- Joined
- Dec 11, 2006
- Messages
- 1,659
First, I need to make the disclaimer that I have no photos :grumpy: But I have an interesting story 
When backpacking, I am obviously concerned about weight, and I am also more concerned with staying warm, or staying cool, staying dry or staying hydrated and fed. I really dont want to have to worry about a camera, especially in bad weather. Anyone that knows me already knows how I feel about battery operated stuff in the woods.
This past weekend, I went backpacking with a fairly large group. We got hit by a storm with confirmed winds of over 60 mph!!! The techniques that I use for stormproofing a tent (which I have been promising to document in detail) worked perfectly. Also, this was the first outing for my Cooke Custom Sewing tarp, that I posted about here. What a way to break in a new tarp!
The backpacking tent that I have is decently set up with the stormproof features that are important. Still, we are talking about a tent that is super light weight, and entirely mesh from the bathtub floor up.
So, while setting up, I made sure every single tie down point was staked down well. A big secret is I used 4 mil plastic, cut oversized for the inside of the tent. You will see why there is the need for this later. To be honest, I still feel silly about doing that because "experienced" campers are likely to make fun of you. That is until it rains hard, like it did here So I did not let other campers know I was doing it, except for my tent mate.
Also, we knew rain was possible, but did not know that we were going to get the storm that we did. So, I set up my 1.1oz 10x10 CCS tarp. I rigged it with a ridgeline in a lean to configuration, just like in my previous thread. The way I set it up, for the prevailing wind, I did not have a tree to tie out the center point. So, I had to use the pole pocket, and another group members trekking pole (I do not use them). I then put guy lines from the center of the sides only. I know there is more stuff that could have stormproofed it more, but again, I was not expecting 60mph winds, and the setup held up remarkable. More on that later.
One of the guys in the group got word via radio that a storm was coming with potential for 60 mph winds. I was already all dressed in my rain gear, so he asked me to go warn the boy scout troup down the way what was coming. Before I could make it all the way back to our camp, the storm had hit. It was amazing to see.
Tents without guy lines were basically flattened. The soil we were on was a good draining soil. There were high spots and low spots in camp. The low spots were completely flooded, with bottom of tents underwater. Even high spots were not immune. As I watched, basically rivers flowed, and water was literally rolling underneath every single tent in camp. Everyone had already sheltered in the tents, and most did not get to see this. Since I did not want to crawl into my nice dry tent in a soaking rain suit, I just took shelter under the CCS tarp. By this time, other tarp setups were already flapping in the wind. I took shelter and passed out the storm easily. I only had two small issues with the tarp.
First, the high winds pulled a stake out on one of the side guy lines. That side of the tent was a bit sandier soil. I also know how to keep that from happening again through a couple different methods. But again, I was not expecting what had occurred. I simply re-stacked it, and had no more issues.
Second, is the trekking pole used in the center got driven down into the ground further than I had stuck it, just from the tremendous force of the wind. I simply gave the pole a bit more height to make up for it. But those are relatively minor things, and overall I was way more than extremely impressed. How vicious the winds were had to really be seen to believe. I honestly do not think even the people huddled in their tents actually knew how bad the winds were, because they couldnt see.
Now, I actually saw water flowing underneath my tent. After the storm blew over, I went to check on things. Water definitely made it through the tent bottom, like I had expected. You could see it through the plastic! However, NOTHING actually got wet Worked like a dream. Other tents in the group were dried, out, relocated, etc. Me and my tent mate did nothing. Except I showed off to a few people how we managed to keep things dry. Didnt feel so silly about showing off the plastic at that point.
Also, just to show that conventional methods just dont work as good as they should, when we disassembled the tent the next day, there was still standing water on the tent footprint, actually potentially making the problem worse, rather than better. Had the footprint not been there, the water would have drained away. Instead, it held it there in place. I wasnt too concerned as the plastic kept us dry. But, I still kind of wanted the footprint there for abrasion.
Here is a summary of why the plastic works. Even if the floor had no seems, or if they were perfectly sealed, that barrier can not stand up to pressure. Most fabrics are good for 150psi at best. That seems like a lot until you have water under your tent, then put your knee or elbow down. Once the water starts, it doesn't want to stop.
Now you compound that with minor holes, seams not being sealed perfect,etc. With the plastic, damage is easy to detect. You can see it much easier. If you have a hole, it is easily fixed with duct tape! Seriously Duct tape will keep the "inside groundsheet" kicking for a long time! If you get tired of making repairs, it costs all of about $3 to replace.
Anyway, despite incredible weather to witness and be out in, it was a great weekend. I am always reminded that it takes ONE good storm to prove what works, and what doesn't.
