Wader seam tape repair

[Otter]

I’ve been happy with just Aquaseal to cover worn spots on wader seam tape, but I’m curious about these new self-adhesive repair tapes. What are people’s thoughts and experiences with Tenacious Tape, or sail repair tape, or neoprene dive suit tape, or any other tape?

My local dive shop also sells a thin non-adhesive neoprene tape, that needs urethane contact cement to attach. They recommend finishing the repair with a bit of heat from a hair dryer, then pressure with a roller.

I’m needing to seal some worn seams inside the booties, and the crotch. I’m thinking tape probably would be very tricky to apply to both areas, due to the curves. These are 5 year old Orvis Silver Sonics.

Thanks a lot, and tight lines.

 

[M_D]

I have limited experience with Tenacious tape and my thought is it is good for emergency or quick repairs to get you back in the water but I don't know how durable it is.

It saved a 4 day backpacking trip when I over inflated a float tube bladder and left it in the sun too long. The hole was in a tough place and I needed to use the tape in combination with some quick curing/UV aquaseal. It saved the trip but the leak was only slowed because it was right at the seam. I had to add more aquaseal occasionally AND pump in more air about once an hour.

As an aside here, I've found the quick cure aqua seal to be a bit brittle in the long run and prefer the slow curing original....that said, the uv stuff is great to get back on/in the water quickly.

Back to Tenacious tape, I used it recently to patch a tear in the butt of a pair of Columbia shorts....the newer non cotton quick drying material. Again, this could be apples n' oranges compared to wader material but what has impressed me is how long the tape has stayed in place. It's probably been a month or 6 weeks and the shorts have been through the wash maybe 4 times and the corners of the 2 inch section of tape are just starting to lose adhesion. So it works but I'm just not sure for how long.




Mike d

 

[Otter]

Thanks very much for your experiences with Tenacious tape and quick cure Aquaseal, Mike. it’s good to know they are both pretty good, at least for quick, temporary repairs.

 

[Otter]

My local dive shop also sells a thin non-adhesive neoprene tape, that needs urethane contact cement to attach. They recommend finishing the repair with a bit of heat from a hair dryer, then pressure with a roller.

I bought some of this dive tape and the contact cement that goes with it, and did a couple of test bondings on scrap nylon cloth. The bonding is very strong, but it makes for a pretty rigid repair. I imagine it would be great on large, heavy duty surfaces, like an inflatable raft, but I'd like my wader repairs to be flexible. So I went ahead and just applied a thin coat of Aquaseal on top of the worn tape, and along the edges of the tape. I'll do a leak test tomorrow, and let you all know how it worked out.

 

[Otter]

No water leaked into the booties after my Aquaseal repair.