Seam tape for X-Pac

[Petew]

So trawling through the interwebs I found reference to some seam tape potentially being trialed for X-Pac fabrics.

It was mentioned in a BPL forum a few years ago but then the trail runs cold...

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/top ... rc-fabric/


I know Roger Caffin haunts these pages. Just wondering if anything came of the heat activated seam tape that Dimension Polyant was testing out.

3M venture tape doesn't seem to work very well on X-Pac.

Cheers,

Pete

[rcaffin]

Yes, I tested it. Not happy with the results on the new LS-series fabrics. The older X-Pac fabrics were a bit better, but I still had problems with heat-applied tapes and adhesive tapes (inc Venture).

There are two main problems:

The first is that the fabric seems to have a DWR on both sides (which is nice of course), but getting either heat-activated seam tape or other adhesive tapes to adhere to the DWR surface is not all that successful. I suspect the DWR rejects adhesion.

The second is that applying the heat-activated tape properly is HARD. A manufacturer will use a commercial machine with a controlled heat gun and a pressure roller, and get fairly consistent results (on other fabrics). I tried to use what the ordinary MYOG enthusiast might have: an iron. But the temperature cycling of the iron meant that half the time the edge or surface of the iron was too cold, and the tape did not adhere very well - on top of the DWR problem. When the iron got to the top of the cycle it was too hot.

Most frustrating.

Cheers
Roger

[Petew]

Thanks Roger. I really like the X-Pac fabrics and it seems like their one limiting factor (compared to DCF anyway)

I bought had a metre of X 21 RC with the hope of ventre tape sticking to it. It was better than other varieties bug I can still peel the tape off. I might try it again but with a vigorous alcohol rub and some prolonged pressure to see if it makes a difference.