Do you have a Sierra Designs Sirius 3 tent?

[gsingjane]

and could you help me out with a problem that I have with mine?

I've had it out now twice in the pounding rain, the first time it was great, water-tight and perfect and the second time it leaked like a sieve. We had water pouring down the walls and up from the corners and our mats were almost floating.

We pitched it in a hurry the second time and didn't use stakes except for the rainfly, could that have been the problem? It just seemed like the rain was pouring through the mesh "front" part of the tent and the rainfly wouldn't cover them. Has anybody else had this problem and what did you do about it? It looks to have been factory seam-sealed so I really don't think that was the problem... TIA for all good advice!

Jane in CT

[LIhikers]

Jane,

That's the exact make and model of tent my wife, Kathy, and I use and had with us when we met you this past April. We've used the Sirius 3 for several years now and only had one time with rain in the tent and it was because I had the "wings" of the fly staked out wide and wind blew the rain in. Be careful how you situate the tent in regard to the wind and how you stake out the fly. When you know there's going to be rain stake the sides of the fly down close. Other than that use care in selecting your tent site, as you would with any tent. And I guess it couldn't hurt to go over the seams with sealant. If I were you I'd send of an e-mail to Sierra Designs to see what they say. Also, I don't think your lack of stakes in the body of the tent have anything to do with it as we almost never use those stakes if we have the fly on and staked down.

[gsingjane]

Yeah, I know I bought that tent because you were so happy with it and recommended it so highly (also it took about 3 lbs. off our pack weight). It must be in the way we staked it out then, not necessarily on the sides but vis-a-vis the prevailing wind. The site itself wasn't flooded but the ground was pretty saturated, although we did use the footprint. I am going to go over it with seam sealant as you suggest, too... am just so surprised because the other time we had it in the drenching rain it was dry as the desert. (Lucky thing, too, because my Girl Scouts were in it that time!!).

Happy Hiking to you and Hacky Sack,

Jane