Water proofing a tent

[jigstick44]

I was curious to see what all of you do and how often or at all, if you water proof your tents? I sprayed mine about 2 years ago and was wondering if I should do it again this year or just leave it be. I would hate to get caught in a rain storm and the tent begins to leak. What do you guys do?

[LundExplorer]

I sprayed my tent rain fly and it still leaks under a moderate rain.

I pack a good tarp with strings on the grommets to use as an emergency rain fly and it keeps us dry.

[Northlander]

I use seam sealer every other year and water proof the whole tent and fly yearly.

[jigstick44]

Do you just use a silicone type spray for the tent? I believe thats what i used last time.

[IFallsRon]

I use Campdry. Touch up the floor and the fly in the spring and you should be good all summer.

[Powerstroke]

Wow. I seam seal maybe every 3 years and have never had a leaky tent. They've both been through torrential rains and severe weather with driving rain and never a drop.

[fishermn]

It depends a lot on the qiuality of the tent. Better tents like Eureka, Alps Mountaineering, etc stay pretty waterproof with only seam sealing. It seems like the lower price/lower quality tents need a bit more help to stay really waterproof. Camp dry work very well on those. How much you need to cover really depends on the size of the tent's rain fly. If the fly covers the tent well thats about all you should need to do, that and maybe the last few inches of tent above the ground line.

[UdeLakeTom]

He is right there...several of us bought the Sears brand tents and after 5 years of trying to seal them using all kinds of campdry, seam sealer, etc, we are dumping the tents and moving up. The cheap ones are not worth it if it rains.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Quote:

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The cheap ones are not worth it if it rains.

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That would be WHEN it rains

[isaiahedwards42]

northlander is right... you need to spray the seams

[UdeLakeTom]

mea culpa, mea culpa