A heat-sealing iron is the only specialized tool you’ll need to make a DIY Packraft. (Learn about the DIY Packraft heat-sealing technique here.)

DIY Packraft doesn’t sell irons, but I can offer some unbiased recommendations:

My favorite iron is a leather iron I purchased for under $30 USD from www.aliexpress.com. To purchase one, visit www.aliexpress.com, enter “leather iron” in their search engine, and then choose one that looks similar to the one pictured below (make sure it has a temperature adjustment knob). Mine took about two weeks to arrive from China. (They’re also available from Amazon at higher prices.) Even though it’s designed for 220V electricity, it works fine in North America with a cheap plug adapter.

“Leather Iron” sold by Aliexpress under various brand names. To purchase one, go to www.aliexpress.com and search for “leather iron”.

These leather irons work best after a couple of modifications (see the video below). First, if you’re in North America*, you’ll need to purchase a cheap electrical plug adapter or cut off the stock plug and attach one that will fit in your electrical outlets. (You can purchase a new plug at a hardware store for under $5 and attach the wires with a screw driver – no soldering required.) Second, you’ll need to file the bottom of the iron flat, because it comes with a slightly rounded foot. This takes about 20 minutes using a metal file or emery cloth, or even sandpaper. To make filing easier, either secure the iron in a vice, or secure the file to your work surface with a clamp or double-sided tape. File the iron until the bottom is flat and then smooth it with sandpaper. (Note that grinding the aluminum on a bench grinder is not recommended, as soft metals tend to stick to grinding wheels and can cause a wheel to explode if it overheats!)

*If you’re in North America and don’t mind paying a bit more for a similar iron, try this one from Amazon. It’s built to work in US electrical outlets, so the plug doesn’t need to be adapted and the temperature selection dial is accurate, and the only modification required is flattening the bottom of the foot. Dan S. reports that it shipped from the US and arrived within a week. (Amazon links don’t last forever – if that product is discontinued, please tell me.)

Even though it requires a couple modifications, this is my preferred iron.


Alternative Irons:

An alternative to a leather iron is a model airplane covering iron such as the Coverite Black Baron pictured below, which can be purchased for around $20-$30 USD. These irons are designed for applying plastic film covering to radio-controlled model airplanes, and they are sold at hobby stores in most cities and online through stores like Amazon, Tower Hobbies, etc. Model airplane irons are wider than many of the seams in a packraft, so they must be used very carefully – this adds a significant amount of time to a packraft build.

The inexpensive Coverite Black Baron heat sealing iron, designed for covering radio controlled airplanes with heat sealable plastic film, has plenty of power and is robustly built. It’s a bit wide though, so works best after reshaping the foot with a metal file.

These model airplane irons are robust and have plenty of power and thermal mass so they maintain a constant temperature well. The non-stick surface is a nice feature, and the simple dial lets you can fine-tune the temperature.

Most of these irons can be used straight out of the box to make a packraft, but model airplane irons aren’t designed for packraft construction, so the shape of the foot isn’t ideal, and some of them don’t get hot enough so the internal heat regulator needs to be adjusted. This page shows how you can use a metal file to shave off some of the aluminum from the iron to make it into a more user-friendly shape. This takes more work than modifying a leather iron.

There are several different brands of model airplane covering irons available and I have not tried them all, but you can read my review of the Coverite Black Baron iron here. Some European DIY Packrafters have found the Black Baron to be more expensive in Europe, so they have purchased different brands that are not available in North America.

 

Heat sealing tools that have worked for me:

In order of preference from most preferred to least preferred

  1. Leather Iron” ordered from Aliexpress.com (requires simple modifications)
  2. Coverite Black Baron Heat Sealing Iron (works out of the box, and works even better with simple modifications). Other model airplane covering irons work too (but perhaps not all of them). These irons are wider than the packraft seams, and the extra width makes them difficult to use without inadvertently melting the heat sealable TPU coating in areas you aren’t intending to weld.
  3. Clover Mini Iron II (Only the North American version works, and it has trouble maintaining a constant temperature. Its small size means it takes longer)
  4. Adjustable-temperature soldering iron with a modified tip (i.e. DIY heat-sealing iron). Making one of these is a fair amount of work, so I recommend  purchasing one of the above options
  5. Top Flite Sealing Iron (works, but has a design flaw that makes it difficult to use the side of the iron for sealing narrow areas without modification)
  6. Regular household clothes iron (much too big for most applications)
  7. 1500 Watt hot air gun – seals the fabric well, but it’s very difficult to direct the heat to a small area, so adjacent areas get melted too. It’s also difficult to use with just two hands.

