After making a 10-minute drive to a local stream to tempt trout with foam grasshoppers, the fun was over after an hour. My strip sets were rusty, and more fish were missed than caught, although topwater bass anglers and dry fly trout purists will tell you that you’re going to miss some fish when you choose to fish in this manner. Gray skies and storm clouds had been building in the heavens, and you could sense the humidity on your skin while breathing felt heavy. Thunder rumbled, a logical ending point stood out as the stream meandered near the gravel road once again, and a vibrant yellow-and-red hued brown trout posed for a photo before dashing from the rubber landing net upstream to a deep pool. All were signs it was time to quit for the evening and head back to camp.
While walking back to the car, the rain started to fall. The drive back to Lanesboro kept the windshield wipers moving at a medium pace. Once parked at the campground, the rain took a break and our family packed up camp for the night, shoving chairs, bikes, totes, firewood bundles, and coolers into the gazebo screen tent. Darkness approached and we all retreated into the tent to do some reading by lantern light.
The pitter patter of rain on the tent’s roof was gentle to start. Later in the evening it picked up in intensity, with large drops falling on the tent’s covering sounding like hundreds of mallets pounding away on a bass drum. Eventually the rain’s force diminished, and sleep would come. Some hours later, roaring and crackling thunder erupted nearby, startling us awake from slumber. Rain continued to fall steadily, and I could hear an occasional dripping noise in the darkness as water drops reached the tarpaulin floor. No strangers to sleeping outside and roughing it, my family woke up the next morning a little short on sleep from the loud storm but overall, in fair shape. Nearby Harmony, Minnesota reported nearly 5 inches of overnight precipitation. A couple small pools of water had gathered on the floor of the tent. The tent had largely done its job against the elements, but a barrage of rain pushed the limits. The rain entered on conductance points where the slanted roof’s fabric and support poles touched, then ran down the support poles to Velcro attachments and dripped to the floor. When it rains hard, outdoor gear gets tested. Waking up to pooled water in a tent is no fun but could have been much worse and was a reminder to plan ahead in order to avoid wet mornings. It was the reminder I needed to provide some updated water resistance.
When our trip was finished, our family headed for home and popped up the tent in the yard on the next sunny afternoon, eager to reseal and give the tent a waterproofing treatment. After assembling the tent and making sure all sides were stretched tight, I swept out the interior floor and wiped everything down with a cloth and soapy water that was light on soap to remove any remaining dirt and debris from the weekend. I used a small foam brush to spread Gear Aid Durable water repellant on the tent’s surface.
Finally, I found my can of Silicone Water Guard and sprayed down all the seams and stitching, inside and out. Silicone Water Guard comes in the can with an orange cap while the Gear Aid comes in a black spray mist bottle; neither product uses fluorocarbons as a propellant and so provides some environmental peace of mind.
Other popular treatments are Nikwax TX Direct, Coghlan’s Seam Seal, or Kiwi Camp Dry spray. Our family let the tent dry for a full day before packing it down. When your tent is fully dry after doing a water sealant treatment, it should have a sticky feeling but if it’s overly tacky you should give the curing more time.
Refreshing the polyurethane coating on a tent will ensure you aren’t wet when it matters most. You can apply the same treatment to rain jackets and bibs, umbrellas, and your boots. While some folks can poo-poo staying in a tent on rainy days or nights, a properly treated and waterproof tent should give its occupants no problems staying dry.