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Topic: Condensation??? in Berghaus Air400XL

heather283

08/5/2024 at 7:53pm
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Just back from using our new tent on a rainy and misty weekend for 3 nights. On 3rd night our lovely Air 400XL was very wet inside. It was like sitting under a mist sprayer. Carpet and all our belongings were wet. Small puddles of water formed on table etc. Local Go Outdoors gent advised that this was due to "condensation". Neither I nor my husband have ever experienced this before and believe the tent to be faulty. Any insight or similar experiences would be appreciated before we decide what to do. Thanks

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seanfdh

09/5/2024 at 7:49am
Location: North Devon
Outfit: Robens Fairbanks Coleman Phad X3

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To be honest it sounds like condensation to me. Some sort of sudden total failure of waterproofing seems very unlikely.
Did you have all the available ventilation open?

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Ewen c

via mobile 09/5/2024 at 8:42am
Location: County Kildare Ireland EU.
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Rainy and misty weather and probably sitting at the table inside the tent. That creates a right fug with breathe and heat. Sounds like condensation to me.
We had it had one time with an easycamp vis a vis but only in the single skin living area. It might seem it is leaking as fine droplets form on the ceiling. Then whenever a little breeze hits the tent it sprays the everywhere.
Another time we were in a two man backpacking tent that had poor ventilation. It was very foggy and the condensation was so bad it was dripping through the mesh inner.
All you can do is try to ensure there is cross ventilation. Open the vents and maybe the top of the door if you have a double zip. Think of it like a car with everyone in it in the rain and no vents or fan on. The windows phone Ould be dripping. Same thing.

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heather283

09/5/2024 at 10:09am
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Thanks for your reply. It happened when we were in bed at night, though we had had visitors during the day and the tent door had been closed as it was quite cold and misty. We did have some vents open. The tent was cold before we went to bed and then there was heavy rain during the night. We have never experienced this level of water in the tent before and have both camped quite a lot and so are used to the damp air which you can feel. Actual puddles of water on our belongings! Now very unsure of the way forward and feel less confidence in our tent going away again.

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heather283

09/5/2024 at 10:09am
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Thanks for your reply. We had some of the vents open but probably not all of them as it was quite cold.

Ewen c

via mobile 09/5/2024 at 4:07pm
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Warm air hitting cold material. It can happen even in the best of tents if the conditions are right.

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Graham T

via mobile 09/5/2024 at 5:49pm
Location: south derbyshire
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Get some cheap tarpaulin sheets to from poundland or somewhere similar to cover your belongings at night until you are happy with the tent again. I always have a couple with me for emergency use in extreme conditions!

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heather283

09/5/2024 at 5:58pm
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Thanks for the suggestion

RainMagnet

13/5/2024 at 4:09pm
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If you have the space, for peace of mind you could put the tent up in the garden and give it a spray with the hose to see if it leaks.

I had a Gelert tent that leaked like a sieve along the seams from the day a bought it, if it ever got caught in the rain there would be large pools of water at the bottom of each pole, inside the tent.

navver

13/5/2024 at 7:25pm
Location: West country
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Best way to avoid it is some heat inside. Ventilation just lets more cold air in but will help a little bit.

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