seam sealer

[coln18]

Got myself some new MLD gear today and for extra protection, i was thinking of seam sealing some of the seams in the bivvy bag i got.

Recently, and i think it was on here, but couldnt find it on a search, i read about applying seam sealer, in a slightly diluted form and painting it on with a brush to get a neater finish.

Anyone done this yet, if so, how did it work out for you and what method did you use, ie thinning agent and mix etc...

 

[nigelp]

Hi

Silicon sealant mixed with white spirit. 1 part silicon to 1/5-2 parts spirit.

Nigel

 

[nigelp]

Also what goodies did you get from MLD?

 

[Wild Thing]

Just buy some Mcnetts Seamsure.

Comes in a tube with a brush.

Nice and neat finish and no smell of white spirit.

Has always done the job for me

Phill

 

[Shewie]

Hi

Silicon sealant mixed with white spirit. 1 part silicon to 1/5-2 parts spirit.

Nigel

Also what goodies did you get from MLD?

What he said, on both counts

I ordered my Trailstar and Superlight Bivy on March 25th, have I got much longer to wait Col ?

 

[JAG009]

I ordered my Trailstar and Superlight Bivy on March 25th, have I got much longer to wait

Yes me too Rich cant wait for my kit to arrive

Jason

 

[coln18]

I ordered my gear on the 11th and added some more on the 26th Rich, so id imagine your gear will be on its way soon mate.

I got the superlight bivvy bag with cuben fibre floor and full net hood, the cuben fibre poncho/tarp, ti tent pegs, aquamira drops and 4 different cuben fibre dry bags today to add to my solo grace cuben fibre tarp, MLD prophet rucksack i already got recently.

The Cuben Fibre material is fantastic as i recently tested it in really wild conditions on the west highland way, i still cant believe how light it is yet so strong,

You will just love going ultralight Rich, you arrive at your distination so much fresher mate, ditch you walking boots as well, you dont need them any more with your u/l kit, i plumped for the New Balance MT101 Trail shoes, no blisters or tired feet at the end of the walk.....

 

[Shewie]

I ordered my gear on the 11th and added some more on the 26th Rich, so id imagine your gear will be on its way soon mate.

I got the superlight bivvy bag with cuben fibre floor and full net hood, the cuben fibre poncho/tarp, ti tent pegs, aquamira drops and 4 different cuben fibre dry bags today to add to my solo grace cuben fibre tarp, MLD prophet rucksack i already got recently.

The Cuben Fibre material is fantastic as i recently tested it in really wild conditions on the west highland way, i still cant believe how light it is yet so strong,

You will just love going ultralight Rich, you arrive at your distination so much fresher mate, ditch you walking boots as well, you dont need them any more with your u/l kit, i plumped for the New Balance MT101 Trail shoes, no blisters or tired feet at the end of the walk.....

Not long to wait then

I've ditched the leather boots recently bud, I went for some Salomon Fastpacker Mids to ease me into lighter footwear, then I bought some Terrocs but I've not tried them yet.
Picked up a Kingcamp 400g down bag the other week on ebay, it's a bit of a lottery as to whether it'll be any good though but I thought it was worth a punt. Packs down to half the size of my Pipedream 400 and will do nicely in the summer. Next is a top quilt I think, looking for around 500g for a 3 season, similar spec to Hammockgear's 3 season Burrow but from our Mat

Can't wait for a play in the Trailstar though, I'll actually be hoping for bad weather on the first outing

Colin Ibbotson mentions how he seam sealed his TS with 1 part sil to 2 parts thinner ...
http://www.andyhowell.info/Colin-Ibbotson/Trailstar-review.pdf

 

[coln18]

Rich get yourself a ultralight insulated pullover, i got the PHD ultralight pullover, it packs down to nothing, weighs about 230g and goes down to -5, you can wear it at night round the camp and if its a cold night wear it in the sleeping bag, it worked a treat for me and Jason on the WHW. Every time we stopped, out came the PHD and we were well toasty, even wore it a couple of nights in the sleeping bag. I went for the Western Mountaineering Sumerlite bag, i think its about 538g or thereabout, good bag. Also got some of the PHD insulated socks at about 90g, only 30g heavier than trekking socks but so so warm....

