Our Bear is only 3 years old so I might say different in a few years. But from our use I wouldn't say you need to do anything to it. It will fade (they all do, but relatively evenly) but you only notice if attached to a newer extension or when you fold it up and see the inside and outside colour together.
The first time it rained we got a fine mist inside the tent. From then on it has been weather proof until yesterday morning. We had the most incredicble rain in Derbyshire and even though tht tent had been weathering naturally on and off all week we did get a bit of mist inside again. Nothing big enough to count as a drip or for you to see where it landed on the floor, and certainly it stood the conditions far better than the other tents that we saw.
Me personally. I would leave it well alone. If you make sure that its packed away dry and stored in a dry place, the tent should last you many many years without the need to re-proof. If you have a big enough garden, it wouldn't hurt to erect the tent, hose it down and let it dry. Would also give you chance to check everything over, clean the groundsheet etc......Not sure about the UV barrier, never used it so couldn't really comment.
I have had the same quandary because my 12 month old extension has areas absorbing more water than elsewhere which creates patches when it's wet. I too looked at the Nikwax product.
Given that it's not leaking, I will probably leave it because I'm not confident that I wouldn't regret it and you can't take it back once it's done.
Given that all I did was clean the darn thing with a soft brush and sponge & water and it now gets these patches (still can't figure it out), I suggest minimum intervention on the polycotton fabric.
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Topic: Proofing a polycotton tent
