Posted: 7/14/2008 11:06:34 AM EDT
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I have a Big Agnes Sunnyside II 3-season 2-person backpacking tent. It’s a great tent, very high quality, light weight, and goes up fast. I’ve had it for around 2 years now, and even though I’ve had it in some light rain before…..last weekend was the first time that I’ve used it in some heavy downpours. It didn’t leak at all through the roof or sides (didn't expect it too), but anywhere where something was in contact with the floor (like my sleeping pad) all kinds of water would come through. By the morning, the entire bottom of my tent was wet. I did have a footprint / tarp under my tent….and it was on flat ground. Why did my tent leak through the floor? This was a pretty expensive tent…. |
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Damn, that sucks! I have a Eureka Backcountry 4 that gets frequent use. In fact, I was out for 9 days in it a couple of weeks ago. That included 1 torrential downpour and lots of passing showers (and I was in a drainage path). I've never had even a drop of water inside the tent. Steepandcheap.com had a Big Agnes tent up today and although it looked like it had a "bathtub" floor, the description specifically said it didn't. The rest of it was made entirely of mesh and had no rain fly. I thought that was a pretty stupid way to make a tent. It wasn't even lightweight. Anyway, maybe they don't waterproof their floors? |
+1 If your ground cloth becomes a pool, no floor will keep out the water for long. I was lucky and found that out in my back yard years ago. Another less likely thought: If you put a tent into a clothes dryer, the static electricity generated will burn micro holes in the waterproof coating. I skimmed the thread so don't know if this was mentioned, but if your floor is in good shape use some seam sealer on the floor seams if they're not taped. |
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I haven't used footprints in years and can pretty much tell you why you had a problem. About nothing works if your tent is in a pool of water. If I give the military credit for some things, making me aware of my tent location was number one. We didn't have floors at all. Locating your tent either on high ground with a slope away or even on a slight incline so the water flow is predictable is always a good idea. Diverting the runoff with a very slight trench is another. Always think which way the water will flow and where it will pool. Tj |
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+1 on the pool problem. My Eureka did this last month. Had 2 hours of solid, heavy rainfall and my poor site location put the tent in the middle of a "river". Everything was draining right towards the tent. At one point I thought the tent was a water bed because I could squish the floor around.  Even with all that, though, I got very little water in the tent but it did happen. It was nothing I'd complain about other than for my own lack of planning. If it's coming in the bottom the pool is your problem. |
and the same military made us put all our hooches dressed right and covered down with mine in a low spot in the meadow. Gotta love military logic sometimes. |
If you use a ground cover you need to make sure that the edges are folded back a couple of inches under the tent. Another name for a footprit is floor saver. And, as the name implies it really only needs to be under the main bit of floor in your tent to protect it from anything sharp you might have missed before laying your tent out. When you leave bits sticking out, it funnels the water in under your tent. I can't say for certain but I'd bet that was the source of your problem. |
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Here is the reply I got from the Customer Service people at Big Agnes.... "Hi ******. This is not normal but it could be the waterproof coating has worn off over the years. Pickup a bottle of Tent Sure by McNett and coat the inside of the floor with it. The instructions on the bottle are nice and detailed. Thanks! " The tent is only 2 years old...and I've used it probably 8 times...it's had an easy life. It still looks brand new. I'm going to try the coating they suggest....and do a better job of keeping my footprint under the tent so it doesn't collect water. Hopefully that will fix the problem. Thanks for all the tips and info guys. |
| Tent location is KEY!!! then a couple cans of spray waterproofing will really help. I use it all the time. I set the tent up and I usually use 2 cans of then spray outdoor waterproffing boot sptay and hose it down it will usually keep for a spring-fall trips but location is still key. |