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Hi all,

I haven't posted much here before but do lurk and use the campsite search.

At the end of last summer hols we were at Nantcol having a fab time until it started to rain, it rained for around 12 hours solid and the ground was saturated.

Sadly my previously reliable SIG started to leak, is this normal and would a footprint have helped or should I just use extra groundsheets inside which can be removed and dried when its not raining?

Hope someone has some advice as I can't afford to replace the tent at the moment but don't want to stop camping obviously.

Which tent is it?

Was the rest of the tent dry? Where did you pitch at nantcol, there wasn't a stream or anything running through?!

Hi val, It is an outdoor revolution scenic 7,

Yes the rest of the tent was dry, it mainly leaked by the door where people were coming in and out but it has a porch so not from wet boots or coats etc.

There is a stream and the ground is rock so the water was lying on the surface about an inch deep. Do you think it was just too much for my poor tent and do you think once it has leaked that is it?

I really value your opinion thankyou.

Definitly no leaks Jim, I had a really good look around the tent before I made a desision to abandon camp and head for home.

The water was at the door end but I had already banned shoes and coats from coming in, We had 2 porches up so no issues with zips either.

I am pretty certain the water was coming up from underneath as I had a groundseet dowm by the door and when I lifted it there was a puddle under it.

The groundsheet is some kind of plastic and is anodised apparently to keep the heat in. It is the same kind of groundsheet as my quechua 4.1 pop up if that is any help.

Could it be that it has leaked there due to wear and tear,  it is such a great tent that I really want to carry on using it, do you think it would be better to put an extra groundsheet inside or underneath or both maybe?

There are some pics on the tent reviews that show the ground sheet.

Thanks for your help.

Ps. You could be right about the weather the field was seriously wet, we are going to try the elctric hookup field next time because it was slightly further up the hill and looked to drain better. Great site though will be going back but will maybe take a boat next time instead of a tent.

Thanks Jim, that is a great idea. I think you are right, I think it was just the weight of us going in and out.

We could maybe put the porch on the other side sometimes and wear that side out as well.

I feel a bit daft now knowing that we could have just wiped up the water and carried on but I was on my own with 4 kids so I thought I should abandon camp.

We love the tent and although we realise that it wont last forever it suits our needs perfectly at the moment, so extra towels it is then.

Great advice thanks again.

If you are pitched in a river what do you expect? It's not a boat.

Water can seep through groundsheets especially if used in standing water. I think you answered your own question when you asked if it was just too much for your poor tent. I am not a lover of footprints for that reason...water can seep between the footprint and groundsheet and then you find yourself pitched in a lake.

Under normal conditions rain soaks into the ground underneath a tent, or it doesn't get underneath in the first place and the groundsheet is waterproof enough, but in really adverse conditions such as you describe you are asking a lot of your tent.