Fabsil waterproofing??

[ANN]

hi!

going to Iceland on SATURDAY!!!

obviously very excited

but with my £30 tent (eurohike 4 man dome) i am worried over leaks

i bought some fabsil waterproofing spray and did the seams in and out and then kind of sprayed it everywhere!! lol, but it was kind of patchy!!

anyway, do u think it will last of it has a complete chuck down of rain?!?! probably will for hours on end!!! yay! lol

thankyou!!!!

 

[John Fenna]

Frankly - no!
Nikwax tent and gear proofing is better, but even that is not infalible....
No tent I have ever tried keeps all the rain out forever...after a week of solid downpour they all start to get a bit damp, even if it is only from opening the doors now and then.
I hope it aint too wet for you and you have a good time!

 

[ANN]

ok, so i dont mind damp or anything - but will it hold out leaks?? like a downpour INSIDE the tent - the last one i was in did that after it rained torrentially for one night and im one for a week!!

 

[Mesquite]

ok, so i dont mind damp or anything - but will it hold out leaks?? like a downpour INSIDE the tent - the last one i was in did that after it rained torrentially for one night and im one for a week!!

If you're really worried about torrential rain penetrating the tent then maybe you need to consider a lightweight tarp over it as a primary cover. Anything that gets through that the tent will be able to cope without any trouble.

You can do an arrangement like this and have extra porch area for keeping dry under

 

[ANN]

would love to but travelling by plane so cant afford to take any more stuff!!

arrghh this is a problem!! lol

 

[John Fenna]

Make sure you wear as much of your clothing as possible when you check in - and have as much of your dense and heavy kit in your pockets as you can.
Airlines do not weigh you - only your bags - and I use a pocket vest purely to wear for air travel when carrying large loads.
If you are carefull you can get about 2kg extra on your weight allowance by wearing it!
That would be pleanty for an extra tarp.....

 

[crazydave]

carry either a 90p dust sheet or a survival blanket, make some duct tape loops so you can protect the ridge. if the outer fails then it will slowly track down into the inner. you can either stick it outside the fly or under it which will stop it blowing away.

seams are best done with a silicone sealant but if the fabric isn't sealed then water will get through eventually. you can stretch a bit of the fabric and suck it to see if air gets through - if it does then water will ater a while.

stick the tent under a sprinkler to test it

 

[Paul_B]

Fabsil Gold is better than plain fabsil. And it is at least as good as Nikwax, some experts rate it as better than Nikwax. I once read that it was closer to the original DWR treatments than other makes. It is better than nothing and if you go to one of those shops that sell stuff for horses and horse riding you can get it cheaper and in larger containers. That way you could using it regularly.

Having said that you are fighting against the rising tide so to speak. Once it starts to lose repellancy it is likely to be the fabric failing. That happened to my old 2 man tent, made of very high HH fabric, after about 13-15 years.

I think if you get Fabsil Gold you can use a sponge to wipe it onto the flysheet. That will ensure it is fully covered.

 

[CAL]

Fabsil worked on my dome tent, although the first three or four times out I proofed it each time to make sure there was good coverage.