 

Other irons recommended by customers:

Not verified by DIY Packraft – please leave a comment below to add to the list

  • New Zealand: Turnigy Covering Film Iron with NZ mains plug
  • Hot air gun (full report with video posted here in the forum by Lyn)

 

Irons I have tried that do not work:

  • Century 21 Trim Sealing Iron (not hot enough for sealing TPU)
  • Dritz Petite Press mini iron – mine wasn’t hot enough, but some people have had better luck with this iron

Irons tried by customers that do not work*:

  • Jamara Pro**Star – poorly constructed, short circuited
  • Pichler Profi Star – poorly constructed, short circuited
  • Jamara Pro Decal – not hot enough

*Thanks to Stefan D. for sharing this info!

 

Other things you’ll want to have on hand when constructing a packraft:

  • Sharp scissors
  • A permanent marker (silver Sharpie works well on dark fabric)
  • Parchment paper (a.k.a. “baking paper” – silicone coated paper used as a non-stick surface for baking, available in your local grocery store). I’ve included some in your packraft kit, but you may want more.
  • Ceramic or wooden bowl without a sharp lip around the bottom – for sealing curved seams (or a purpose-built wooden form) – maximum diameter ~25 cm (10″)
  • Paperweight-type items, such as books, to keep your fabric from sliding around
  • A clean rag or glove for pressing on the seams as they cool – or a silicone roller is even better:
A silicone roller is great for pressing the fabric as it cools after ironing. Buy the cheapest one you can find on Amazon. I use the 40 mm width.
  • Masking tape for holding things in place
  • A fairly large work surface in an area with good lighting. You don’t need a workshop or garage – I built my first three prototypes on my dining room table
  • Pieces of wood, cardboard, or some other smooth, flat, heat-resistant material to protect your dining room table from burns…
  • You should probably wear some kind of heat-resistant glove on the hand you use to hold the fabric (I have burned myself several times because I don’t always follow my own advice)
  • Several paper clips, binder clips, or small spring clamps to keep fabric out of the way while you’re working.

30 Comments

Carver · December 31, 2021 at 10:47 am

Do you prefer the analog temperature gauge or a digital one on the YJINGRUI on Amazon? Thanks.

    Matt (Admin) · December 31, 2021 at 10:57 am

    I would choose whichever one is cheaper – you can’t trust the gauge either way, and once you’ve found the right temperature by trial and error you almost never have to change it, so the type of gauge doesn’t really matter.

Steve Millar · November 22, 2021 at 11:29 am

Just received my iron from
Ali express (took about 3 weeks) and they even included a NA adapter in the package, unasked for. Ready now to embark on my Skeena construction.

Deborah · September 18, 2020 at 3:38 pm

Do you have any reports yet of the newest Amazon special?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B3TV2XB/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2ERURQ2JAPKRV&psc=1

It looks like it has a flat head (no need for shaving it down), but I’m leery because it only has two temperature settings. Looks like the first one is 150-180degrees C, which I’m expecting won’t be hot enough, and the second one is 240-285degrees C, which I’m expecting might be too hot. Also plugs into a standard North American outlet, as an added bonus.

Anchorage, AK

    Matt (Admin) · September 18, 2020 at 3:42 pm

    Nope, and they won’t ship it here so I can’t try it, but if you do, please tell us how it goes. Thanks!

    Meg · January 17, 2021 at 2:41 pm

    Hi Deborah (and Matt), I gave this one a try and can confirm – the low setting is not hot enough (TPU doesn’t bond), and the high setting is too hot (fabric melts). I have the ultralight kit, so can’t confirm if the same problem would occur with the regular fabric, but I would assume so. My advice is to skip this one and definitely get something fully adjustable rather than with one or two preset temps.

sldrose · October 17, 2019 at 7:00 pm

Is the Aliexpress “leather iron” still the preferred iron?

Also, im in Australia which is 240v, can anyone advise whether this iron works well enough in Australia or anywhere else that is 240v?

Its only taken over a year and i still havent started building.

thanks

    Matt (Admin) · October 21, 2019 at 9:45 am

    Yep, this is still my preferred iron. I can’t guarantee it will work in Australia, but I think it will – maybe start with it at half power and adjust the temperature up or down from there as necessary.

    Pirate323i · October 29, 2019 at 5:22 pm

    I’ve started my packraft, and can confirm the Aliexpress “leather iron” works on 240V (I’m across the ditch in NZ) I have it set at ~170°C

Jeremyc1999 · October 5, 2019 at 9:06 am

Have you tried a plug adapter for the leather iron? I was thinking something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ROAD-WARRIOR-Travel-Plug-Adapter/dp/B079ND2M6R/ref=sr_1_20?keywords=american+plug+adapter&qid=1570291454&sr=8-20

    Matt (Admin) · October 5, 2019 at 9:48 am

    Good idea! I couldn’t find one that cheap so I haven’t tried it, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work.

