1-1/2 inch ((Diameter)) 3:1 Dual Wall Adhesive Heat Shrink Tubing, Large Glue Lined Marine Cable Sleeve Tube, Premium Wire Wrap Protector for DIY by MILAPEAK (4 Feet, Black)

This is a product that I have repeatedly purchased and will continue to buy as long as I’m in need of it and it's available. I have purchased four kits of the mixed sizes so far. While searching for a quality marine heat shrink to cover, seal, insulate, and complete the (many) wiring connections on my 13’ Ascend 133x kayak, I was fortunate enough to stumble across this product. It is an end-all answer and heat shrink that has provided superior insulation and a waterproof seal over all of my connections in my marine based project. My kayak carries one Group 27 BassPro Shops Deep Cycle 12V Marine Battery (dedicated to the trolling motor only), two Eco-Worthy 12v 20AH Lithium LifePO4 batteries that are connected in a simple parallel system and are dedicated to all electronics aside from the trolling motor (these batteries have a black case with a green and orange label and they can be found here on Amazon), and an array of additional electronics including (but not limited to):- A 5-channel Yak Attack power system connected to:

 1. One green and one red 12” LED navigation light mounted on the bow.

 2. One 360 degree stern light attached to a collapsible 6’ pole (with an orange flag) that can be plugged-in via an SAE adapter. The nav light wiring runs down the pole and connects to a male SAE adapter, which plugs into a female wall-mounted SAE adapter on the kayak.

 3. Two 12” white LED nav lights mounted on the bow.

 4. Two 60 watt bow spotlights that are mounted onto two small grab bars at the bow of the kayak.

 5. A navigation port mounted in the stern solely for a GoPro Power Stick (the wiring also daisy chains and connects to two USB adapters to power GoPro’s).
- Two 30 watt solar panels and their charge controller.- One 10 watt solar panel and its charge controller.- A Garmin Striker Vivid 5cv fish finder (connected to its own of/off button).- Fuse block #1, which is installed in its own waterproof housing with cable glands to allow wiring to pass and remain waterproof. The gland port was filled with Marine 5200 just before twisting and sealing it shut around the wires. A waterproof on/off switch is attached to the outside of the case, where the main line feeds into before entering a cable gland. This fuse block connects to:

 1. A CB Radio.

 2. A Bluetooth/Radio/MP3 Stereo and two 4” speakers.

 3. Hull Bilge Pump Switch Panel #1 (located in the bow); all are brand “Amarine,” found here on Amazon; search for “Amarine Made Deluxe LED Rocker Bilge Pump Switch Panel & Circuit Breaker - Auto/Off/Man LED Lighted Control Switches for RV Truck Caravan Vehicles Off”

 4. Hull Bilge Pump Switch Panel #2 (located in the middle).

 5. Hull Bilge Pump Switch Panel #3 (located in the middle).

 6. Hull Bilge Pump Switch Panel #4 (located in the stern).

 7. Hull Bilge Pump Switch Panel #5 (located in the stern).

 8. One 6 gang rocker switch panel (with a built-in cigarette lighter port, voltage meter, and dual USB charging port) that feed: 1. A 13’ white LED light strip on each side of the yak. 2. A 13’ green LED light strip one each side of the yak. 3. Two blue 12” deck LED light strips. 4. Two white 12” deck LED light strips.
 5. Two Blue LED lights built into the stereo speakers that require power to illuminate.
 6. Twelve white courtesy/emergency deck and hull LED’s.
- Fuse block #2, which is installed in its own waterproof housing with cable glands to allow wiring to pass and remain waterproof. The gland port was filled with Marine 5200 just before twisting and sealing it shut around the wires. This feeds:

