I am currently on the hunt for the perfect family tent (my other threads have been going a while, and im still not ready to splash the cash)....but there is one question i cant seem to answer in my own mind, and i need to get it nailed!
I keep being recommended polycottons, and whilst they do appeal (apart from being heavier and bulkier), i cant help feeling they may not be best suited to a busy family without much room to have a tent drying out for example....
I was told whilst at the NEC show, that Polycottons have a disadvantage over polyester in that they are a lot less tolerant to 'abuse' - i.e. being packed wet or dirty and sitting a while before they can be unpacked and dried. Once damaged - there is no return...
This worries me....i have two very young kids...and a wet tent upon return from hols would simply have to wait until i got to it.....i dont want to create a rod for my own back?
Is there any difference? Or is a case of polyester and polycotton both requiring drying sharpish....
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I feel that the pollycottons are slightly more "luxurious" for that glamping lifestyle and I believe condensation wont be an issue. However there seems to be more on offer for the polyester tents and they're much easier to look after.
It sounds like a Poly cotton will not be for you. They take far longer to dry and yes if you don't start the drying it straight away you might be in trouble.
Gary Cross
Or is a case of polyester and polycotton both requiring drying sharpish....
Yes, they both need drying sharpish if you have to pack up wet.
One thing you might consider though is the bulk of the fabric, particularly if you're going for a very big tent. Polycotton will be more bulky and heavy to handle.
Having said that, I find synthetics a pain to dry, especially when there are a few layers to think about (when windows are: window panel, netting panel, curtain panel, for example). I find that water 'traps' in synthetics, where it just sort of evaporates in polycotton or cotton canvas.
I think your comments about being a 'busy young family with no time to dry out tents' (or words thereabouts) is La La Land wishful thinking: wet tents need to be dried out, whatever they are made of, and that means either re-pitching or spreading them out and moving them around quite a lot. If you don't, you'll have a tent ruined by black mould and mildew.
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After two really bad weeks of weather in newquay last summer and having to pack away in the rain I decided to throw my wolflake 7 in the shed and forget about it for a while as I just couldn't be bothered with it! I left it for just over a week before putting it back up for a couple of hours to dry and it was fine. I find its the pegging of the ground sheet and tent that takes up all the time when erecting my wolflake. When drying the outer tent out I just peg it in at the front back and either side in one place and leave it to dry. It takes 20 minutes to put up and another 20 minutes to pack away. It doesn't really matter how long it takes to dry as long as you have somewhere to pitch it
Totally agree with the above post. It's not the time involved. You need to include the possibility to re-pitch in the garden when you get back. If you leave site dry, then consider it a bonus. The sooner you get it re-pitched the better. We tend to unpack the motor, sit and have a cuppa, then it's straight out to re-pitch in the garden, "just to get it over and done with"! If it needs to stay up for a week, because the weather don't improve, then so be it!
However, we get back home with enough day light left, we have no kids running round our ankles, loads of room to just chuck the wet tent in the car (as opposed to rolling up and bagging properly), we have just enough room in the back garden for a loosely pitched Filey 6 berth.
Our last trip, early this month, it was snowing heavily when we struck. The tent was soaking!! Once it was flattened, with doors/windows open, that also meant water on the inside of the SIG.
We laid it out as best we could, on the floor of our spare bedroom, from the Sunday, until the Friday. It seemed ok, but I panicked a little, and decided to pitch it in the garden on the nice sunny Friday afternoon, just in case. Left it an hour, bone dry and fully aired, including the guy lines, so it then got packed away properly and bagged (no room in the spare room to do that!)
Reading the above is enough to put you right off, but it really isn't as bad as it sounds.... but you do need the room to do it!!
It;s all part of the UK camping scene, unfortunately!
PS:
Yes, the drying time for polycotton is longer, and they are heavier and bulkier.... but the pro's still outnumber the con's, in our limited experience!
We changed from polyester to polycotton last year. One of the reasons was because we thought it would be easier to dry.
Granted there are only 2 of us and we don't have the biggest tents but our garden is no bigger than a postage stamp so that means the tent has to be dried in the house.
Because it has a ZIG it means that we can dry the flysheet and groundsheet in different places so the tent no longer has to take over an entire room when drying (just a bit of selective draping in various places instead).
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I actually find that polycotton/canvas tents dry Quicker than polyester tents.... I've noticed that with polycotton and canvas, the water droplets seem to roll straight off so there is less to dry in the first place, when we had polyester jobbies, the rain used to sit on the fly sheet and as lidds said, it seemed that water used to be absorbed into it thus making it take longer to dry.
A couple of camping buddies have also noticed the same thing....
Personally I don't think there is much difference in the upkeep of polycotton and polyester tents, in my opinion you HAVE to make sure that whatever the tent, it is aired and dried correctly, I think the poster who left their tent for a week was very lucky that it didn't develop mildew in that time..... We never feel the need to re pitch our tents, as long as there is enough room to open the tent up and move it around, it will dry anyway either indoors or out.
I must say that I personally believe that the pros out-weigh the cons with polycotton/canvas....
Whatever tent mateial if damp or wet when you come to pack down you will need to dry it as soon as you get home. It's amazing how quickly mould and mildew will develop and spread. Get into the habit of drying your tent as soon as you get home.
I also agree with 3madboyz that the advantages of polycotton outweigh any negatives of which I can only think of weight and pack size...?
Well - quite a mixed bag of responses!!! I guess im not decided either way still, but still love the Vermont XLP, cant afford the Yosemite Falls anyway!!!
The used wolf lake 7 suggestion is a good one.....
On balance i have this view:
Polycottons quieter and warmer
Polycottons heavier and bulkier than polyester
Polycottons more hard work to put up as a result of being heavier and bulkier
Polycottons may (or may not!) take longer to dry, but regardless they need to be dried very soon if packed up wet.
Polyester may be slightly more tolerant to being left in a bag a few days....
Completely agree with 3MadBoyz on this one. I have more ruined tents that are man made yet I had one canvas tent for years and never had an issue with it. If we took it down wet we took it home, stuck it in the back bedroom over a workmate and a camping table and turned it over and round a bit for a day or so and it always dried out fine. I had to get rid of the canvas tent in the end because of my back problems etc., and I was gutted, it was roomy, never rained in, easy to put up, dried out easily. I have a new lighter tent new with man made flysheet and I am looking forward to going camping again but not looking forward to taking it down wet!
Quote: Originally posted by robertjp on 27/2/2013
Polycottons heavier and bulkier than polyester.
Polycottons more hard work to put up as a result of being heavier and bulkier.
Personally, I don't think there is much difference between pitching a polyester or polycotton tent. Yes, the flysheet may be a bit heavier but they still pitch in exactly the same way and if done by 2 people, are just as easy as pitching a polyester tent....
I'm one of those people that don't like the idea of pitching a large-ish tent solo anyway, as all It takes is a big gust of wind and the poles are knackered and flysheet ripped!
One thing I do find is that because polycotton tents seem to be more high spec all round, the ground sheets also tend to be thicker which makes the overall pack size bigger.
Thanks again for the input, some food for thought.
Its a shame we arent buying right now, the discontinued studland 8 classic design has become a really nice fit now my understanding of what we want has developed.
If I may add one more thing.
When storing your tent until next season don't roll it up tightly and put it into its stuff sack. The fabric and the water proofing need to breath. This will add years of life to the tent.
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Topic: Do polycottons take more looking after?