 

[Shewie]

PHD gear is sale time only for me mate, she'd go mental if she found out how much I was spending on stuff.

I've picked up a Rab Generator vest which has worked really well so far, also bought an OR down hoody the other week but it's been too warm to try it since. Once my goodies arrive I'll head up one weekend and we can have the first BCUK lightweight meet

 

[coln18]

Sounds good Rich, Jason will have to come along as he's completely addicted as well mate, hes got a MLD exodus rucksack and a solo mid tarp on order just now, he even got all the ti cooking gear from evernew after he seen how light my set was. I do believe hes about to order the superlight bivvy as well.

 

[Shewie]

What base weight are you at now then ? I'm still looking at around 8-9kg but I'm happy with that, long term I guess I'll find out but for weekends it's manageable. Out of the big three I reckon I can save some more weight on my pack but I really really like the Exos. For cooking it's a single ti pot with Bushcooker inside and a Whitebox clone. Just got a caldera cone the other week and I'm really liking it so far.

 

[coln18]

my complete base weight was 4.3kg last week, that was rucksack, mat, terra nova bivvy bag, summerlite sleeping bag, MLD tarp, evernew solo set with dx stand/meths burner, first aid kit, clothes etc plus ditty bag. With my new stuff i will go down to 3.2kg base weight.

My total weight of rucksack including a litre of water, 750ml meths and 7 days food was 8.5kg.

What a difference it makes to walk with that on your back.

Try to get Mike Clellands ultralight backpacking tips if you can, a real easy book to read with some good tips and funny cartoons, although be warned it will give you more ideas which usually means spending money on new kit mate.

 

[Shewie]

Out of interest, what food are you packing for 7 days? Do you carry dehydrated meals for each day or conjure something up from other ingredients? I've nearly finished my stock of Westler meals so I've got a dehydrator on the way, looking forward to trying some new meals out.

 

[coln18]

yeah Rich i use a dehydrator, still playing around with recipes, but its so much nicer than the bag meals and you know whats in it. I usually make a pot of chilli or something similar, dehydrate, then vacuum pack with a seal-a-meal machine, i can get a pot of chilli down to 2 vacuum bags of around 100g and when that rehydrates with some rice added it goes up to a full evernew solo pot full which i believe is around 600 ml.

I tend to take the little oat so simple sachets with a bit of milk powder and then a mix of trail mix and some choccy etc but still working on the food/drinks side of thing.

The other great thing is that when your ultralight, when you get to the end of the walk, other people are starting to get tired and ditch their extra food, well your that light you can afford to pick up there extra food and have a right good meal and still be 4 times lighter than their back pack.....

Once your MLD gear comes i guarantee that you will end up ordering other stuff from them, out of interest, what materials did you go for with your trailstar and superlight, did you plump for CF or Silnylon.

 

[Shewie]

Once your MLD gear comes i guarantee that you will end up ordering other stuff from them, out of interest, what materials did you go for with your trailstar and superlight, did you plump for CF or Silnylon.

Sil all round mate, Ron doesn't do a CF Trailstar as he says there's not enough stretch in CF to get it taught enough. Standard sil on the bivy too.

 

[coln18]

I'm surprised he said that about the taughness of CF mate, first time i pitched the CF tarp, it was as taught as a drum, must be the design of the trailstar or something.

 

[northumbrian]

Got myself some new MLD gear today and for extra protection, i was thinking of seam sealing some of the seams in the bivvy bag i got.

Recently, and i think it was on here, but couldnt find it on a search, i read about applying seam sealer, in a slightly diluted form and painting it on with a brush to get a neater finish.

Anyone done this yet, if so, how did it work out for you and what method did you use, ie thinning agent and mix etc...

whats the postage like with them mate if you dont mind me asking