tent seams waterproof peeling off...?? update: pic uploaded

[Franco]

Ahmondjai
If you look up the FAQ of various tent manufacturers , for example from MSR "Do I need to seam seal my tent ? The rainfly and floor are factory seam taped, so seam sealing is not recommended. If any problems develop, seam seal the specific area only" , from Sierra Design : "The rainfly and center floor seam (if applicable) of your tent have been taped at the factory. While seam tape significantly increases the weatherproofness of your tent, additional seam sealing will improve the performance of your tent in rainy conditions." and from Mountain Hardwear " The flysheet is factory seam sealed with hot tape. For most weather conditions, no further seam sealing is necessary. However, if it will be subject to prolonged rainfall or a persistently wet environment, we recommend that you seam seal certain points on the inside of the fly" you get the idea that it is possible (in some cases likely...) that your seam sealed tent will develop leaks (hopefully NOT when new)
Some do that more then others , typically where the tape crosses another seam (cross way) at the corners or the apex.
As a dedicated gear nerd I have spotted several comments about leaks on a certain "top/elite brand" often discussed here too, so this is not confined to cheap brands, just more likely to happen with cheap brands.
So, don't discount tents that you seam seal yourself when new, it isn't a big deal as some make it out to be.

Franco

[ahmondjai]

I was quite satisfied with the hot tape seal of the tent at the beginning, it looked just fine when straight out of the box. But when it started to lose the bond between the tape and the floor material, for a minute, I thought I might just buy a bottle of the seam seal, and do it myself, perhaps it might last longer if I've done enough research and do it properly. But there was another thought floating in there as well, "shouldn't it be problem free when it's only couple days out of the box?"
I understand that nothing is warrantied for a lifetime for things like this, sooner or later, they all will fail after abusive use or not. So, further seam sealing in the future will be needed when the time comes. I believe even for reputable brands such as MSR, Mountain Hardware, etc... will develop in time.
When I finally show the tent to the store manager (she wasn't there at the first time I took it back) who claimed she have just purchased the very same batch of tent as well, she was surprised with that defective seam seal and said she's going to check hers when she gets home.
so, I hope it might be just a defective batch goods when it was manufactured, so I hope it doesn't affect every tent distributed among to wider public on other batches, since there was at least 6 I've seen sold in that period of time...

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[ahmondjai]

Thanks Brett,
your review in the MD tent are just promising enough to give it a go, not to mention the sale price.
I'm going into the store right after my exams are finished this week, and the staffs should have the tents setup by then.
I haven't seen the inside of the tents yet, nor find anything related to them online.
let's see how they go~~

[ninjapuppet]

exams?
uni just started again for me today. Ive got alot of MD clothing and in generally found them to be quite good, so no complaints there. I just got emailed from them saying theres a sale on for 4 days till this sunday so you should be able to pick up some bargains.

[ahmondjai]

Exactly what I have in mind, ninjapuppet.
I have just come back from MD, with the 'Ridge' tent on sale for $264.
so far, it looks like a better design tent with open-able ventilation zips from inside, triple pitching features (standard, together & inner or fly only).
looking forward to its trial use in 2-3 weeks time, hopefully~

[Irate Shane]

Myself being a cynical *&%$#! - and the leaky tent syndome, I am way past being a dum-dum consumer who wails, "Oh no a leaky tent - I will have to go to the TENT shop and buy a 50ml bottle of TENT sealer for $25.99......

No such luck.

A plain old tube of NEUTRAL CURE exterior gutter / window silicon sealer - for about 600 grams for $5, cleverly and quickly wiped over and into all seams cures every ailment.

It's cheap, you get a heap, although it's packed or marketed as a "fish tank" glue - in fact it's a genuinely good GLUE in it's own right.

When applied to any fabric - including patches on torn jeans etc., it's absolutely brilliant.

And not only seals up seams it bonds the stitching into the fabric.