Ivan · June 21, 2019 at 5:19 am

Hi matt,

please help me, I’m looking like 2h straight and can’t find any info which type of temperature controller this aliexpress.com leather iron use. Now, in your last post I see that you mention thermostat and the potentiometer.
So, is this closed loop regulation, it has temp sensor and adjust accordingly?
I see that it has two rods that are going out from handle, one have clearly wires but don’t know does second one are also hollow and what it’s in it.
Anyway, can you confirm 100% that this have closed loop type temperature regulation and not only dimmer like system.
Thanks a lot, Ivan
(sorry for my englisch)

    Matt (Admin) · June 21, 2019 at 8:21 am

    Hi Ivan, I can’t see which iron you were looking at, so I can’t confirm that it has the type of temperature regulation you want, but as long as it has the ability to adjust the temperature it should work for heat sealing. The ones I purchased have a thermocouple, but even a dimmer should work fine. Cheers!

Nick G · June 1, 2019 at 2:01 pm

Hi Matt,

I’ve been working with the aliexpress.com leather iron that you recommend and mine doesn’t seem to be getting hot enough. I even tried the tin foil wrap trick. Any reports of this happening to others? Any suggestions, or should I just try a black baron instead?

Nick G.
Juneau, AK

    Matt (Admin) · June 4, 2019 at 8:57 am

    Hi Nick, I haven’t experienced this, but I’ll open up my iron to see if there’s a way to adjust the thermostat’s set point independent of the potentiometer. In the meantime, check to make sure all the connections are secure and there’s lots of wire in contact with the plug prongs.

Oskar · September 21, 2018 at 12:09 am

Whats wrong with the non NA version of the Clover Mini Iron II?

    Matt (Admin) · September 21, 2018 at 9:05 am

    Some people have reported that it does not get hot enough.

Frank · December 14, 2016 at 9:27 am

Hi Matt,

As promised my 2cts about that iron sold by a Polish shop.

I gave it a bit of testing this afternoon and my opinion would be to stay clear from it:
I first tried the setting that was meant to give me the right temperature with no luck so I gradually increased.
Ended at the max setting, with one hour of preheating and still it kind of bonded but would not get the proper fusion of both TPU layers (they’d still come appart each on its original fabric when I rip it appart)
Fair enough it’s pretty cold in my workshop at the moment but still.
And after only about 15cm of sealing tests the so called teflon treatment on the tip starts to show some wear and lets the aluminium thru.

What I ended doing was adapt the tip on a 40w soldering iron I had around and it worked a treat, perfect strong bond like you get in your fabric testing video, no melted nylon, all good.

For those looking for a solution in Europe when searching I came across models made by Antex (which I’ve seen my father using soldering irons from for the past 30 years) for quilting that might be a better option than what I bought.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

Frank

    Matt (Admin) · December 14, 2016 at 4:33 pm

    Hi Frank! I was going to order one and give it a try myself, so thanks for saving me the trouble. The Antex quilting iron looks like it might be a good option, and possibly cheaper than the Clover in Europe. I will see if it’s available here and if so I will try one.

    Thanks again!

maximumplaid · October 28, 2016 at 1:27 am

Hi Matt,

I stumpeled upon this heat sealing iron which I now believe will fit the purpose for packraft building, unmodified in terms of size and temperature range. I ordered one all the way from Poland, I live in Denmark and it was EUR 11,90

(http://www.modele.sklep.pl/en/Katalog/NARZEDZIA-I-PRZYRZADY/Zelazka-i-suszarki-do-folii/Q-MODEL-606-1-ZELAZKO-TRIM.html)

but there many retailers out there, so I through I would give it a shot. When I got the iron there were temperature settings on the box as stated below, however not if it was given in celsius or fahrenheit.

The temperature range if compaired to Coverite trim sealing iron, seems to be very close provided the temperature measurements on my trim iron are given in fahrenheit. I was dissapointed and also ordered a soldering iron, so that I could do the recommended modifications.

(https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01HYUR7SG/ref=pe_386171_51767411_TE_dp_1)

However when I orderes the trim iron I also approached the Taiwan manufacture Ming Yang via Taiwan trade approx. two weeks ago and I got an answer from them today that the temperature range is indeed in celsius.

Hence I believe this would work, have not tried it on facric yet as, it is in the mail. Below see some photos of the iron and the well short but still reply from Ming Yang in Taiwan.

It has four temperature settings :

HI: to etched line 270 °C (518°F)
HI: to set pin 318 °C (604.4 °F)
Low: to etched line 186 °C (366.8 °F)
Low: to set pin 215 °C (419°F)

https://goo.gl/photos/mZ4sAKitKUrkhpwS6

Best regards

Christoffer

    Matt (Admin) · October 28, 2016 at 7:50 am

    Hi Christoffer,

    Thanks for the tip! Please tell us if it works!

