Selecting a Watertight Tent

This tent has a vestibule supported by a pole, providing enough headroom to crouch and remove rain gear while sheltered and before opening the tent itself

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"Will this tent keep me dry?" is a key question for most outdoorspeople. Quality materials and construction can keep out a lot of the wet stuff, but style and design of the tent will also play a large part. Some of the features that make a tent better in the rain add weight, though. Consequently you'll have to make some compromises between how wet you'll be when living in the tent and how wet (with sweat!) you'll be while carrying it!

The ways in which you get wet inside a tent are numerous. But that doesn't mean you have to get wet on a rainy night or in dank, humid weather. By knowing how moisture enters and accumulates in a tent, as well as which tent features head it off, you'll be better able to select a tent that'll keep you dry and happy.

Water Source 1: Lack of Vestibule

Without a vestibule, rain and snow can blow into the tent as you enter and leave, and any belongings you leave outside the tent will get soaked. Also, if the fly does not come down over the tent door, precipitation can blow against the doors and possibly leak through zippers and imperfectly sealed seams.

Shop for: a vestibule. A well-designed, amply proportioned vestibule will keep rain and snow from entering the tent as you come and go. A vestibule that's supported with a pole will create a space in which it's easier to crouch while sheltered from rain, remove your wet gear, and then enter the tent itself. The pole adds weight but it helps keep stray water to a minimum.

Water Source 2: Floor Leakage

If the ground is wet when you pitch camp, the pressure of your body (especially when kneeling) on the tent floor can force water through the tiniest weakness in the waterproof coating on the floor fabric. Although light fabrics with thin coatings can achieve impressive levels of waterproofness, they are generally more susceptible to wear ? and especially to pinching between a"rock and a hard place" ? than thicker tent floors. It's through these small openings that water will find its way in.

Shop for: top-quality floor. The better tent manufacturers choose a balance of floor fabric weight and coating thickness to provide the best combination of waterproofness, durability, and light weight. Buy quality!

Water Source 3: Floor Seam Leakage

Floors also leak through their seams. Seams that cross the flat part of the floor are usually sealed by the manufacturers with a hot-melt adhesive tape, but others that are difficult to seal are often left leaky. These seams include the edges and corners of the floor, and where stake loop reinforcements are attached. Unfortunately, troublesome leakage can occur here if the fly is too short to provide sufficient protection from driving rain.

Shop for: sealed seams and skillful seam design. Floors on some top-quality tents are totally tape-sealed. Look for floor-to-wall seams that curve upward for better protection under the fly. Apply liquid seam sealer on unprotected untaped seams.

Water Source 4: Inadequate Fly Length

Flies that come up short to expose tent walls ? even the waterproof walls of today's bathtub designs ? might save weight, but they increase the risks that water will enter through exposed seams.

Shop for: full-length fly. A full-coverage fly that nearly reaches the ground will protect tent sidewalls and corners from falling and splashing rain.