Hi Alina,
Right from an article just published by Roger Caffin and Will Rietveld
One of the parameters they tested was stability. Here is a brief quote:
"Stability - allied to comfort, but it includes things like the slipperiness of the mat under you and the shape of the tubes making up the airmat. Some mats can leave you rolling off the sides too easily; others feature larger tubes at the edges to prevent this. "
Yes, slipping around can be annoying, especially at night.
Generally, the accepted practice is to add a few small stripes of
silicone calk to the floor of the tent. Or, to the base of the mat.
This works fine. But, I do not do this. I use a small cup and mix
a light slurry of calk and paint the whole floor. I do this as part of seam
sealing, but, you can do it anytime. This is also a waterproofer for old sil
nylon tarps and tents, when diluted heavily. Anyway, about 1/4 cup of silicone
calk or so mixed with 1-2 cups of mineral spirits. I do this by eye, generally,
but for floors it needs to be a bit thicker than for recoating tarps. ~4:1 to 8:1
is a good ratio for inside floors. On the outside of the floor, I use about a 12:1
to 20:1 mix. Do the WHOLE floor including any seams for the bathtub splash
guard. Note than you can also use white gas as a diluting agent. Make
sure the tent floor is clean.
Ideally, you want to do the top and bottom together so that any pores in
the silnylon will allow the mix to penetrate and bond with the other side. This
is difficult, though. Usually the outside is done first, then the inside. I hang the
tent from a cloths line outside and turn it inside out. I prop it open with several
sticks and some duct tape. Do not paint onto the tent fabric if you can avoid it.
It takes a couple people to hold the floor stiff enough for brushing. Don't let it
puddle. A disposable foam brush about 2" works well.
You really only need to do the inside. Generally, a urethane coated floor
will not have pores, so, only the inside will do any good, unless it is badly worn.
A silnylon floor will have pores, soo, this wants both sides covered.
The inside should just show very light brush marks with the thicker mix.
These act as "stripes" to lock in your pad. The stickiness on your knees and
while moving around is nice, too. After 48 hours, a light dusting with talc will
work to remove the residual stickiness. I have heard that baby powder works
OK. The bears do not seem to be attracted to it. Or, just use it. it will loose the
initial stickiness after a couple times out. It will attract dust and dirt easily the
first few times out.
A very dilute mix is the watch word. Too thick will allow pieces of the
coating to peel off. Too thin will not work for anti-skid. If you get it too thin, you
can add a second thin coat. Basically, the thin film should not bond to itself
as strongly as to the fabric. If it is too thick, it peels. This is the big reason I
avoid just stripes. After using them for a while they peel off in places. But, they
are easy to replace, too. After two or three iterations, a good portion of the floor
is covered anyway. I never tried to coat the bottom of the pad, though.
Overall this will add about 1-2oz to the floor for anti skid. This makes
everything sealed against an extra ~1000mm of water, too.
My thoughts only . . .
jdm
Post by AlinaNHi,
We have Double Rainbow Tarptent and our sleeping pads are sliding all over the place. We have POE Peak Elite and Exped SynMat UL 7.
My husband suggested buying foam pads and putting them under our inflatable pads but it means that we would have to carry more weight/bulk. Besides I am not even sure if it would work anyway. It might be OK once it gets colder so we can use the extra insulation.
Henry did some sticky strips when sealing our tent but I do not find them very helpful.
Do you guys have any suggestions?
The sliding has an impact on the quality of our sleep.
Thank you.
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James Marco,
302 Mary Lane,
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-273-9132