 1. Stern Bilge Pump And Pump Switch #1 (required as scupper holes are plugged).

 2. Stern Bilge Pump And Pump Switch #2 (required as scupper holes are plugged). There’s even a handful of more things. I know this sounds a bit ridiculous for a kayak. It is, but it’s how I wanted my yak to be, so I put the time and effort in and made it all happen, despite the countless hours it has taken me. But because of this, you can get a decent idea as to how many insulated and waterproof connections I have had to make on this kayak (and how important it is to me that each one has a long life). It has been an outrageous amount. Again, I’ve gone through four of these kits alone on my kayak project because I have needed so much heat shrink. I can confidently say, a year after having made my first few connections (butt, ring terminal, spade, etc.) and sealed them with this heat shrink, that I have had absolutely no issues. I have been mostly in fresh, but also in salt water conditions. When I’ve checked my electronics and wiring out of routine, these connections and the heat shrink have always looked great and the heat shrink has always been as solid as it was when I first installed it; I do not notice or feel any degradation. Granted that the majority of the wiring is installed inside of the hull, even the exposed wiring and heat shrink (that constantly sees the Florida sun when out on the water) still looks and performs flawlessly. I have driven so many places with this kayak, loaded and unloaded it in the bed (and onto the truck bed hitch extender) of my Ram 1500 so many times, drug it over tough terrain where the wires were bouncing around, and they’re still solid, insulated, and waterproof connections. I’ve even made incorrect connections and had to remove the heat shrink after I’ve installed it, and it was not easy, which speaks to its ability to seal and to its durability. I’ve used low quality heat shrink before where I needed to coat the wiring with liquid electrical tape before shrinking and installing it (while the liquid electrical tape was still wet) so that I could ensure a waterproof seal by watching the liquid electrical tape ooze out of the heat shrink ends once applied, but I don’t have to do that anymore with this stuff. The glue on the interior walls melts and spreads perfectly (and is very durable once dried) and the heat shrinks’ ability to actually shrink (while maintaining a thick wall) constantly impresses me. Even when I’ve run out of the properly sized heat shrink to use for a connection, I’ve been able to upscale and still get very impressive results. The best example that I can probably give you would be this one, where I realized that the three 4” stock hatches and gaskets on these Ascend 133x kayaks are incredibly faulty (replace these ASAP if you buy an Ascend 133x for your own safety). One hatch is located beneath the seat of the yak and the first time it rained on me (and man did it rain hard), the interior hull filled up quite a bit with water because of the leak in that hatch, even with the scupper holes (located closer to the front of the yak) being unplugged. Yes, you read that right - it was a recipe for a sinking disaster. So thank god I had installed my interior hull bilge pumps, eh? This area beneath the seat (where the hatch is located) tilts back slightly by design and water pools up into it, which is one reason that so much water can potentially leak through the hatch it houses and get inside of the hull/boat. I ended up not only replacing the hatch, but sealing its edges with Marine 5200 just to reassure myself (I’m terrified of the idea of sinking if you can’t tell).***Fun Fact: If you weren’t aware, Marine 5200 doesn’t permanently bond to and can be removed from kayak plastic (or the kind of plastic that makes up an Ascend 133x at least) with a little force without damaging it, so this method doesn’t permanently adhere the hatch onto the kayak like it would on fiberglass, wood, or gel coated boats.*** When all of this hatch-leaking anarchy happened, I was on vacation in northern Alabama in the mountains. All of the wiring in the hull, along with many connections covered by this heat shrink, were completely under water before the bilge pumps started to drain. Guess what? It didn’t even phase the connections because - between the waterproof connectors and the heat shrink - it sealed and kept all of the water out and away from the electrical connections. This includes the aforementioned butt, ring terminal, spade, etc. connections, but also the connections that I had to solder and coat (and let dry) with liquid electrical tape before applying the heat shrink. I honestly have no doubts that the liquid electrical tape only serves as an additional insurance when it comes to this heat shrink though, and the liquid electrical tape is probably not needed, ultimately. I ran either 14, 10, or 6 gauge wiring, and the most commonly used sizes of heat shrink on this project (listed in order of most used to least) have been 1/4, 3/8, and 3/16 inch. But I keep ordering the kit to have extras of the other sizes. It’s nice to know that if I need them, I’ve got exactly what I need for the job. If you cut them, I suggest using scissors or a blade (cut cleanly and completely across). If you rip them apart unevenly at all (even a small 1/8” portion that you may have missed when cutting it with a blade), the end product won’t look too great once it’s shrunk. And if you tear them slightly, the tear will continue to ravine from one end to the other once you start shrinking the heat shrink, ultimately cutting it in half and deeming the heat shrink unusable. In regards to the typical blue, pink, and yellow colored #10-22 sized AWG marine grade butt connectors that you find here on Amazon (that I used), I usually can cut one piece of heat shrink from this kit in half to make two effective seals in total for those. I have to note that I have not shared the same experience as many other customers have where the heat shrink came smashed/stuck together. I do remember pulling out one or two pieces here and there that were slightly stuck together, but they came unstuck as soon as I rolled them in between my thumb and index finger, so that is not a compliant that I share (this is in regards to all four kits that I’ve ordered). Maybe I got lucky, but I personally wouldn’t call it that after four different kits. I would say, judging by my experiences, that this issue was resolved. I have used an 1800 watt Seekone heat gun (found here on Amazon) to perform the applications. When using it to apply this heat shrink, the heat gun has been on the ‘high’ setting 9 times out of 10. The smaller flat-ended tip that comes with the heat gun (out of four tips in total) has worked best for me on this heat shrink. I’ll slip the heat shrink on one wire, make the required connection(s) and crimp them (if needed), apply heat to install the connector (if one is needed), let it cool, and slide the heat shrink over the connection. In order to make sure the heat shrink maintains its place, I will carefully and slowly apply heat to one end/tip to melt the glue just enough so that it grabs hold of the wiring insulation. This holds it in place while I continue to apply heat and slowly roll the wire and heat shrink (while holding the wiring as level as possible) from one end to the other, until it shrinks and glue seeps out of both ends of the shrunken heat shrink. It doesn’t typically take more than 20 seconds for it to shrink properly in the method that I use. I then let it sit and cool for at least three minutes. Thank you for this quality product. My yak is a very large one and in all reality, it’s more of a kayak/John boat hybrid. The size and weight is not for the faint of heart and its core design is established around utilizing a trolling motor and electronics. This wiring that I’ve spoken of is its bloodline. And because of what your product has provided me in terms of quality and durability, it has allowed me to spend many, many hours on the water, doing what I love in peace and harmony. And I cannot say “thank you” enough for that.

Great heat shrink. Only advice is that I had to find a real heat gun to use this product. A hair dryer did not get hot enough.

Just what the Doctor ordered...

To insulate the lug connector

The measured the shrink ratio on a test sample was exactly 3:1 as advertised. It has a nice heavy wall with sealant inside. I've used two 10 inch pieces so far. My heat source used was a Wagner 1200 watt heat gun, which I have found to work well with all kinds of shrink. I used the high setting for this product. Working a few inches at a time it shrank evenly and conformed perfectly with no wrinkles.

Good value for the money, compared to other stores.

used this in the process of making speaker cables with banana plug ends. Cuts easy, and shrinks well under a head gun. It's durable and should hold up well. I made a mistake on one cable end and had to cut some of this off and it was tougher than expected. Normal use should not pose any wear issues.

Outstanding product!