Tent Fly: Minor Annoyance is Annoying

[Bogs and Bergs]

On the BA Copper Spur, the seam tape on the silnylon fly is in contact with the poles. In the wind, it squeaks. Squeak squeak squeak. Not sure how to quote here, but in the '2 person tent, 3+ seasons' thread, 'edhyatt' mentions the same thing: "The squeaking of the fly over the poles was a tad annoying at times." It's the one and only issue I have with this tent. It does extremely well in wind, but it takes only a millimetre's movement to cause this noise.

I want to ameliorate this without damaging the fly. None of my ideas seem good. Talc? Chalk? Silicone lubricant? I have no good ideas, so if anybody else does, I'd love to hear them.

[Jerry Adams]

piece of fabric between pole and fly?

glue it to fly with silicone?

[Steve Meier]

Perhaps putting your socks there to both dry after a long day and stop the squeaking at the same time.

[Bogs and Bergs]

Up to now I've only been thinking of what could go on the fly, and had not really considered the poles. But the fly seam follows the poles throughout, and squeaks just as much on the foot sections below the hubs as it does on the arch.(For those unfamiliar, the CS pole is shaped like this: >—< with a crosspole snapped on above.) I really don't have enough socks for that, but it's a good idea. Some kind of cover for the pole itself (ten-foot pantyhose?) might work, and would save me from fly alterations, but then there's the problem of breaking down the poles. Hmm. Thank you for the help with thinking, some of us need it more than others! :)

[Ken Thompson]

Fabric sports tape on the poles? you could get the thin kind and apply it lengthwise.

[Mike R]

Further to Jerry's comment. I'd get some cuben fiber tape or ripstop sail repair tape and use that over the seam. That would be a quick and easy affair. A company like Sailrite would sell ripstop sail repair tape online.

[Sam Farrington]

Try spraying the offending parts of the fly with a polymer like CampDry polymer WP.
If that doesn't work, try the CampDry silicone WP. These are found in most Walmarts.
If that doesn't work, maybe a silicone or teflon lubricant spray.

[Greg Mihalik]

Just wait until you put an Exped UL mat on the floor and try to sleep.

It's like rubbing a balloon. You can hear if from about 50 feet away.

Now that's annoying.

And I'd be a little cautious when it comes to spraying stuff on. Never know what else is coming out of the can in terms of solvents/carriers that could affect the waterproofing laminate.

[Sam Farrington]

Greg,
The WR polymer sprays are designed for PU coatings, the silicone ones for silcoats.
You can improve the performance of the tent, and extend its life considerably by judicious use of them. We could use an article on their respective merits. I have found the Camp Dry to work best, but there are also the Tectron, ScotchGuard and Atsko products.

[Author]

Posts