      Christoffer Dyre · November 1, 2016 at 2:58 am

      Hi Matt,

      Received your material I ordered today, thanks.

      Made a small test with my Ming yang 606 sealing iron.

      Small video on this link, I used the high setting but did not give it time to heat up and it worked, 5 min after it was warmer and I believe this is the amount of seal that is required. Not sure because it is my first attempt with your fabric, however for me it looks promising and I think I can recommend the product instead of doing modification with soldering iron.

      https://goo.gl/photos/mZ4sAKitKUrkhpwS6

      Looking forward to build a packraft.

      Best regards

      Christoffer

        Matt (Admin) · November 1, 2016 at 10:22 am

        Thanks, Christoffer – that is great news! I will try one too.

Craig · July 9, 2016 at 7:41 am

Matt,

I have been experimenting with bonding the fabric I bought before making my packraft. (200d Oxford TPU one side). I have had no luck with a small (seal rite) trim sealing iron or soldering iron with the seal rite iron tips. Neither irons seemed to get hot enough. I was successful bonding practice pieces with a full size regular iron, which I know is too big.

Can you post your latest soldering iron/copper tubing mod soon so I can try that?

Thanks, Craig

    Matt (Admin) · July 9, 2016 at 9:30 am

    Hi Craig,

    I’m surprised your soldering iron isn’t getting the tip hot enough to work… maybe there is not enough contact area between the soldering iron and the tip for sufficient heat to flow into the tip?

    I have just posted a quick overview of how I made my new iron – it’s on the blog and also under the How To menu.

    Cheers,

    Matt

Ben · July 7, 2016 at 7:47 am

Hi Matt. What wattage would you recommend in regards to soldering irons? I noticed on a previous post you said you were using a 25 watt iron, but the one you’ve linked in this description goes up to 60 watts…Was 25 inadequate? Also, why have you switched from the trim sealing iron tips to a crimped piece of copper tubing? Were they also not performing? Cheers.

    Matt (Admin) · July 7, 2016 at 8:05 am

    Hi Ben,

    The 25 Watt iron was hot enough – even too hot at times – but the temperature on that one was not adjustable. The trim sealing iron tip worked very well but I haven’t found a supplier for those tips that doesn’t charge a ridiculous amount for shipping and I wanted to design an iron that would be cheaper and easier for other people to replicate. The 60 Watt adjustable iron + copper tubing is not perfect, but I can fine-tune the temperature and I chose that iron because it’s readily available and has good reviews online. If you have purchased a different iron and have trim sealing iron tips, I think you will have no trouble. I was disappointed that my Century 21 trim sealing iron would not get hot enough, so I can’t recommend it, but I may have just received a bad one (though it still wasn’t hot enough when I modified the circuit inside to increase the power).

    Cheers,

    Matt

Ryan · April 28, 2016 at 12:06 pm

What are you thoughts on a hot air plastic welder?
1600w Handheld Hot Air Plastic Welder Gun PVC Welding GUN Plastic Welder Similar to Leister Hot Air Gun

    Matt (Admin) · April 28, 2016 at 8:02 pm

    I haven’t used a hot air welder before, but I’ve seen videos of people using them and it looks like it could work well, especially for fabrics without a heat sealable backing because the plastic coating appears to get hot enough to fuse to another piece of fabric when it’s put under pressure.

    Some caveats are that it would be more difficult to heat up only the part of the fabric you want welded, so it might not work on fabrics with an actual heat sealable backing (because it might stick where you don’t want it to). Also, 1600 watts is a lot of heat output, so you would need to use it in a large or well ventilated area if you were using it for any length of time…

    Where I’ve seen these used it’s been either in joining two straight edges that are laid out on a flat surface, or where one or two people are working together to feed the fabric into a machine that has the heat gun mounted so it shoots hot air over the fabric right before it gets pressed between two rollers (you have to apply pressure to get the weld to form properly). The problem is that if you’re joining curved edges that won’t lie flat, you need more than two hands to hold the two pieces of fabric plus the heat gun, plus the roller to press them together – definitely a two person job if the heat gun and rollers aren’t mounted in place and controllable with foot pedals.

    I’ve actually been thinking about trying to rig up something like this: http://www.jpwinc.com/pages/images/compdogretroends3em.JPG which is what I’ve just described, but that’s a bit beyond the scope of what I’m doing at this point. I just posted a video (https://youtu.be/xqvCLiK5_DE) that shows how I use the sealing iron to join straight edges, and I’ll be posting a video soon showing how I join curved edges (you’ll see then why it’s harder to do).

    Thanks for the suggestion and for reminding me of this – if I ever start making packrafts commercially, I’ll definitely consider investing the time and/or money into getting a hot air welder. In the meantime, if you give the heat gun a try, please let me know how it goes!

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