Improper Errection?

[chris-red]

Tents I'm talking about.

I went a away camping in the highlands this weekend. The weather was fucking awful.

On the first night I basically lobbed the tent up as quickly as I could because I wanted to join the other campers in a light refreshment. It was pretty wet and windy that night and I got slightly damp as the fly sheet wasn't taught enough.

The next morning I woke early and sorted the tent out as far as I was concerned it was more of less perfect. Everything was tight and it looked the sharp.

That night was the most horrendous weather I have every experienced, according to the forecast it was 40mph winds and 80mm of rain overnight. It started 12pm and went on till we left the next day. My tent was holding up well We went to the pub about 7pm about 8/9 it started getting worse

Upon returning from the pub we were greeted with this...

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10154067_10153449976368476_5086249820328017655_n.jpg?oh=0acb4690292a109f26da953928291c5c&oe=5648F3F0

Mine is the only one that doesn't look fucked. Inside it was OK dry and not to bad, only thing which you might be able to slightly see is the windy had sort of bent everything, and it was on a wonk but still sturdy. Anyway I abandoned the tent about 1:30 am as the river we were next to was about to burst it's banks and slept in a derelict bunkhouse instead. The tent was still dry inside. When I returned in the morning the tent was wet inside again where it appears the fly had been touching the inner again on the wind side.

I figure it is one of 3 things.

Something wrong with how I put it up.
Limitations of the tent (it is 12 years old and not an expensive one)
Some weather is just too much for tents!

What do you think?
____________________
Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[UncleFester]

Combination of all 3 things.

Decent tents, the inner sheet doesn't touch the outer sheet no matter what the weather does.

Decent tents are not cheap/

A 12 year old tent won't be as waterproof as it was when it was new - they all benefit from a clean and a new waterproofing treatment.

No matter how good the tent, Guy ropes need doing well and with decent pegs, especially if you are expecting shit weather. Always pitch away from water, avoiding things like flood plains is generally a good idea haha

if you can't be arsed with all of that - B&B every time
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2017 Z1000SX

[stinkwheel]

Fibreglass poles bend and greenstick in strong winds. The only way to stop them is to have guy ropes on the actual poles and very few tents with fibreglass poles do. I won't buy a tent with fibreglass poles for this exact reason.

Even alloy ones can fracture but they tend not to be as disatrous.

Looks like you have it set up right. The trouble is that type of tent simply isn't designed to cope with winds that high. You need a technical tent of some sort to cope with that sort of weather.

That said, flysheet material has come on leaps and bounds in the last 12 years. I'd expect even my popup tent to bend and flap in that kind of wind but not leak. Flysheets don't leak nowadays, not even if they're plastered against your face by the wind.

If you like the dome type design. I'm currently using a vango halo 200 which has alloy ples and a semi-geodesic design. Nice and roomy, two entrances. Been up in gale force winbds before. Did snasp one pole at the Dragon Rally a couple of years ago when the wind caught it as I was putting it up but I slid on a repair sleeve and it was solid throughb gale-force winds overnight.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[chris-red]

I was looking at Vango as they were the ones we used in the cadets. I have my eye on a Tempest 350. I love my tent it was a present from my parents when I finished school and went to the Reading Festival. It was only £45 AFAIK It's a Suncamp Gemini a name which to me does scream quality. I've used it dozens of times and it's never let me down barring this weekend.

However my missus is moaning as it might have a bit of vomit on the porch fly and a couple of specs of mold inside. I'm pretty sure it's dead as it hasn't got any bigger and I washed it with water/bleach.

The blue tent behind mine had fiberglass poles and several splintered into pieces.

The only peg that came out was on of the porch ones, that was because I had lost the loop that the peg normally goes in and put it were the loop goes instead. Should have fixed that really!.

I'll have a trundle down to Go Outdoors later and have a browse.
____________________
Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[stinkwheel]

You do need to remember that while the Kings house is a hotel with a campsite, it's also on the Rannoch Moor plateau. It's 850 feet above sea level and is surrounded on all sides by mountains. Really big mountains.

It's an extreme environment. People die on Rannoch Moor.

Not really a place for a festival tent. I was barely able to stay upright on my motorcycle when I went past there on Saturday, never mind camping.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[chris-red]