Polyform G-4 Teal vs Taylor Made 960622

Buy the Polyform G-4 in teal, model 4954067, manufacturer part G-4 TEAL, when you want the fender the bullets size at 6.5 inches in diameter and 22.0 inches long, with a 2.2 gallon volume and a 0.8 inch eye, for boats the same bullets put at 20 to 25 feet. Buy Taylor Made 960622, the Super Gard the title sizes at 6.5 by 22 inches in Sand, when you want the ribbed fender the bullets put on the same 20 to 25 foot range, with 5/8 inch eyes and a football-needle valve the bullet says to inflate to 2 psi. They are the same job. They are not the same eye and they are not the same valve.

Short version. A kayak cart does not keep a hull off a piling. A bilge pump is what runs if the fender was too small and the rub rail still took a hit that cracked a fitting. A life jacket is not a fender. A paddle will not hold the boat off the dock while you tie. Read 4954067 or 960622 before you buy a shorter G-series or an 8.5-inch Super Gard for a bigger boat.

The Polyform card is teal, model 4954067, part G-4 TEAL, UPC 743952003452, GTIN 00743952003452, item weight 2.6 pounds. The bullets say boats 20 to 25 feet, diameter 6.5 inches, length 22.0 inches, volume 2.2 gallons, eye diameter 0.8 inch. They also say one-piece construction, even wall thickness, molded ribs, and Polyform's vinyl valve on sizes G3, G4, G5, and G6. The use line says trailered boats and permanent protected moorings. The included-components line says "G-4 FENDER 6-1/2 X 23 TEAL." Twenty-three inches in that line and 22.0 inches in the spec bullet are not the same length. Measure the fender from eye to eye, which is how these cylinders are usually sold, and do not split the difference in your head.

Two point six pounds is one fender. A pair is a bit over five pounds before the lines. The eye at 0.8 inch is larger than a 5/8 inch eye. That is the line size you can get through it. A dock line that is fatter than the eye does not fit, and a line that is a shoelace in a 0.8 inch eye will saw. The valve claim is Polyform's own valve on this size, not a football needle. If the fender you unpack has a needle valve and a Taylor Made mark, you did not unpack 4954067.

The Taylor Made card's title is 960622, Super Gard, 6.5 by 22 inch, Sand. The size field repeats 6.5" by 22". The color field says Sand. The bullets say double-molded ends, boats from 20 to 25 feet, ribs that cut down roll, a 5/8 inch double eyelet so you can hang it vertical or horizontal, and a rubber football-needle valve inflated to 2 psi. Item weight is 2.7 pounds. Package weight is about 3.1 pounds. The dimension cell prints 30 by 10.5 by 10.5 inches. A 6.5 by 22 fender is not a 30-inch box in every direction. Ignore the 30-inch cell and use the title. If a model line on the same card says Aurora Gold while the title says Sand, look at the vinyl. Sand and Aurora Gold are the color fight on this number. 960622 is the number to photograph.

Polyform model 4954067, UPC 743952003452. Taylor Made 960622. A G-5, a 5.5 by 20 Super Gard, or a four-pack is a different card.

Who should buy the G-4, and who should buy 960622?

Buy the teal G-4 if the boat is in the 20 to 25 foot sentence, you want the 0.8 inch eye, and you will use Polyform's valve instead of a football needle. Volume 2.2 gallons is the air the spec prints. It is not a flotation rating for a person. The ribs and the one-piece wall are the abrasion claim. Protected moorings and trailered boats are the use line. A fender that lives on an exposed seawall in a winter storm is outside "protected." A fender that lives on a trailer tongue as a cushion is a different abuse. The card named docks and moorings.

Buy 960622 if you want the Sand Super Gard at 6.5 by 22, the 5/8 inch eyes, and the needle valve at 2 psi. Two eyes are how the bullet says you can hang it sideways. A single eye on the Polyform is the usual vertical hang, and you can still bridle a horizontal hang if you know the knot. The Taylor bullet prints the horizontal option on the double eyelet. Item weight 2.7 pounds against the Polyform's 2.6 is not a reason to choose. The eye and the valve are the reasons. If your pump is a football needle already in the ditty bag, 960622 matches the tool. If you have never owned a needle, the Polyform valve is the one that does not ask for one.

Do not buy either fender one at a time and call the boat protected. A 20-foot boat wants more than one cylinder between the hull and the dock. The cards sell a single fender. Count the stations: bow, beam, quarter, and the side that faces the neighbor. Do not buy the 6.5-inch diameter for a 35-foot boat because the length number looked familiar. Both bullets stop at 25 feet for this size. A larger diameter is a different model.

What the teal G-4 is actually for

The spec bullet is the one to memorize: 6.5 inch diameter, 22.0 inch length, 2.2 gallon volume, 0.8 inch eye, boats 20 to 25 feet. The included line that says 6-1/2 by 23 is the argument. Six and a half is the same diameter. Twenty-three versus 22 is an inch you can see with a tape from the top eye to the bottom eye. Whichever length arrives, write it on the fender with a paint pen so the next reorder is not a guess. UPC 743952003452 and model 4954067 stay on the note. Teal is this card. A black G-4 can share the mold and miss the color you needed to match the hull.

