The contrail and rain?

[rhonda rouyer]

I have had my TT Contrail for two years now and have not yet been rained on in it. I need to know from those who also have a contrail how your's held up in stormy /rainy weather. The best I have been able to simulate at home is with the shower nozzel of the hose.(stayed dry inside) Even when I think it looks like big time rain and set it up…the rain fizzles out. Comments?

[Mary D]

Maybe you have the perfect anti-rain device, lol! Consider bringing it to NW Oregon; we could use some sunny days right now!

[Franco Darioli]

Rain ? No problem IF pitched correctly.
The Tarptents are designed to be pitched TAUT ( well, most tent are…) , when you see a limp one that is either user error or very uneven ground.
This is a shot from Nepal. That night we got buckets of rain , the field next to us (a dry rice paddy) flooded.
I woke up dry not a drop of rain inside.
Note that I use a rear mid pole to keep the middle of the rear up a bit and to give it (with the front guyline) some good longitudinal tension (same as with A frame tents).
Franco

[Brad Rogers]

If you have hiked that long without rain in the south you are very lucky. I get rained on every trip it seems, its just the way the weather is here. The foot end of the Contrail seems to pool water if not pitched taut, but if you can avoid that issue, you should be fine.

[rhonda rouyer]

Today as a thuderstorm was blowing up I quickly set it up in the yard and got in as the strom broke. It poured! wind made the tent billow out like a sail but no water in the tent. I got out, and got soaked, put the back struts down to the ground and left it in the weather. After the storm passed I checked it out. There were puddles on top where I pinned the back corners down but the inside was very dry! Good test I think…

Franco, where did you get the middle strut? I did notice the pooling water at the foot when the struts were up. But when the wind blew the tent billowed and the water poured off. Like the strut idea or maybe add a line to that middle loop and pull it out a little to create a drain line?

[Franco Darioli]

Rhonda
Henry designed that middle guyout point to be connected to one of the end struts. That works to keep the end up but does nothing for longitudinal tension, for example with side winds.
My "pole" is just a section of a tent pole about 1" longer than the struts . You could use a stick or a trekking pole to do the same.
I have the pole tip attached to the guyline , so I just insert the pole section into that.
This is what it looks like in the current version :


Franco

[rhonda rouyer]

Thanks Franco, I have it set up in the yard right now and will play with using the other trekking pole in the middle.

[Franco Darioli]

Good idea. Just use a clove hitch to hold the pole. make sure that the middle is only raised a little bit, otherwise the floor will not sit square.
(push the carbide tip into the ground so that it stays there)
Franco

[Brian Vogt]

rolled in to a put in once after dark. gf broke out the tent to discover she'd forgotten about a broken tent pole. the downpour starts …

I had the contrail as a "spare" cause it was a liesurely trip and I wanted to play with my new shelter if I had some free time. We set it up in the rain and crawled in — with our queen size down comforter and cotton duve from home. torrential rain all night long.

In the morning, we were the only group that didn't have to go in to the laundramat to dry their sleeping bags.

I trust mine in the rain for sure.

[Scott Bentz]

My son has a Contrail. He slept in it with another scout at Philmont with a few nights of rain. Completely dry inside as far a rain from outside. They did have a fair bit of condensation though. I'd trust it to keep myself dry.

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