Contrail vs Hail Storm

[bushwak]

Last weekend I had the opportunity to try out my contrail tarp tent for the first time. I went for an over night hike flyfishing for bass. Upon reaching my destination I pitched my contrail, it was only the second time I had pitched this tent. I used four stakes, and I set it up to what I thought was reasonably taut. I wasn't able to create the tub floor. The sides drooped a little. But as it was only forecast for showers, I wasn't worried about any severe weather. I went off for a fish, only to get caught in the middle of the most intense hailstorm I have ever witnessed. It hailed intensley for a full ten minutes. You can see from the pictures the size and amount of hail that fell. As I was cowering under a tree getting pelted by hail, my thoughts quickly turned to my tent. I wasn't sure what to expect...

Shredded leaves from hail stones.

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Contrail set up before the hailstorm. It was nice and sunny, no sign of bad weather.

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The contrail after an intense 10 minute hailstorm with hail the size of dice.

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As you can see from the photos, the fabric stretched with the moisture from the hail/rain, and the hail piled up on the base and sides of the tent so much that they were resting on the ground. Inside the tent there was about 500 ml of water. I am not sure exactly from where the water got in. I seam sealed the seals, it may have dripped in from the sides that were touching the ground. Thankfully my sleeping bag was on top of my foam mattress, and the water collected under the mattress and my bag was relatively dry (props go to the water repellency of western mountaineering bags). I was able to empty the tent out, and dry off the floor with my fleece jumper, and I slept with the pad under the tent. I guess the lesson I learnt from this is don't pitch your tent and leave it...If I was in my tent at the time, I would have been able to re-tighten. Also, next time I am going to pitch the contrail with all 8 stakes. Anyone else experience severe hail in their contrail? How did it fare?

[Mountain Rocket]

Are those holes in the fabric?

[bushwak]

No, no holes in the fabric. They are just leaves stuck on the outside.

[Franco]

Hi
[im
The extra strut at the back was the result of me coming back to the Contrail at Wilson's Point and finding a nice pool of water at the bottom of the tent.
In my case the tent had been set up (correctly) nice and taut (but in dry weather) but a quick passing storm dumped a lot of water on it whilst we were exploring the area taking pics.

So I would suggest that you also install a mid strut and the front guyline as well.
see the last two pics here :
http://www.tarptent.com/contrail.html
($5 from TT but honestly.... make your own )

and maybe watch a clip or two of how I use it.
here is one :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n38trYmHBdk
There are several videos on the Contrail in my You Tube channel (you tube Search " Franco tarptent" )

BTW the fabric can hold liters of water, however when it touches the floor water will seep through. Contact changes the fabric tension.
Anyway, someone was asking about the Tarptent silnylon and hailstones, now we know...
( I had about the same size on the Contrail myself)
Franco
Some tips.
(I hope you don'y mind...)
Of the current TT line up , the Contrail is the most "tarp like" shelter, therefore it needs to be set up as one.
(IE it needs the correct tension on each side )

In the "before the storm" pic I can see that it is set up a bit 'loose"...
The left rear tie out point appears to be too inward, it should be at the same angle as the one on the right .
When setting it up the tie out cord (guyline) should be fully extended, you pull the peg back to get the right tension.
That way you have plenty of line to pull-in when the fabric stretches.
basically if it does not look like this when set up:
inside

outside

you can expect problems in bad weather (heavy rain/hail/wind)
It may take a bit of practice but once you get it right it will be easy to do again.

Last edited by Franco on Mon 21 Nov, 2011 7:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Mountain Rocket]

I was going to say! Still a less than desirable outcome... lesson learned I suppose?
I am certainly taking this on-board :0

[bushwak]

Thanks for the advice Franco! Much appreciated. It definitely takes some practice in getting the correct pitch. My main problem is getting the tub effect with the floor. But I have only pitched it a few times, and since then I have watched a few videos and read a bit more about how to pitch it. I will definitely use a rear strut from now on.

[Franco]

Great !

I set up the Contrail sitting down and set it up in 49 sec, next I was thinking doing it blindfolded .
Or is that just too much ?

My main problem is getting the tub effect with the floor.
(you are not the only one)
This has to do with having the 4 corner guylines (tie-outs...) at the correct angle and tension (see the drawing under point 6 in your instruction sheet) as well as having the correct tension in the guyline between the front floor corner and the base of the beak and make sure that the pole is set at my elbow height (115cm)
BTW, you can regain tension without leaving the shelter by increasing the pole height and or pulling those lines between the front corner and the base of the beak taut again.
Anyway , yes practice is the key.
Franco
franco@tarptent.com

[Liamy77]

the tub is my main problem with the moment -otherwise a great tent but just needs to be a bit deeper sided for windy conditions as i get a bit of spray blown in at times... Liam

[Franco]

Are you getting soft Liam ?
What happened to the macho guy I used to know that used to get up before going to bed just so he could row across the lake to get some water for breakfast?

You can drop the fly of the Moment a bit by digging a hole under the pole ends...
Anyway everybody should send an E Mail to Henry asking for a solid inner for the Notch because I would like that...
Franco

[Liamy77]

LOL yeah - old bones
its a great tent - my tarp weighs the same.... but its a tarp!