A random guy at a campsite told me my tent was pitched wrong. He was right.

Last weekend at Lake Tahoe, this older dude walked by my site and stopped. He said I had my rain fly too tight against the tent body, said it needs airflow to stop condensation. I brushed him off at first but woke up with my sleeping bag damp from moisture inside. Next night I loosened the fly and let it breathe, dry as a bone in the morning. Has anyone else gotten weird unsolicited advice that actually saved their trip?

3 comments

3 Comments

luna89118d ago

Oh come on, you're saying some random stranger knew more about your gear than you did? I mean, you set up your tent maybe a dozen times before, it's not rocket science to figure out the rain fly. If your sleeping bag got damp, that could've been from your own breath or something else entirely, not the fly being too tight. But hey, if it worked for you I guess that's cool, just don't go around telling everyone they need to listen to campsite know-it-alls.

kim37313d ago

Three times. I had set that tent up three times before that trip. So yeah, I figured it was fine. But that guy pointed out the rain fly was pulled so tight it was basically sealing the vents shut. He just shrugged and said "wet sleeping bag in the morning" before walking off. Woke up dry as a bone for once, so either he was right or I got lucky.

murphy.barbara18d ago

I actually read a blog post from a gear reviewer who said a too-tight rain fly can mess with airflow and cause condensation, so maybe that stranger was onto something. Luna, you're right that breath can cause dampness too, but I don't think it hurts to consider what someone else says.