Advice on tents that can withstand rain

[striker3]

So my opening weekend elk hunt was cut short because of a tent failure. I took my whole family out and we set up a base camp. My two boys, 11 and 5, were sharing a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2 tent. We have used this tent for the past year without any problems, including through some random light showers. But last night there was a decent rain shower, that soaked completely through the rain fly within 6 hours, drenching the inside of the tent and all of their sleeping gear. Temps were in the 40's so we decided to pack up and head home.

I couldn't believe that the rain fly soaked so completely through like that. Now I need to find a tent that can last through a sustained rain and won't send us back home with soaked and chilled kids. I am looking for a 3 or 4 person tent that is around 4lb or less, and won't break the bank. Anyone have some suggestions?

 

[Graves14]

Was it seam sealed? Pitched tight? I could t get past feeling like I was in a coffin but my fly creek never soaked through.

I really like my Cimarron. TONS of room for the whole family and pretty dang light. I may switch to a bt2 in fact bc it's almost too big for my solo trips.

 

[IdahoElk]

I always like to bring a super tarp of some kind to hang over my tent as added protection against the rain and to give me a dry spot when getting in and out of the tent.I have survived some nasty weather in marginal tents this way.As said above make sure that all seams are sealed.

 

[striker3]

Maybe I will just have to bring another tarp. I had one that our gear was under and they fared better than my kids did.

 

[lkwoolsey]

Ive used probably a hundred different tents out here in the Northwest (I used to test gear) and a few come to mind. If you're looking for a value tent that is still a good backpacking tent, I'd check out the REI Half Dome or Quarter Dome. They're both decent, and if you seam seal them, or any tent decent tent for that matter, it'll hold up. I like tipi's, and use the Sierra Designs Mountain Guide Tarp. Also, Mountain Hardware has some really nice, decently priced tents. I've used their stuff before and been quite happy with it. I know Kelty isn't the highest quality out there, but I've also used a bit of their tents and been very happy. I used a Kelty Zen (I don't think they even make it anymore) for about 6 years straight, all year long (Guiding climbing trips in the spring, climbing myself in the summer, hunting fall, and teaching more ice climbing classes and wilderness survival in the winter) and it held up to everything, never got wet once. Hope any of this helps. Good luck out there!

 

[Backpack Hunter]

You shouldn't have to bring a shelter for your shelter. Within a year you wouldn't think you would have lost the water "proofing" of the fabric.
Perhaps the kids were playing with the fabric? Trying to touch the rain drops or something? Maybe it was raining hard enough to over come the tents rating? Maybe it wasn't seam sealed correctly?
There are a lot of what ifs involved. If your set on a new tent simply look for one with a high water resistance rating and go from there.

 

[JP100]

if its not water proof it aint a tent.
All tents should with stand rain.

 

[Hunt'nFish]

High humidity, temps in 40's, two teens.... I'm thinking condensation.
Hunt'nFish

 

[colonel00]

High humidity, temps in 40's, two teens.... I'm thinking condensation.
Hunt'nFish

^^^This. That was my first thought as well. It can seem like the water is coming through when it's actually collecting on the inside. As others have asked, was it pitched correctly and getting plenty of airflow?

 

[striker3]

The rain fly was tight and staked out. The entire top of the tent itself is mesh and vents air pretty well. Would there be enough condensation to soak through a sleeping bag? I've woken up in tents to a bag that was damp on the outside, but never soaked through.

 

[striker3]

^^^This. That was my first thought as well. It can seem like the water is coming through when it's actually collecting on the inside. As others have asked, was it pitched correctly and getting plenty of airflow?

When you ask if it was pitched correctly, what should I be looking for? I'll admit that I am not much for tent camping, I use a bivy and tarp shelter when I am not with the family. The tent was not in a depression, there weren't any terrain features completely blocking air flow. The tent was set up on levelish ground. The rainfly was attached to the clips in the tent corners and then staked out at the midpoints.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I wonder if their sleeping bags were touching the walls/mesh and absorbing the condensation. I've used my Big Agnes in some absolute downpours and the fly is as watertight as they come.

You had two kids in a small tent under very humid conditions. I'd do a little testing of my own before I dropped more money into the issue.

 

[striker3]

That could very well be. Either way though, I will need to get a bigger tent for them to share. Or just step up to hammock camping for all of us. My wife and I really liked the Clark Vertex, even though we didn't get a full night in it.

 

[Tim in Wa.]

I always like to bring a super tarp of some kind to hang over my tent as added protection against the rain and to give me a dry spot when getting in and out of the tent.I have survived some nasty weather in marginal tents this way.As said above make sure that all seams are sealed.

That is a good idea!
You can get a 8 X10 flat tarp quick and cheap and they are nice to have to cook under and hang out as well

 

[striker3]

After cooling off and thinking about what went wrong, it probably was that the boy's bags were against the sides of the small tent. But I did figure out what I am going to change. I have a paratipi that I use for later season and they will be using that now. My wife never liked the idea of a floor less shelter, but after seeing how even a floored tent doesn't always work out, she is now onboard.