used this one (maybe the 12mm):
https://www.homebase.co.uk/monarch-lining-fitch-brush-18mm_p395230
The bristles are stiff enough not to splay all over the place, it doesn't pick up so much sealant/solvent as to be messy, and it can be turned to paint a narrower line as needed. Other small brushes could work well too if you can't get one. I had a choice and was happy with what I got.

Use the low modulus sealant (rather than high modulus) because you want your seam seal to stretch and move with the joint it is sealing, not be all stiff and prone to cracking when the seam moves around.

Apply sealant with shelter pitched taut.

Chris
 

skidmk1983

Member
May 8, 2017
21
3
hertfordshire
As per Nobby8126's recommendation.

Silicone for seam sealing, use clear, low modulus sealant from building supply sellers, B&Q, ScrewFix, etc and mix with white spirit. Takes a good bit of mixing to get the silicone to dissolve into the spirit. I would not recommend other solvents. Some suggest acetone, and while that will dissolve the silicone, it evaporates too fast for my liking, and tends to eat gloves.

Use a brush, I would recommend a Lining Flitch, I used this one (maybe the 12mm):
https://www.homebase.co.uk/monarch-lining-fitch-brush-18mm_p395230
The bristles are stiff enough not to splay all over the place, it doesn't pick up so much sealant/solvent as to be messy, and it can be turned to paint a narrower line as needed. Other small brushes could work well too if you can't get one. I had a choice and was happy with what I got.

Use the low modulus sealant (rather than high modulus) because you want your seam seal to stretch and move with the joint it is sealing, not be all stiff and prone to cracking when the seam moves around.

Apply sealant with shelter pitched taut.

Chris

thanks Chris perfect description will give that a go, just out of interest is it just more cost effective or better than the pre made stuff you can purchase like the below?

https://www.theepicentre.co.uk/item...MI8Nrf9Lr_4AIVDITICh3D8gjdEAkYDCABEgK2RvD_BwE
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,355
2,368
Bedfordshire
Well, the stuff that you link to, McNett Seam Grip, is for urethane coated fabric, not silicone coated. For Silnylon you need this stuff, Silnet.
https://www.theepicentre.co.uk/item/Mcnett/Silnet/6PC

So a tube of 28g Silnet is plenty to do several tarps, BUT, £8 + £5 postage!, and only enough that you will want to use if for that purpose, vs (for instance) Screwfix No Nonsense Builders Silicone 310ml for £5 and available to collect, and can be used for other sealing jobs around the home.

Furthermore, and this is important,

Silnet has a very definite shelf life, cure time increases with age. (EDIT 18/03/19 to add...so does the builder's silicone, or at least the stuff I bought is now taking longer to cure than it did in the summer)
I bought some Silnet, did a tarp, put it away for a year or two, wanted to use it on another tarp and was pleasantly surprised that it had not set in the tube. Great. This was last summer, hot, dry, windy weather, perfect for drying stuff. Pitched tarp in garden, applied sealant, and waited..and waited. 6 hours later, sealant showing NO signs of drying!!! I was able to clean it all off again using acetone, and went and bought some builder's sealant.

I did a little sample piece to test and contacted McNett USA and EU. It took over 48 hours for the old Silnet to become touch dry! News from the manufacturer is that this is the effect of age, sealant is still wet, no detectable change from good/new, but cure time becomes progressively longer. They have had some sent back that had sat on a store shelf too long and behaved this way the first time it was applied.


McNett Seam Grip, the urethane stuff, does set in the tube, so you may not get to use a whole tube, but at least you will know before starting the job.


If all you can find is the high modulus builder silicone, the Silnet probably will perform better, once cured, but it does have that down side with cost/quantity/shelf life.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: skidmk1983

skidmk1983

Member
May 8, 2017
21
3
hertfordshire
Well, the stuff that you link to, McNett Seam Grip, is for urethane coated fabric, not silicone coated. For Silnylon you need this stuff, Silnet.
https://www.theepicentre.co.uk/item/Mcnett/Silnet/6PC

So a tube of 28g Silnet is plenty to do several tarps, BUT, £8 + £5 postage!, and only enough that you will want to use if for that purpose, vs (for instance) Screwfix No Nonsense Builders Silicone 310ml for £5 and available to collect, and can be used for other sealing jobs around the home.

Furthermore, and this is important,

Silnet has a very definite shelf life, cure time increases with age. I bought some, did a tarp, put it away for a year or two, wanted to use it on another tarp and was pleasantly surprised that it had not set in the tube. Great. This was last summer, hot, dry, windy weather, perfect for drying stuff. Pitched tarp in garden, applied sealant, and waited..and waited. 6 hours later, sealant showing NO signs of drying!!! I was able to clean it all off again using acetone, and went and bought some builder's sealant.

I did a little sample piece to test and contacted McNett USA and EU. It took over 48 hours for the old Silnet to become touch dry! News from the manufacturer is that this is the effect of age, sealant is still wet, no detectable change from good/new, but cure time becomes progressively longer. They have had some sent back that had sat on a store shelf too long and behaved this way the first time it was applied.


McNett Seam Grip, the urethane stuff, does set in the tube, so you may not get to use a whole tube, but at least you will know before starting the job.


If all you can find is the high modulus builder silicone, the Silnet probably will perform better, once cured, but it does have that down side with cost/quantity/shelf life.

perfect description thanks mate! will go down the builders route as i can get this is screwfix buy my house!
 

Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,766
Berlin
I recommend to take Silnet.
(If the tent is made from silnylon)

The small tube is large enough for the tent.

The stuff works good, you can get it in every good outdoor shop.

I don't see any reason to buy building site stuff and mix it.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,355
2,368
Bedfordshire
When new, Silnet it works well. My objection is cost, availability and shelf life.

My local camping shops are good, and do not have it. The Compete Outdoors doesn't advertise it, nor does Cotswold Outdoors. They used to, not any more. Last I bought I found in London. Living in Berlin, you may not see a reason, but I won't pay £5 for postage on something that cost £8 when I can buy 10 times the quantity for half the price on my way home from work.


Come to think of it. Given the cost, and the shelf life, maybe we should consider passing on our part used tubes of Silnet while they are still good? Do one tent, then pass the remainder along for someone else to use before the stuff goes off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Erbswurst

Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,766
Berlin
Aah, I understand!

In Germany we can get it everywhere.

Each mid sized town has a small outdoor shop who sells it.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE