Silnylon tent condensation?

[Mike Barney]

I’m wondering if condensation is a problem in silnylon tents. I have no experience with these, and was considering one for a trip to Philmont next summer.

Thanks,
Mike

[Pedro Arvy]

I have a lot of experience with Henry Shires tarptents so can comment on this one. Condensation can vary from none to extreme in these shelters. None when there is a good stiff wind blowing through the tent or the humidity is low; and extreme when the temperature is below the dew point or it is humid and there is little wind about.

At its worst, condensation can look like someone had sprayed a hose on the tent walls – almost dripping but not quite. However, if you are careful, and don’t touch the walls, the condensation is not really an issue. This is particularly true if you are in a one man tarp tent where you can position yourself exactly under the center of the structure and quite a distance from the walls.

When I first experienced extreme condensation it scared the willies out of me – mainly because I had never seen it before. Now I just put up with it as it really doesn’t affect the trip and does not justify a much heavier traditional shelter. My new sleeping bag has an Epic exterior to cope with condensation; the lighter materials aren’t adequate in my opinion although they are what I have been using for the past two years.

[Mathieu Fagnan]

I have used a Stephenson 2R in a lot of different conditions.

My experiences are very similar to the precedent post.

In dry, cold, and mostly sunny condition (mountaineering in Yukon and Alsaka) I had no condensation at all on the “thermos” double wall center section but quite a bit on the single wall ends. That did not really matter, because the condensation was actualy ice, so in the morning I will just remove the ice “crust” (very easy on the sliperry surface). During the day, because of the sun and wind, there was no condesation at all. During “normal” backcountry use in the Adirondaks (mostly below tree line) there was a fair, but managable amount of condesation that seems inevitable, even by taking great precaution (wet clothing in garbage bag, no overdressing, no cooking in the tent.).So every morning I just wipe the condesation with a packtowel. In some condition (temp below dew point, little or no wind, humid or rainy)the condensation was extreme (read: it rained IN the tent).
So even tough this type of shelter could be valuable in some condition, I think that for real life usage they do not worth the weight saving.
So I will strongly suggest to you to look for either a double wall tent (Big Sky tent) or a breathable single wall, unless it is for desert type of usage.

Sorry for the bad/broken english… I am one of those french canadian !

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