MSR Dragontail opposite of rainproof- any ideas?

[IanWarrington]

This last week I used a MSR dragontail tent that belongs to the project that I work for (I do field research). I used it 3 nights and never received huge amounts of rain but on the 2 afternoons that it drizzled, it seamed that as much moisture worked its way into the tent as fell outside, it just took longer to sit on the wall and permeate slowly, before pooling on the floor. Now I don't see a huge amount of uproar on the internet so I assume that mine must be a one-off case, because no one would buy a tent like this and not return it. My two hypotheses are: 1) upon close inspection the tent has been stored damp and there is some mildew/mold in some areas but I don't think it explains the total leakage, 2) Inside the tent bag there is a tag that says "SAMPLE"- does anyone know of MSR using different materials for sample products? doing something silly like reversing the breathable wall material (it seamed like the material was trying to pull water from outside into the tent) or any other reasons to explain my situation?

 

Thanks for any input

[alpine et]

can it be backwards? I'm no expert, but I thought most breathable materials just depended on capillary action through some thin (non-directional) hole, and that together with some sort of water repellent finish was enough to keep the water on the correct side...curious?

 

I have no experience with your tent, but you can always re do the seam sealing to see if that helps?

[Quarryographer]

I'm no expert either. But MSR is definitely a quality local company that stands by their product. My recommendation is to take it down to the local shop. By the West Seattle bridge. They always make time for customer service. Personally I prefer to deal with the company face to face when I have issues, rather than spray all over the interweb...

[tvashtarkatena]

The only single wall tents I've stayed in that didn't create their own internal weather due to condensation in higher humidity conditions have been

 

a) A Tarptent Squall - presumably because it has lots of ventilation (netting skirt all around at the base - netting door).

 

b) Integral Designs tents made with Tegraltex fabric.

 

The tent may well have performed that way brand new, as now. This is a well known problem with many single wall tents. Foggy/misty conditions are really challenging. Leaky seams may also be exacerbating the issue in your case. Every technology has its ins and outs.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2013 by tvashtarkatena

[G-spotter]

1) upon close inspection the tent has been stored damp and there is some mildew/mold in some areas but I don't think it explains the total leakage

 

The Dragontail fly waterproofness is only rated to 1500mm. (The floor, by contrast, is rated to 10,000 mm).

 

1500 mm is not much, waterproofness-wise. Only takes a bit of microbial munching on that to make it leaky.

[IanWarrington]

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

Quarryographer: my intent is not to slander MSR. I really do not believe that this is how MSR produced this product because there is no way it would get past product testing. What I want to know is what has happened to the material since we have owned it (another forum suggested a heavy layer of bug spray...) or if sample products have material never meant for using outside. I was just trying find out some more information before contacting MSR with foolish questions.

 

While seam sealing would never hurt, the moisture was visibly beading in the center of panels and running to the floor (10000mm waterproof floor makes sense), it was like the tent was sweating on the inside.

 

I originally blamed it on condensation, since this was my expectation of a single walled tent(I have no experience with single walled tents, thus I was excited to try out a brand as good as MSR). The second time it rained in the afternoon without anyone in the tent and the condensation occurred to the same level.

 

I would love any more thoughts or preferably positive reviews of the dragontail to have something to compare it to.

 

Thanks