Tarptent question

[10-K]

What am I saying... coating the top wouldn't have helped... the mist was coming in from the side opposite the door - probably because that's the way the wind was blowing I'd guess. You'd about have to coat the entire tent to eliminate it.

If a liner will fix it and not give use suck up a lot of room I'll be plenty happy.

Like I say, I really like the tent - especially the design - so I'm not actually b*tching - it was just an unexpected surprise in a not-so-good kind of way.

[garlic08]

The mist penetrating the silnylon has very little pressure so it will not penetrate the liner. This is a picture of the liner holding about 16 liters of water.

I left it there all day, no drips...
Franco

One would not expect any leaks unless the test exceeded 1200mm of head pressure. Scaling off the bicycle, it doesn't look like the test exceeded 400mm of head. The volume or total weight does not matter--the height of the column does.

Still, the point is valid about the liner seeing very little pressure.

I have experienced pretty heavy misting in my Tarptent. I was also convinced it was condensation being knocked off by heavy rain until I also read TT's website. I have always been able to deal with it using my bandanna. I've been so happy with TT's excellent designs I've never considered switching mfrs.

[Praha4]

I had a similar misting problem in my TT Moment last summer, only on nights with heavy rain. The misting was noticeable, but I didn't consider it serious enough to stop using the Moment, which I really like. I just assumed this would be an issue with any singe wall UL silnylon.

I'm considering the SMD lunar duo. El Flaco took one on his thru hike last year, and I liked the looks of it. Just haven't pulled the trigger yet to buy one, but getting closer.

[Bags4266]

Well, my problem was so bad it made me gun shy of using it again.

[TheChop]

I do not like the way the thread is heading. I bought a rainbow solo and am considering swapping it for a rainbow duo due to condensation on that one solid wall. The idea of the tent misting is not the way I want to spend a rainy night.

[Singletrack]

It's best not to set up a Tarptent out in the open, unless you are sure it is not going to rain. Get back in the brush, and trees where there is protection from large drops, and blowing rain. Make sure you set it up on leaves, to help prevent splatter. This will help somewhat. Realize that a Tarptent, or any other similar brands are tarps, that have a bug liner.

[daddytwosticks]

I tried a tarptent years ago and it wasn't for me. 100's of folks who post here use and love these hybrid shelters with great luck. When needing reliable bug/rain-free shelter for ground sleeping, I use my Eureka Spitfire Solo. Trail ready (thin plastic footprint, ti stakes, non-original stuff sacks), it registers 3 pounds dead even on the scales.

[Persistent]

This misting issue is exactly what caused us to go with a specially coated, minimum 3500 mm H20 hydrostatic head sil-nylon on our standard gray tents (Solo and Duo). The material actually tested over 4000 mm H20 on the Suter Test device but was blown off the fabric holding mechanism by the high pressure and hadn't shown any leakage prior to that point.
Marc Penansky
LightHeart Gear

[10-K]

Some of these tent makers need to take trade-ins....

[Red Beard]

Misting occurs with the tarptents because of big deluge type rain drops spraying condensation downwards. Thats why the only thing in my pack that isnt lightweight is the tent.

Agreed! The lightweight tents being discussed are for what they are, but I left the church of <insert lightweight tent here> a while ago.

[Spokes]

Some of these tent makers need to take trade-ins....

There's always eBay 10-K

[10-K]

There's always eBay 10-K

I'll stick with the ol' Rainbow I reckon.

The misting isn't a deal breaker for me. Deluges like the one we were in the other night aren't terribly common and next time I'll know to be more selective with site selection.

Plus, I can buy a Skyscape from SMD in a few months and use the Rainbow as the extra single person tent I need when my son goes with me.

[Singletrack]

Here's some pertinent info you may find interesting from Wikipedia:

"Rain resistance is measured as a hydrostatic head in millimetres (mm). This indicates the pressure of water needed to penetrate a fabric. Heavy or wind-driven rain has a higher pressure than light rain. Standing on a groundsheet increases the pressure on any water underneath. Fabric with a hydrostatic head rating of 1000 mm or less is best regarded as shower resistant, with 1500 mm being usually suitable for summer camping. Tents for year-round use generally have at least 2000 mm; expedition tents intended for extreme conditions are often rated at 3000 mm. Where quoted, groundsheets may be rated for 5000 mm or more."


So, I went looking for my Hilleberg tent's rating and found the Kerlon 1800 silnylon fly has a 3,000 mm figure---and here's the best of all: The floor is 100 denier with a 7,000 mm rating.

