Brett
The "misting" inside Traptents and other shelter using that type of silnylon is mostly from dislodged condensation but can (very rarely) be from penetration (trust me on this one). However it almost never is enough to compromise a sleeping bag .
But lets be realistic, in some situations no tent will stand up to the weather. (nether do houses...)
The 1.5 tent bit can be and often is misleading . Tarptent use that when you can have two standard mats side by side. (see my Contrail...)

Seam sealing is something that will always polarise people. Non PU coated silnylon cannot be taped at the factory. To have each tent set up ,seam sealed and then dispatched after a day or two of drying time is just not realistic.
Hilleberg have four layers of fabric on each seam and that in most cases is enough. They also use a "cold" stitching method that makes smaller holes than a hot needle. However you pay for that too. Still there are people reporting having had to seam seal one of those too.
BTW, one of the guys that had a go at me for my seam sealing comments (at WB) pointed out an emerging cottage manufacturer that did seam seal his tarps. He doesn't anymore... (IE he now sells more than one a week...)
Keep in mind that some need also to seam seal tents that are factory taped. (tapes coming undone or not offering adeguate coverage)
This year Golite has a new type of sil fabric that is PU coated on the underside, therefore it s taped.
The disadvantage of that is that if you store it (by accident) still a bit damp , mold will take hold. PU deteriorates with time anyway (faster than UV damage on the silnylon) and re-coating is not an easy and/or practical task for most
Franco
Last edited by
Franco on Wed 10 Feb, 2010 7:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.