So this weekend i was camping in the mountains in the kind of place where you're inside a cloud and it half-rains constantly. I was woken up a few times by unpleasant drips and i thought maybe i hadn't pegged my fly good enough but when i was breaking up to leave i noticed that the waterproofing tape along the seams has started to peel off. Weirdly, i also checked my waterproof pack after feeling a bit of dampness in there and it's starting to happen inside the pack too.
Now bear in mind i was on the road with this stuff full-time for about a year, then about 3 years ago i settled back down and started living in regular apartment working regular job and only taking the tent out for shorter trips here and there. Although my pack i still use regularly. So this is getting to around year 4 or 5, with most of that time spent in humid/subtropical environment which seems to fuck up pretty much everything else (electronics...) so why wouldn't it fuck up camping gear too? I guess it's the normal lifetime of this kit?
Anywho. I searched around online and there are a bunch of different guides how to re-seal a tent. Here's REI's for example: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/how-to-waterproof-a-tent.html
But all these guides kinda assume a) you bought a very expensive tent, and b) you have a spacious room or a private yard to do the work in. I have neither. My apartment is barely the size of a caravan and has no airflow. The question is... have any of you guys who are still full-time on the road managed to re-seal a tent in a public space? Is it worth the effort to do? Some of these things are saying you gotta leave the tent out in a dry, sunny place with no dust or shit flying round for 6+ hours after you applied the goo, maybe better even leave it overnight. How the fuck you even find that kind of unicorn spot? Do you really need that long? Does it even seal properly afterwards anyway? Do you need other equipment? Like what the fuck, add turps, add paintbrush, wear gloves, use rubbing alcohol, who has all that stuff lying around? I don't live in a fucking hardware store. If you have a bit of cash is it easier to just buy a new cheap tent? (Like, i spent $100 on it.)
Now bear in mind i was on the road with this stuff full-time for about a year, then about 3 years ago i settled back down and started living in regular apartment working regular job and only taking the tent out for shorter trips here and there. Although my pack i still use regularly. So this is getting to around year 4 or 5, with most of that time spent in humid/subtropical environment which seems to fuck up pretty much everything else (electronics...) so why wouldn't it fuck up camping gear too? I guess it's the normal lifetime of this kit?
Anywho. I searched around online and there are a bunch of different guides how to re-seal a tent. Here's REI's for example: https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/how-to-waterproof-a-tent.html
But all these guides kinda assume a) you bought a very expensive tent, and b) you have a spacious room or a private yard to do the work in. I have neither. My apartment is barely the size of a caravan and has no airflow. The question is... have any of you guys who are still full-time on the road managed to re-seal a tent in a public space? Is it worth the effort to do? Some of these things are saying you gotta leave the tent out in a dry, sunny place with no dust or shit flying round for 6+ hours after you applied the goo, maybe better even leave it overnight. How the fuck you even find that kind of unicorn spot? Do you really need that long? Does it even seal properly afterwards anyway? Do you need other equipment? Like what the fuck, add turps, add paintbrush, wear gloves, use rubbing alcohol, who has all that stuff lying around? I don't live in a fucking hardware store. If you have a bit of cash is it easier to just buy a new cheap tent? (Like, i spent $100 on it.)
