Rain penetrating sil-nylon

[whitefang]

With the recent bad weather I'm experiencing here in SA I thought it would be a good chance to test my new Tarptent ProTrail in the rain. I mostly wanted to see how well the seam sealing job I did on it went, but I noticed in the heavy deluges I could feel small drops of water landing on me. The seams that I sealed were all dry, but I noticed that the walls were slightly damp (condensation maybe?). I can't imagine the water landing on me being from splash back because water was landing on my arms, chest and face. This wasn;t a large amount of water hitting me and it only occurred when the rains were quite heavy. When it was just consistent downpours of rain I didn;t notice anything. I'm just wondering if this sort of thing is normal during heavy rains?

Cheers,

whitefang.

[Franco]

There is a very good chance that what you experienced is the condensation dislodged from the underside of the fly by rain .
(there is no inner in the Pro Trail to catch those drips)
To avoid that I just use a Chux . (wiping once or twice as needed)
(BTW, that happens under a tarp too)
It helps if you maximise the air flow by keeping vents open but depending on the angle the rain falls it may not be possible to keep the rear end one undone.
franco@tarptent

[whitefang]

Thanks, Franco. I thought it may be something simple like that. I guess the drops stopped because the condensation had all been dislodged. The walls were not too wet. This was the heaviest rain I've ever had a tent or tarp in so I never experienced it with my tarp. I had the vestibule and storm doors open to begin but rain was starting to blow in.

[north-north-west]

Yeah, sounds mostly like condensation. It takes a very strong wind behind the rain to force water through silnylon.

[RonK]

Under those circumstances it is probably condensation. Read the Tarptent FAQ, last entry in the section in condensation. That likely answers your question.

Tarptent FAQ

[whitefang]

Thanks everyone. Like you have all said it was just condensation being dislodged. I have previously read about misting, but wasn't aware that it included condensation being knocked off the inside wall of the shelter. I'm glad this is just an issue that occurs with all shelters, because I did know that the sil-nylon used by Tarptent had been update in 2013 and it certainly feels of high quality.

[PedroArvy]

I use a tarp and have used a tarptent too. There is less condensation in tarps as there is more airflow. Also bivies keep direct drops off your bodice.

One day I will get a Notch and Franco and I will be friends again

[whitefang]

I use a tarp and have used a tarptent too. There is less condensation in tarps as there is more airflow. Also bivies keep direct drops off your bodice.

One day I will get a Notch and Franco and I will be friends again

With the vestibule and storm flaps open there is just as much airflow in the ProTrail as there is when I use my tarp. I wouldn't have noticed the water if I was wearing more clothes than just a t-shirt and shorts or if I was under my quilt.

I love my tarp and bivy combo, but I have already fallen in love with the ProTrail too.