The valve is Polyform's, on G3 through G6. Do not stab it with a sports needle because the Taylor bullet taught you needles. You will tear a valve the card did not design for a needle. Add air until the fender is firm and still gives. The card does not print a psi number for the G-4. The Taylor card does, and it is 2 psi, and that number is not automatically this fender's number. Overfilling a vinyl fender in the morning and leaving it in the afternoon sun is how seams and valves fail. Protected mooring is also a sun problem. Vinyl cooks. A fender cover is a different purchase. This card is the bare G-4.

Do: hang it so the fat part of the cylinder meets the piling, not the eye. Don't: tie it so short that the eye is the only thing touching the dock. Don't: use the 2.2 gallon figure as a fuel can or a water jug. It is the air volume of a fender. Don't: assume 2.6 pounds means a single fender will hold a 25-foot boat off a concrete face in a blow. Diameter and count do that. Weight does not.

What Taylor Made 960622 is actually for

The title's 6.5 by 22 is the size. Sand is the color in the title and in the color field. 960622 is the model in the title. The bullets add the boat range, the ribs, the double-molded ends, the 5/8 inch eyes, and 2 psi. Two point seven pounds is close to the Polyform's 2.6. The package at about 3.1 pounds is the mailer. The 30 by 10.5 by 10.5 dimension cell is the cell to ignore. A fender this size does not need a 30-inch square. If the box that arrives is huge, you still measure the fender, not the carton.

Five-eighths of an inch is 0.625 inch. The Polyform eye is 0.8 inch. If your dock lines are half-inch, both eyes will pass them. If your lines are three-quarter inch, the Taylor eye is the one that may not. Try the line you own before you buy four fenders. The double eyelet is the horizontal hang. A horizontal fender covers a different strip of hull than a vertical one. On a boat with a rubbing strake, horizontal often meets the strake. On a sailboat topsides, vertical often covers more of the tall freeboard. The bullet allows both. The knot is yours.

Do: set 2 psi with a gauge if you have one, not with a guess and a knee. Don't: fill it hard because the vinyl still feels soft. Two psi is the bullet. Sun adds pressure you did not pump. Don't: hang it by one eye and let the other eye flog the gelcoat. Don't: reorder "Super Gard" without 960622. A 5.5 by 20 and an 8.5 by 26 wear the same family name and fit different boats.

How to hang either fender on the boat you have

Stand on the dock and look at where the hull will actually touch. A fender tied at the wrong height protects the air. Adjust the line so the middle of the cylinder meets the piling or the neighbor's rub rail. Tie the bitter end to a cleat, not to a stanchion that was not built for a shock load. Leave enough tail to adjust when the tide drops. A fender that was perfect at noon can be above the dock at dusk. Walk the boat once after you tie.

Use more than one. Two fenders on the dock side of a 22-foot boat is a minimum people learn the hard way, and a beam wind wants a third. The cards do not print a count. They print a size for a boat length. A handheld radio does not replace a fender if you are rafted and the other skipper is still docking. A rod holder is not a fender cleat. Do not tie a fender to a rod.

Check air before you leave the ramp, not after the first kiss of the piling. The Polyform valve and the Taylor needle are different tools. Bring the one this fender uses. A soft fender folds and the hull touches anyway. A drum-tight fender in July can stress the valve by August. Two psi on the Taylor is a ceiling to respect. The Polyform card's silence on psi means you stop when it is firm and resilient, then you recheck on the hot afternoon.

What actually fails on these two fenders

The number fails first. 4954067 is the teal G-4, UPC 743952003452, spec length 22.0 and a conflicting 23 on the included line. 960622 is the 6.5 by 22 Super Gard the title calls Sand. A different G size or a different Super Gard length is a different boat. The 30-inch dimension cell on the Taylor card fails you only if you believe it. The foot-long argument on the Polyform card fails you only if you do not measure.

The eye fails when the line is too thick, or when a thin line saws because you did not use a shackle or a fender whip that spreads the wear. The valve fails when you use the wrong inflator, or when you overfill and park in the sun. The hang fails when one fender is asked to do the work of three, or when the fender is tied so high the dock hits bare gelcoat. Ribs reduce roll. They do not reduce a miss.

The other failure is treating a fender as a life-saving device or as a trailer bunk. It is a cushion between a hull and something hard, on the boats these bullets named, in the moorings the Polyform line called protected. A person in the water needs a jacket, not a 2.2 gallon vinyl tube.

What this comparison is not

It is not an anchor, a dock line kit, or a hull repair. It is not a promise that 22 and 23 are both correct. It is not a promise that Sand and Aurora Gold are two colors you can ignore. It is not a 30-inch cube. It is not the right size for every boat that can legally use a ramp. Both cards put this diameter on 20 to 25 feet.

It is not a single fender doing a whole marina. Buy the count the slip actually needs, in the model you measured, with the valve you can inflate. Then hang them where the hull meets the piling.

So which fender should you buy?

Buy Polyform G-4 teal, model 4954067, UPC 743952003452, when you want the 6.5 by 22 spec, the 0.8 inch eye, the 2.2 gallon volume, and Polyform's valve, and you will measure past the included line that says 23. Buy Taylor Made 960622 when you want the Sand Super Gard the title calls 6.5 by 22, the 5/8 inch eyes, and the needle valve at 2 psi, and you will ignore the 30-inch dimension cell. Both bullets stop at 25 feet. The fender on the cleat is the one you measured.