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Hi

We have just been washed out from a camping trip in Devon.

We have a Kalahari 10 which had great reviews about standing up to the wind and the rain but unfortunately this was not our experience.

The velcro stips onthe outside vents were just not enough in the wind and so the tent was rocking including the inner tents.

After one afternoon and one night of rain the roof on two of the four sections were letting in water and it was dripping inside the tent and unfortunately onto the inner tents. This was made worse as the wind meant that the inner tents were blown onto the outer layer transferring damp. We lowered the inner tents to relieve this but it was not ideal.

After another day of this we had to leave as all our stuff including sleeping bags were getting really damp.

Does anyone have any advice about this for the Kalahari 10 or about weatherproofing in general?  We have been camping as a family for over a year now but this is the first time we have encountered really bad weather!!

By the way we checked tensions etc and the tent was not sagging.

Many thanks

This shouldn't happen - I'd try to get a refund and a new tent. Waterproofing won't help...

Helen

I don't know the Kalahari 10 but if it is a straight tunnel tent with fibreglass poles then they will sway in windy weather. I believe some Vango tents now have an inner strap system which helps to prevent this.

The strength and gust of the wind will of course determine how badly the tent rocks and sways. I used to have a 3 pole tunnel which almost laid flat in really strong gusts but it seemed to survive. Likewise my last tent was a dome with crossover poles and that used to twist alarmingly...hence I have now bought a tent with steel poles which I have yet to test in really windy conditions.

Obviously if the tent is swaying badly then the inner will touch the fly but I can only say that really severe weather conditions of this nature (believe it or not) are rare (or is it that I check the forecast before going camping in windy weather?)

As for leaks, this can happen through the seams of the tent and of course if the tent is swaying about then any leaks will be thrown about too instead of running down the inside to the ground. Seams can be sealed on the inside when the tent is dry with a seal sealant purchased from any camping supplier.

Also, if a family is sitting inside a tent in the type of warm wet conditions we have been having lately then it is quite possible that the 'leaks' were condensation and that can get pretty bad in a synthetic tent given the right conditions.

As stated, tunnel tents can sway and dance quite scarily in strong winds (I remember cowering in my tent the first time I hit a storm and wondering how long it would be before it took off) but they are designed to do that to a degree and most of them will survive...but all tents have their limits and perhaps your tent was close to it's limits on this occasion. If you seal the seams and try again in better weather I am sure you will have a much better experience.