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Took me 6 camping trips to figure out my tent was pitched wrong
I kept waking up with a soaked sleeping bag after what I thought was normal condensation. Then a ranger at Shenandoah pointed out my rainfly was pulled too tight against the tent walls. He said I needed a gap for air to flow and moisture to escape. I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Has anybody else missed something that obvious with their gear?
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eric72311d ago
Read a blog post from a backpacking guide a while back that said the same thing. He compared a tight rainfly to wearing a garbage bag in the summer, traps all your body heat and moisture right against you. Once I started using hiking poles or extra stakes to prop the fly out a few inches, my tent stopped getting wet on the inside, even in heavy dew. Your mileage may vary depending on the tent, but a good gap makes a bigger difference than most people realize.
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oliviagrant11d agoMost Upvoted
I actually had the opposite experience with my old REI Half Dome. I tried propping the rainfly out like that once and ended up with a puddle inside anyway. @eric723, I think it really depends on the tent's design and the type of rain you're dealing with. In a steady downpour, wind can just blow the rain under a propped fly and soak everything. I've never had condensation issues with my fly pulled tight, and I swear it's kept me drier in Pacific Northwest storms than any gap ever did. My buddy did the pole trick and his sleeping bag got soaked from splash-back off the ground.
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