This is why it is important to use a good ground cloth with a Tarptent. Water running under the bath tub floor, and you lying on this floor, can force water thru the bath tub floor, and it becoming wet out.

[Franco]

It's best not to set up a Tarptent out in the open, unless you are sure it is not going to rain

With all due respect that is absolute rubbish...
I have used my Tarptents (Contrail and Rainbow) under heavy rain many times, including under post monsoonal rain in Nepal and heavy damps in Tasmania as well here on our coast.
It just that a few minor spray don't make any difference for me.
In fact I left the Moment up recently for over a week in my backyard (I was showing the tent when it started raining and just kept raining for days ..) not a drop of rain inside after all of that.
See this video clip for example...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V3gKohpfCY
Franco

[TheChop]

Plus, I can buy a Skyscape from SMD in a few months and use the Rainbow as the extra single person tent I need when my son goes with me.

The Skyscape looks pretty sick. It's not clear how the double/single walled hybrid thing works.

[Franco]

I had a couple of tents to pack up ready to be posted first thing this morning.
(I look after the Auistralian TT customers ...)
One of them was the third tent purchased by the same guy.
He has had a Squall for some time, bought a DR for (on behalf ?) of a mate and now just purchased a Sublite Sil for himself.
Only three days ago this particular customer asked me how come one of his mates Cloudburst had a lot of condensation during the night/morning when his Squall set up close to it hardly had any.
Now they were both camping next to a river, not an ideal place particularly on a cool still night, however just a meter or so above a low point can make the difference.
The most likly cause though was that the Cloudburst, as clearly demonstrated by the pics he sent me, was not set up correctly having the sides touching (limpy) the floor therefore stopping any possible air flow there.
The reason I am posting this is that obviously repeat customers are the strongest endorsement for the product, and BTW till this April I was also just a customer (having used them for 5 years at that point)
If the product in general did not work (and rain protection is definatelly included here...) the brand would have not kept growing over the close to ten years of business, after all the only advertising you get is from users.
It is also obvious that if a product is not used correctly it will not perform the same way as for someone that does know how to use it correctly.
The easiest way to know if you have pitched your tent correctly or not is to compare it with the official pictures.
If your set up does not look like that, you know where the problem is.
And that is true for just about any activity.
But of course a Tarptent, like any other tent, can be the best for one and the worst for another. Just like any backpack,sleeping bag, mat....

Franco

[Singletrack]

It's best not to set up a Tarptent out in the open, unless you are sure it is not going to rain

With all due respect that is absolute rubbish...
I have used my Tarptents (Contrail and Rainbow) under heavy rain many times, including under post monsoonal rain in Nepal and heavy damps in Tasmania as well here on our coast.
It just that a few minor spray don't make any difference for me.
In fact I left the Moment up recently for over a week in my backyard (I was showing the tent when it started raining and just kept raining for days ..) not a drop of rain inside after all of that.
See this video clip for example...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V3gKohpfCY
Franco

Life is full of opinions, and experiences. Everyone has some of both. I have never been to Nepal, nor Tasmania. But, have had the same experience that the originator of this thread
started. And my experiences tell me, to take my tarptent back in the brush and trees when the big one is coming. Maybe the new one I just bought, I can camp in the open....but I doubt it.

[Spokes]

Q: Is silicone-impregnated ripstop nylon waterproof?.
A: Silicone impregnated ripstop nylon is waterproof within "normal operating conditions." In very heavy rain and high velocity wind-driven rain some extremely light interior misting is normal and equivalent to increased interior humidity.
- http://www.tarptent.com/faq.html

Am I the only one here that thinks it's funny to list "normal operating conditions" when talking about sil-nylon waterproof qualities?

It's like putting "normal operating conditions" on a tooth brush container.
Bizarre-o!

[10-K]

Am I the only one here that thinks it's funny to list "normal operating conditions" when talking about sil-nylon waterproof qualities?

It's like putting "normal operating conditions" on a tooth brush container.
Bizarre-o!

I've got one of those reflective windshield things that keep the car cool and there is a sticker on it that says, "WARNING: DO NOT USE WHILE DRIVING"

[10-K]

The easiest way to know if you have pitched your tent correctly or not is to compare it with the official pictures.
If your set up does not look like that, you know where the problem is.


Franco

Franco, I appreciate your experience with Tarptents (and tenting in general actually). But, I think Henry Shires himself could have pitched my tent and I still would have had the misting problem.

That this is mentioned in the FAQ on his website is evidence of that.