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Quote: Originally posted by welshwyn on 20/8/2006

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I think the idea of having cheap tents for festivals, is most get abused or damaged by the weather or other inconsiderate festival goers, a lot also get slashed by thieves looking for anything they can steal.  ....

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Hydrostatic Head.

The legal limit to call something waterproof is 1500 hh.

WRONG!!

 HH is a measurement of a column of water on a piece of fabric. If a tent is 1500mm HH it's still not waterproof as you get driving wind and rain which can increase the pressure of rain falling on the tent. If the HH is stated as being 1500mm then that would be the British Standard, so therefore who ever told you the legal limit to call something waterproof is 1500 hh would be wrong.

You can get 2000mm HH and still not be waterproof but is more waterproof than 1500mm.

Hi alberybunch, single skin tents still have a HH. But the dissadvantage of single skin is if you touch the inner you will break the water seal. My mate purchased the same tent and i laughed at him and said, just put a waterproof groundsheet over the top. Lol.

Advice, buy a tent with a good HH ie:1500 - 2000mm, double skin, Sewn in ground sheet. Vent flaps. If you go to a good camping shop you will find one. When you get home it would be best to pitch it up to familarise yourself with it and purchase some waterproofer for the tent, reason is the flysheet has a coating applied on the inside and taped seams. The outer is not actually repellent although rain falls on it and forms beads but not for long. As the flysheet gets wet it makes it heavier, so along with waterproofer it helps tremendously.

Quote: Originally posted by CaravanSkier on 23/8/2006

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Merry Terrier,I`m sure he`ll be fine.  My 14 yr old camped at his first festival (V Chelmsford) last weekend with older brother for whom it was a second time.  I spent all weekend fretting. They came back muddy, exhausted and elated having had a thoroughly good time.

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lat123

They are right, you don't really need to waterproof a tent, but it does help. I have a Toronto tunnel tent and i only reproof it every two years. If you get bird mess or tree crap on it wash it off then reproof. When you do wash it don't use detergents as you can ruin the coating on the inside, especially if there are taped seams.

Hi Telhoman, with all my years experience of using tents and sleeping bags, a lot of companies, ie:- Sainsbury, Asda, Millets, Blacks and Argos plus many more, the these packs you are describing i must admit are very good. The one snag i can think of with thes is, which one to choose. If you put into perspective, you may be better off going to camping stores such as the 2 mentioned and Oswald Bailey. Only because they are experts in this field, no pun intended. Supermarkets may have good offers but may not have the knowledge that you may need to know.

Hope this answers your question.