Ultimate Wilderness Gear by Craig Caudill

Author:Craig Caudill [Caudill, Craig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
Published: 2018-06-04T00:00:00+00:00

REAL-LIFE SKILLS: SETTING UP A TENT TO AVOID GETTING WET WHEN IT RAINS

I have watched dozens of students make the following mistakes in our classes and get wet. This little sidebar is worth the price of the book you have in your hand:

• ALWAYS INSPECT YOUR GEAR BEFORE YOUR TRIP. Coat your shelter with waterproof sealant if you have not used it in a long while or if the sealant is cracking. This will look like white flakes over the tent. I coat my tents each year.

• IDENTIFY WHERE THE PREVAILING WINDS ARE WHEN SETTING UP AND WHEN WINDS START BLOWING IN A STORM. Ensure your door is not facing the prevailing winds. If it is, change its location while you have time. It is not better to hope for the best in this situation. It is better to prepare for the worst.

• AVOID SETTING UP AT THE BOTTOM OF SLOPE. Water naturally travels downhill. If this cannot be avoided, then dig a small “mote” around your tent to direct that water away from you.

• USE A FOOTPRINT. These are small tarps that fit the bottom of your tent perfectly. You can use any tarp; just ensure that it does not stick out from the bottom of your tent. When you have a tarp that sticks out from the bottom, it serves as a guttering system for water to travel under your tent. I have seen suggestions to have it 1 inch (3 cm) in from the edge, flush and much more. My experience is that as long as it does not protrude out from under the main body of the tent, you are okay. The more any portion of the floor touches the earth, the more opportunity there is for moisture to seep in. Waterbeds are not a good choice in the wilderness. Although a footprint is the easiest to use for such endeavors, it does not serve any other purpose very well. Therefore, I take a regular Equinox or Wilderness Innovation tarp to use instead. This way, I have another item with me that is multiuse.

• ONCE YOU’RE INSIDE THE TENT, DO NOT TOUCH THE SIDES OF ANY PORTION THAT CONTACTS THE OUTSIDE WITH YOUR BODY OR GEAR. A conduit will be created by manipulating the fibers by touching them or other equipment making contact with them. An outer barrier is made by the tightly woven fibers of the material; when the material is pushed, the fibers are pulled apart (although this cannot be seen with the naked eye), which allows moisture to pass through. This is another good reason to choose a double-walled tent. You can avoid this issue altogether by doing so.

• ANOTHER BIG ISSUE IS SETTING UP YOUR TENT IN THE RAIN. One way I take care of this is that I leave my rainfly attached. If it is raining when I set it up, I can pull it out and it is already covered by the rainfly. This does not work for an extended time, but does make for quick work in the rain.

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