Learned my tent rainfly was on wrong for 6 years after a nasty storm

Last month I was camping up near Lake George and a big thunderstorm rolled in at 2am. I woke up with water dripping on my face and was soaked by morning. When I packed up, a guy in the next site walked over and showed me I had the rainfly too tight against the tent walls. He said that's what causes condensation to build up and leak through. Now I leave gaps for airflow, hasn't happened since. Has anyone else had a similar dumb realization about their tent setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

hayden_butler278d ago

Same thing happened to me with my old tent. I had the fly pulled super tight against the mesh for years thinking that's how to keep water out. Woke up in a puddle more times than I can count. A guy at REI told me the same thing your neighbor did. Now I leave about a 4-6 inch gap between the fly and the inner tent, and the airflow makes a huge difference. No more waking up to wet sleeping bags or condensation dripping down the walls. It's crazy how such a simple change fixes everything.

elliotadams8d ago

Read somewhere that proper tent ventilation actually reduces condensation by like 80% compared to when you seal it up tight. Wild how the thing you think is helping is actually making everything worse.