Bed-It Butyl Tape

[Stu Jackson]

I've gotten so tired of posters on other forums writing in about "other" cheaper butyl tapes, that I copied this from today's post by Maine Sail over on co.com.  I know it'll get referenced many times, so I put a link to this in the "101 Topics" page, too.  Buy it here:  https://marinehowto.com/

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It is truly sad to see folks getting soooooo ripped off.... When I wrote that original article in 2005 I never guessed so many sleazy companies would jump on the butyl band wagon to scam folks out of their hard earned money with crap product......
Some things to keep in mind when buying a butyl bedding tape:

*There are HUNDREDS of formulations of butyl tape most of them being very poor quality for the intended application. How will a cheap tape perform when compressed at 1/64" thick, in a compression seal, and the stanchion flexes? How does it compare to a pre-EPA regs tape?

*None of these formulations have passed my rigorous testing for marine bedding applications. It would have been very easy to slap my label on a pre-made tape... Bed-It is not a pre-made re-branded tape it is specifically formulated for bedding deck hardware, at the performance level, not just the label or packaging level.... I worked very hard with my lab to ensure folks were getting a premium butyl product specifically engineered to suit bedding deck hardware and for a fair price. Bed-It is specifically engineered for bedding deck hardware. nothing else.

I have tested far too many manufacturers and "brands" of butyl and know nearly every manufacturers of this product that is out there. I get about 1 request for my business a wee, many now coming from China and the Russian block nations because I have tested most of the North American manufacturers.. I often engage them, and get samples..... They are pretty laughable.... Considering what each roll cost me, and what I sell it for, it represents a tremendous value to the end user compared to the RV or other low level butyl tapes. My manufacturer tells me I am nuts but I still feel that I need to compete even with crappy products. The proceeds only fund my free how-to site anyway...

*Bed-It Tape is a proprietary formulation because it needed to be.... I tried to source a pre-made tape that performed as I wanted it to. Does not exist, that I could find, at least as far as I have seen & tested. Sadly the great pre-EPA tapes of yesteryear are LONG GONE. If you want a good butyl tape today it requires expensive raw materials, lots and lots of testing and many tries at a suitable formulation. Most companies are unwilling to do this. I have not seen any tape sold as "marine" that even comes close to Bed-It Tape from a performance perspective. I suppose I could have sourced cheap, bottom of the barrel, butyl and resold it in 7' rolls for $17.99 and I would be retired by now.......... I don't believe in that, and it is sad that butyl may get a bad rap because of sleazy companies trying to make a quick buck.

Cavaet Emptor on the band wagon "marine butyls"... Bed-It was born specifically because of poor quality butyl tape and a niche that needed to be filled after all formulations changed to due to EPA regs.........