I hope you found something interesting in there,
B
When backpacking, I am obviously concerned about weight, and I am also more concerned with staying warm, or staying cool, staying dry or staying hydrated and fed. I really dont want to have to worry about a camera, especially in bad weather. Anyone that knows me already knows how I feel about battery operated stuff in the woods.
This past weekend, I went backpacking with a fairly large group. We got hit by a storm with confirmed winds of over 60 mph!!! The techniques that I use for stormproofing a tent (which I have been promising to document in detail) worked perfectly. Also, this was the first outing for my Cooke Custom Sewing tarp, that I posted about here. What a way to break in a new tarp!
The backpacking tent that I have is decently set up with the stormproof features that are important. Still, we are talking about a tent that is super light weight, and entirely mesh from the bathtub floor up.
So, while setting up, I made sure every single tie down point was staked down well. A big secret is I used 4 mil plastic, cut oversized for the inside of the tent. You will see why there is the need for this later. To be honest, I still feel silly about doing that because "experienced" campers are likely to make fun of you. That is until it rains hard, like it did here
So I did not let other campers know I was doing it, except for my tent mate.Also, we knew rain was possible, but did not know that we were going to get the storm that we did. So, I set up my 1.1oz 10x10 CCS tarp. I rigged it with a ridgeline in a lean to configuration, just like in my previous thread. The way I set it up, for the prevailing wind, I did not have a tree to tie out the center point. So, I had to use the pole pocket, and another group members trekking pole (I do not use them). I then put guy lines from the center of the sides only. I know there is more stuff that could have stormproofed it more, but again, I was not expecting 60mph winds, and the setup held up remarkable. More on that later.
One of the guys in the group got word via radio that a storm was coming with potential for 60 mph winds. I was already all dressed in my rain gear, so he asked me to go warn the boy scout troup down the way what was coming. Before I could make it all the way back to our camp, the storm had hit. It was amazing to see.
Tents without guy lines were basically flattened. The soil we were on was a good draining soil. There were high spots and low spots in camp. The low spots were completely flooded, with bottom of tents underwater. Even high spots were not immune. As I watched, basically rivers flowed, and water was literally rolling underneath every single tent in camp. Everyone had already sheltered in the tents, and most did not get to see this. Since I did not want to crawl into my nice dry tent in a soaking rain suit, I just took shelter under the CCS tarp. By this time, other tarp setups were already flapping in the wind. I took shelter and passed out the storm easily. I only had two small issues with the tarp.
First, the high winds pulled a stake out on one of the side guy lines. That side of the tent was a bit sandier soil. I also know how to keep that from happening again through a couple different methods. But again, I was not expecting what had occurred. I simply re-stacked it, and had no more issues.
Second, is the trekking pole used in the center got driven down into the ground further than I had stuck it, just from the tremendous force of the wind. I simply gave the pole a bit more height to make up for it. But those are relatively minor things, and overall I was way more than extremely impressed. How vicious the winds were had to really be seen to believe. I honestly do not think even the people huddled in their tents actually knew how bad the winds were, because they couldnt see.
Now, I actually saw water flowing underneath my tent. After the storm blew over, I went to check on things. Water definitely made it through the tent bottom, like I had expected. You could see it through the plastic! However, NOTHING actually got wet
Worked like a dream. Other tents in the group were dried, out, relocated, etc. Me and my tent mate did nothing. Except I showed off to a few people how we managed to keep things dry. Didnt feel so silly about showing off the plastic at that point.Also, just to show that conventional methods just dont work as good as they should, when we disassembled the tent the next day, there was still standing water on the tent footprint, actually potentially making the problem worse, rather than better. Had the footprint not been there, the water would have drained away. Instead, it held it there in place. I wasnt too concerned as the plastic kept us dry. But, I still kind of wanted the footprint there for abrasion.
Here is a summary of why the plastic works. Even if the floor had no seems, or if they were perfectly sealed, that barrier can not stand up to pressure. Most fabrics are good for 150psi at best. That seems like a lot until you have water under your tent, then put your knee or elbow down. Once the water starts, it doesn't want to stop.
Now you compound that with minor holes, seams not being sealed perfect,etc. With the plastic, damage is easy to detect. You can see it much easier. If you have a hole, it is easily fixed with duct tape! Seriously
Duct tape will keep the "inside groundsheet" kicking for a long time! If you get tired of making repairs, it costs all of about $3 to replace.Anyway, despite incredible weather to witness and be out in, it was a great weekend. I am always reminded that it takes ONE good storm to prove what works, and what doesn't.
I hope you found something interesting in there,
B
