I just got a new Superfly and I am wondering if the ridge and side pulls need to be seam sealed?
I just got a new Superfly and I am wondering if the ridge and side pulls need to be seam sealed?
I had it don't at Simply light designs. Jared did adobe awesome work and only cost $20 which included return shipping
The ridgeline does not need to be sealed. The way it is stitched makes it water proof. The side pullouts should be sealed with a silicone sealant such as Silnet or Permatex flowable silicone (mine and many others preferred product).
Don't let life get in the way of living.
You do not need to seam seal the Superfly ridgeline.
The pull outs are optional.
Last year, I sat in a rain storm in my non-seam sealed Superfly, and I did fine. The pull outs had some drips, but since they are pulled out away from the hammock, it didn't get me wet.
However, I did seam seal the pull-outs after this, because I also happened to sit under the tarp while I cooked some coffee, and I had to avoid the drips.
If you pull the pull outs tight or use a pole mod that does you will need to do as others above have said and seal them. If you do not do either of those you should have no issue.
Where ever you go,
There you are.
I don't understand why a company would sell a tarp that wasn't waterproof.
If it needs to be sealed in any way why do they leave it to the user to do so?
Not to be negative but it seems strange.
Can someone fill me in to the benefit or reasoning?
Most cottage gear vendors don't seam-seal, or only offer it as an option. If you ever seam-sealed something, you know that it is time-consuming. However, it is something that pretty much everybody can do easily, even without skills. I guess that most buyers prefer saving a couple of bucks and rather spend an hour or so to do the seam-sealing themselves. And some don't do it at all. I have yet to seam-seal any of my WB tarps.
OK, thank you for the info. I seam sealed a Hennessy tarp by thinning some 100% silicone caulking with mineral spirits and then "painting" it onto the seams. That seemed to work for me. I'd rather seam seal it now while I have it set up down in my basement where it's easy for me to do it. Then I'll be ready for my springtime adventures
I like setting up my tarps in "porch mode" whenever possible, so I want the pull outs waterproof so I don't get drips.
Been sealing my stuff since the late 70's.
Slacked on my tarp, up until the torrential downpours of last Spring we had here in the NE.
Some minor dripping had me take care of sealing both ridge and tie outs.
Mind you, this tarp is setup outside, fulltime for more than a year now. (WL OMW)
Permatex is dead simple to use and costs less than $5 here.
Very happy with the results.
Have sherpas, will travel...
Triangles, it's all about the triangles.
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I've had my Superfly for two years and have never seam sealed it, and have never been wet from the rain. The most extreme rain that I've been in was last October, when I camped for 3 nights just 100 yards from the beach during a wicked Nor-easter that coincided exactly with my trip. Being at edge of the sea, you can imagine the intensity of the wind and rain, which was only slightly buffered by the open pine forest that I was hanging in. I had the tarp's panel pulls staked and all hatches battened, and didn't have a drop of rain come in. The Superfly was fantastic!
I did have two minor issues, neither of which had to do with had to do with leaks or any shortcomings of the tarp. The first was that during the storm's peak intensities, the heavy raindrops would randomly dislodge condensation under the tarp into a fine mist. It wasn't enough to make my gear damp, but it was chilly hitting exposed skin on my face and would wake me up. The second issue also occurred during peak intensities, where the pelting rain was so loud on the tarp, that I couldn't sleep. That trip taught me that earplugs can be your best friend, and I now keep them with my tarp setup.
Anyway, I've never seam sealed, but if you're set up for it, have at it. The extra level of protection certainly won't hurt.
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