20
Guy at a Colorado campsite showed me why my tent kept leaking
Was camping up near Estes Park last fall and this older dude walks over while I'm trying to dry out my gear after a rainy night. He just points at my tent and says 'you got the rain fly too tight against the mesh'. Said I needed a 2 inch gap for airflow or condensation builds up inside. Fixed it the next night and woke up dry. Anyone else make that mistake their first few times?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
alice8088d ago
That little gap makes all the difference. My first tent was a cheap one from a department store and the instructions never mentioned anything about airflow, just "attach fly." Took me three soggy trips before a friend finally set me straight.
3
christopher_craig7d ago
Man oh man does that bring back memories. I had the same problem with my first Kelty, kept waking up with water dripping on my face... figured the fly was just loose or something. Then I started pitching it with trekking poles to lift the fly away from the body, made a world of difference. Now I even crack the vestibule zippers on clear nights to keep the breeze moving through. That little bit of air space between the fly and the tent wall stops all the wet misery cold.
9
kellyg147d ago
The "just attach fly" part is what gets me. I think those cheap tent makers actually WANT you to get condensation so you'll buy a new one.
3