Last year when we camped in our Outwell Montana 4 it leaked like a sieve in heavy rain and we got rather wet !
The tent is over 10 years old but hasn't seen heavy usage. There were a number of years when it wasn't used.
We've been trying to waterproof it and so far it has had two coats of Nikwax however it's still leaking.
My husband thinks it's now leaking through the seams & so has now been googling iron on tape. It certainly was leaking through the fabric so I'm not convinced that issue has been fixed.
I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar problem & if you were able to fix it ? Any advice ?
I don't want to buy a new tent if this one can be fixed. We're not frequent campers at the moment. However I don't want to spend a weekend ironing on tape to a tent if it's not likely to fix the issue.
The next dilemma is if we do decide to buy another tent do we risk second hand ?
Any advice appreciated!
Cheers
Jen
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You would be better off using seam sealant which comes in a tube like glue and you just brush it along the seams in the inside of the tent and allow it to dry before packing the tent away. It seals the stitching holes.
It is very unusual for a tent to leak directly through the material and you may have experienced condensation which can make it appear that a tent is leaking.
If it is genuinely leaking through the material then the inner polyurethane waterproofing layer must be perished and it's time for a new tent.
Quote: Originally posted by cal+issysmum on 17/7/2019
Thanks Bob,
It was definitely coming through the fabric and wasn't condensation.
Cheers
Jen
An expedition to Go Outdoors may be on the cards then
You could risk second hand and there are some bargains to be had but there are no guarantees with second hand tents. I have had a couple of eBay tents in the past and had no problems with them but it is always a risk.
Post last edited on 17/07/2019 17:57:44
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
We're going to use another tent we've got (Outwell Indianna 8) It's a bigger tent so not ideal for a shorter stay but we don't camp enough at the moment to justify another tent plus not the right time of the year to pick up a bargain !
I had an issue with my old Blacks Calder, some time back - woke up to hear dripping water over the bedroom unit.
First thing was to stack the contents up as waterproof as possible. I then found an emergency blanket (one of those crisp wrapper sheets given out to runners at events, which I threaded between leaky outer and bedroom roof, secured by clothes pegs. Used that for the rest of the week!
It was a bit rustly in the wind, but kept me dry.
Back home I obtained a trigger spray bottle of Nikwax Tent and Gear Solarproof. Loosely pitched tent under cover and followed instructions. Problem solved and new lease of life given to tent.
Another product worth a mention is Stormsure adhesive - absolutely brilliant for edge to edge repair of fabrics, seam sealing, puncture repairs in inflatable items, fixing soles back on shoes, wetsuit repairs etc. It has quite a long curing time so not suited to instant repairs. See the videos, follow the instructions, keep opened tubes in the freezer! Unless you have a single bigger job for it, buy multiples of the smaller tubes as it has a tendency to go off once opened.
Dean
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Topic: Leaky Tent
via mobile 16/7/2019 at 11:08pm
