First night out with my new tent and a storm rolled in at 2am

I was set up at Lost Creek Campground near the Blue Ridge Parkway, testing out a tent I snagged on clearance. Around 2am, wind picked up so hard I thought the whole thing was gonna fold. I jumped out in my socks and rain jacket, realized I hadn't staked down the fly tight enough. Got the lines pulled and extra rocks on the corners, but water was already seeping in through the bottom seam. I ended up moving my sleeping bag into the car and just waited it out for 3 hours. Tent held up after I fixed it, but honestly that seam tape job is shoddy. Has anyone else had luck re-sealing a budget tent floor without ruining it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_margaret28d ago

My buddy Dave had almost the exact same thing happen to him down at Grayson Highlands last spring. He got that cheap Naturehike tent off Amazon, thought he was set. Storm hit around 3am, he woke up with water pooling in the corner right under his head. He didn't even bother trying to fix it outside, just grabbed his bag and slept in the back of his Subaru with the seats folded down. Next day he dried everything out in the sun, then used some Gear Aid seam sealer he picked up at a local outfitter. He scrubbed the floor with rubbing alcohol first, let it dry, then painted the seam tape on thin and let it sit for almost two days. It held up fine through a rainy weekend at Hanging Rock after that. He said the trick was not globbing it on thick, just a light brush coat.

margaret_jackson7328d ago

Been there lol. I think this kind of thing is a life lesson honestly. You can prep all you want but stuff still goes sideways, especially with budget gear. I had a similar moment with a cheap sleeping pad and ended up learning the hard way that sometimes you get what you pay for. For the floor seal, I used a tube of seam grip from Walmart and just painted it on thin. Let it dry a full day before packing it up and it worked fine for a few more trips. Key is to clean the area with alcohol first so the glue actually sticks. Good luck man, hope you can get it sorted without buying a whole new tent.

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