Hey guys,

last night I did a test hang in the woods outside my apt (ya, I'm that guy) and the weather report called for rain in the AM. So, I setup my Wilderness Logics Tadpole.

Several weeks ago I attempted to seam-seal the large ridgeline seam on the tarp. I use Kenyon Seam Sealer 3 (http://www.amazon.com/Kenyon-Seam-Se.../dp/B0007RSG70) which I think I don't really care for. I may have put too much on. I did 2 coats back to back before letting it dry. Below are some photos of my, crummy, seam-seal job. Even though it looks pretty bad, I thought it would be ok because I am thinking that the silicon impregnates the thread & fills the little holes the thread makes and that all those globs aren't doing anything, but they aren't hurting anything either. These photos are taken after a night out in the rain. I think the moisture turned the sealer white because it was clear during the application & after 24 hours drying. Also, I only coated the inside of the seam.




Last night it rained on & off and I kept waking up to the distinctive feel of a water drop that has hit the bugnet right above my face and exploded on me. I'm pretty confident that it could not have been coming in through the side. The rain was straight down and I was in the woods. Additionally, when I got up in the morning to break camp (I ended up sleeping with a magazine over my face which worked pretty well) I noticed that there was a line of wetness on the bugnet of my warbonnet that ran lengthwise right underneath the seam in my tarp.

Thus, I figure the seam is leaking. As I broke camp I noticed that the tarp seam was slightly off center from the tarp ridgeline. And it was on the "wrong" side where, instead of the overlap having a shingle type effect, the overlap caused a lip for water to catch on.

I'm considering finding on of the silicon seam sealers you paint on with a brush that creates a thicker, more solid block of silicon. I had read reports of not needing to seal the "French Seam" on the Tadpole at all. I have not found this to be the case hehe.

Ok, so, any experience to throw my way? Is the seam on the wrong side of the ridgeline the problem? Is Seam Sealer 3 crap? Is my seam sealing job crap?