BD Firstlight: Water Resistance Test

Test results vary widely — folks claim "wetting out" anywhere from just a few hours to five to nine all the way to "hey this tent is functionally rainproof".

My own tests resulted in the walls wetting through after 9 hours of rain. The walls dry very quickly, so if there's a long enough break in the rain, the clock "resets and starts over" so to speak.

However, my experience is that once 'wet through' occurs, water will drip in pretty quickly and consistently — it's not just a matter of wiping off every now and then!

For complete testing, you should also sleep inside — so you can guage the effect of your exhalation and perspiration. My experience is that the cold metal poles are "condensation magnets" — they get wet / frosted pretty quickly — they remind me of refrigerator coils — followed by the ceiling, then the walls…

For me, the simplicity and light weight of BD "epic fabric" tents are great for places where rain is either seasonal and/or fast moving. It's not a "go to" tent for all three season uses. Nine hours might seem long — but picture a scenario where it's 3pm, it's been raining all day — and your buddies want to stop and pitch camp. Your dilemma — do you set up your tent now — and risk "wet out" by midnight — or do you wait a few more hours before setting up your tent so it can remain dry till the next morning? That's not a scenario I would want to put myself in. In a nutshell, I see the BD as one of several arrows in a quiver — to be pulled out and used to its advantages — in the right conditions.

Let us know how the rest of your test goes! Thanks.

Agreed with your overall assessment. (And I have a Rab Summit Extreme for really nasty weather.)

Clarification:
– I slept in the tent from about 11pm to about 8am. Tent was completely dry inside up until the rain started (at around 4am), and after that (as noted previously) the walls became progressively more damp to the touch (though didn't cause any problems).

Update:
– By around noon the rain had tapered off to pretty much nothing. So after eight hours of continuous rain, I went back out to the tent for an inspection. I saw two significant "splotches" in the center of the tent, i.e., probably several large rain drops that had fallen onto my sleeping pad (just missing my down bag, which had been pushed away a bit). My hunch is that the Firstlight's steeply sloped walls play a major role in shedding rain, and that the failure occurred right at the very tippy top of the tent, which is almost perfectly flat, and hence some water pooled up there and then leaked through.

Weather note:
– No winds at all during the entire time period.

Amusing marital exchange:
"I'm going camping tonight!"
"Okay."
…
"I'm testing a tent tonight!"
"Okay."
…
"Goodnight!"
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I told you, I'm camping tonight to test a tent."
"I didn't think you were actually going to spend the night in our backyard!"

No worries, you wife will get used to it — and eventually, so will your neighbors! :)