What's best for treating/waterproofing a rain fly?

[Kevin108]

We recently camped on a rainy night and got about 1½" in 8 hours. My rain fly failed to adequately repel the water and and ended up with some ponding, which caused a drip through the zipper on the top of the tent. What product do you recommend for keeping a rainfly water-repellent?

 

[EscoTerrestrial]

We recently camped on a rainy night and got about 1½" in 8 hours. My rain fly failed to adequately repel the water and and ended up with some ponding, which caused a drip through the zipper on the top of the tent. What product do you recommend for keeping a rainfly water-repellent?

Ive thought about this problem, but never myself encountered it. I have heard of a product called

NIKWAX TX.Direct spray on. Id say do some research on it before n e thing but I've heard of it because the sprays usually have a strong odor, this one is not as strong in those terms. Good luck hope it helps.

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[brianb2]

Nikiwax. Says solar proofing, but it does a great job of waterproofing. Got it from amazon, but you may find it cheaper somewhere else.


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[DCFISK]

We recently camped on a rainy night and got about 1½" in 8 hours. My rain fly failed to adequately repel the water and and ended up with some ponding, which caused a drip through the zipper on the top of the tent. What product do you recommend for keeping a rainfly water-repellent?

Is it leaking from a seam or through the fabric? Seam sealer would be a first step I would think. If you want to waterproof the whole thing, 3M makes a nice product that doesn’t smell too bad. Used it on a ground tent a few years ago.


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[Kevin108]

It was leaking through the rainfly because of ponding, then it leaked through the zipper on the roof.

 

[nickburt]

Nikwax is a good fabric waterproofer, as is Fabsil. But be careful if the fabric is breathable, use the right one, or the fabric won't breathe properly.
If it's the seams, a good trick is candle wax. Simply rub a candle along the stitching and it's rub wax into the gaps and stitch holes, also leaves a residue over the stitch thread, which helps stop wicking through the threads.
If it's the zips, then this is a bit more of a problem, due to the nature of the design of the zip. Make sure the zip is kept clean and free of dirt and dust, then apply candle wax in the same as to a seam. But, it'll need to be kept up. Most tents have a flap of fabric that is supposed to sit over the zip, but on a lot of lighter tents, the flap just ends up permanently folded the wrong way. Heavier tents (Oztent, for example), have heavier flaps and velcro to help hold them in place. If you're handy with a sewing machine, just sew a wide flap on, using a similar material to the tent or fly itself and add some velcro to help hold in place. Don't forget to waterproof the stitches.
New tents should be wetted before first use, to get the stitching threads to swell and fill the stitch holes.

 

[DCFISK]

It was leaking through the rainfly because of ponding, then it leaked through the zipper on the roof.

Well..... at least you had an excellent helper to climb up and inspect the situation for you [emoji57]


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