Rain Fly Repair Question - Will Ironing it Work?

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ChrisB

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Hey gang,

The rain fly for my NF Tadpole 23 tent is leaking. I examined it and the seam tape is lifted from many points along the seams on this oldy-but-goody tent fly.

A guy on YouTube said this can be fixed by using a hot iron over parchment paper to heat the taped seams and reapply the tape to the fly fabric.

Has anyone tried this fix and did it work?

Getting a new replacement fly for this 14-year-old tent is proving difficult.


Thanks
 
I havent fixed a fly but that method is recommended for making K kote nylon repair tape patches stick better including the expensive goretex versions. It does substantially increase how long the patch remains.
 
If your Tadpole has taped seams, it isn't one of the oooooolllllld ones!

In all seriousness, I grew up sealing my own seams. I used to use a product that Chouinard/BlackDiamond used to sell but moved over to SeamGrip.
 
I havent fixed a fly but that method is recommended for making K kote nylon repair tape patches stick better including the expensive goretex versions. It does substantially increase how long the patch remains.

Here's an update:

The ironing on parchment actually worked! The tape reapplied itself to the seams and became almost transparent once it cooled.

I set the tent up with fly and gave it a lengthy hose down. Lo and behold no water drops inside the tent after 20 minutes of simulated "rain."

Next step is to treat the entire fly with Nikwax Solarproof spray for added waterproofing and durability.

In conversations with The North Face I learned they consider 10-12 years the lifetime of a tent. No warranty after that. I bought this tent in 2004. In addition, no replacement fly is available. So I guess you are expected to toss the tent and buy a new model if a problem occurs.
 
I do not think the materials degrade much in proper storage, its days or sun exposure. UV "cooks" most materials. Leave a tent out in the sun for long periods and it "cooks". The one exclusion is many older tents used a Polyurethane (PU) coating and that seemed to break down in storage as well as in use. I had one rarely used tent in reasonable storage conditions and when I pulled it out I got the distinct PU smell. No real fix except scrub the coating off and reapply.
 
In conversations with The North Face I learned they consider 10-12 years the lifetime of a tent. No warranty after that. I bought this tent in 2004. In addition, no replacement fly is available. So I guess you are expected to toss the tent and buy a new model if a problem occurs.

My boss had a NF tent from the 80's that he pulled out of storage last year for the first time in ages and the PU coating had degraded into a sticky mess. He sent it to NF and they initially declined repair or replacement. My boss is persistent in these things and managed to get them to give him a gift card for the original purchase price of the tent.
 
I do not think the materials degrade much in proper storage, its days or sun exposure. UV "cooks" most materials. Leave a tent out in the sun for long periods and it "cooks". The one exclusion is many older tents used a Polyurethane (PU) coating and that seemed to break down in storage as well as in use. I had one rarely used tent in reasonable storage conditions and when I pulled it out I got the distinct PU smell. No real fix except scrub the coating off and reapply.

What is old? Mid-late-'00s? I've had the PU coating on both Big Agnes and REI tents of that age degrade, despite what I thought was proper storage. Big Agnes replaced the fly and tent no questions asked. REI said that the tent, an Arete ASL 2, had lasted its "designed lifespan" despite only occasional use. I replaced it with a Big Agnes Copper Spur HV2 Expedition.

I have read elsewhere online that the PU coatings off-gas and if they are stored packed in their stuff sacks, they aren't able to. All of my tents are now loosely stored in lightweight cotton laundry/duvet/sleeping-bag sacks.
 
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