Rant: My 'waterproof' tent leaked like a sieve in a downpour at Lake Tahoe

Camped at Emerald Bay last weekend and woke up in a puddle at 3 AM, had to pack everything wet and drive home. Anyone have a solid 3-season tent that actually holds up in heavy rain?

2 comments

2 Comments

faith_lopez4825d ago

Noticed the same thing with rain jackets too. Paid a ton for one that claimed to be waterproof, then got soaked standing in a drizzle for 10 minutes. It's like companies just slap that word on anything now without testing it in real weather. You'd think a tent maker would maybe try it in actual rain before shipping it out, but nope. Eureka and Kelty have been solid for me in downpours on the Olympic Peninsula, so maybe worth a look. Just still blows my mind how little brands care about their claims holding up.

patel.phoenix25d ago

I had the same problem with a rain fly on a cheap tent from Amazon, totally worthless in a steady downpour. My old Eureka Timberline from 15 years ago still keeps me bone dry, so I stuck with them when I replaced it last year. Sometimes the older brands just know how to build stuff that actually works.