i just got a new (to me) cotton pyramid tent, i've been camping for years but never in cotton. it's always been part of my camping ritual during the day to open all windows/doors, turn the sleeping mats and air the sleeping bags/blankets, to minimise condensation. now we're in cotton do i still need to do the same? on our first 2-night camp i notice there wasn't a touch of dampness to the mats, even though i forgot to turn them.
You should be fine then! We have two types of tents, and both bedroom compartments have SIG but we always put another groundsheet underneath to keep the bottoms clean and to add axtra insulation.
Cotton canvas breathes so there's far less condensation build up than in synthetic tents. It's always good to air out bedding and the tent every day though. Cotton canvas tents can occasionaly get a bit damp in the dead air space between roof liners and the roof and this can result in mould.
thanks for replies - we don't have an inner tent, just curtains, so that's one less thing to worry about :) i'll probably carry on airing, it's so ingrained now, but perhaps less obsessively :D
I'd lift the mats occasionally, our Fat Airics are often a bit damp underneath if the weather (and the ground) are cold. It's the standard effect of the heat of your body meeting the cold of the ground.