Sticky tent outer

[andrew_s]

I used my old Terra Nova Quasar a couple of weeks ago for the first time in 10 years or so. It's an old non-lightweight model, and on those occasions when I was car camping it was easier to just use the Akto that was ready to go rather than digging in the attic.

When I came to pitch it, I found that the PU coating on the outer was sticking to itself, and it took 5 minutes or so to peel it apart to allow the tent to be pitched. Having returned, re-spearated the outer, and dried it out properly, the coating is still slightly tacky - dry to the touch, but shows enough signs of sticking when pressed together to give the impression that if rolled up, it would just stick again.

Has anyone else come across this?
Does anyone have any ideas that would save the tent?


The interweb would have it that once the PU coating starts to break down, it's terminal and the only thing to do is buy a new tent.

[rafletcher]

The interweb would have it that once the PU coating starts to break down, it's terminal and the only thing to do is buy a new tent.

^This IMO. It's degraded and is decomposing. It won't improve.

[Dave_C]

The interweb would have it that once the PU coating starts to break down, it's terminal and the only thing to do is buy a new tent.

^This IMO. It's degraded and is decomposing. It won't improve.

What he said above. I have seen this happen to my tarps in the past, when they get very old. Unless you have get a replacment outer for cheepness, it may not be ecconomic to have it repaired if this is possible at all.

[simonT]

The groundsheet on my Spacepacker went like this. According to Mr Saunders it was because I'd packed it away damp.

[Canardly]

You could try washing it down and spraying with Nik Wax but prognosis doesnt sound good.

[andrew_s]

Dead seems to be the answer.
It seems that it's storage tightly rolled so that the PU coating can't breathe that's the problem.

A replacement outer from Terra Nova is about £300, with the risk that the pole length on the old models differs from that on the current models. I get about 5mm shorter than TN quote, which is within measurement error and probably not significant anyway, but it would be a worry until tested.

decisions, decisions

Limit myself to the strictly 1 man Akto, buy a replacement outer, with the possibility that the old groundsheet will go the same way as the old outer did, or get a replacement 2+man tent?

[hellymedic]

Buy a replacement tent. You know it will work.
Trying to marry up replacement parts is time-consuming and frustrating. It might satisfy your eco-mind anti-consumer conscience.
But it won't provide reliable shelter on a tour any time soon. 

[Vince]

^^^ This.

and by the time you have matched up the bits and start using it, the inner will fail.

[delthebike]

Do SiL tents suffer from sticky outers or is it just a PU coated outer that gets sticky?

[mrcharly-YHT]

I reckon you could try painting it with a mixture of silicone sealant and white spirit. Doing this from the inside might 'glue' the pu coating on a bit. Can the tent be erected outer-only?  If you could, then maybe try doing this with the outer erected, from the inside.

[andrew_s]

As far as I know, it's a problem with the PU coating itself, so silicone coated tents will be immune. That's not to say that they might not have other problems, or that the groundsheet in an otherwise silicone coated tent might not be PU coated.

It doesn't erect outer only, but the outer could be put on inside out, which accomplished the same thing more conveniently. Unfortunately, my research would have me believe that any improvement is purely temporary, and the PU will continue to rot inside/under anything else that may be put on. Currently it's still stuck to the nylon of the outer well enough to not peel off when I separate it from itself. I could probably make it last another 2 or 3 years, but the problem would be that I would never be sure it was going to be still OK when I took it somewhere, or whether pitching it would peel chunks of coating away from the outer.

I'm now looking at replacement tents. Maybe an Allak. I much prefer side entrances to end entrances, so a tunnel like a Nallo is out.

[Dave_C]

I have a few tents, others will have others again. I have a Mountain Hardwear Trango2 (~10 years old) which is still great. I also have a Wild Country Zephros (1 person tent) which comes in 1 person and 2 person, same outer, just larger inner. Its a good small tent I can take cycle camping. A friend has a Terra Nova Laser which is the lighter and much more expensive model. It has pros and cons (like pins instead of tent pegs) but is the same foot print as the Zephros.

You'll have your own specification and preferences, but hopefully you'll grab a bargain.