Who Makes The Best Rainproof Tents?
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If you are looking at buying a rainproof tent there are a few things that you will want to look at having on your tent to make your overall camping experience better. Not all tents are made the same and there are a few different features that are designed to help keep you dry in the event of a rainstorm.
Can You Make Tents RainProof?
A rainproof tent is a tent that is designed to keep all water from being able to get inside the tent walls. This can be done in a few different ways but the most common way is going to be with a full coverage rain fly. A full coverage rain fly like the name suggests fully covers the external walls of your tent with a rainfly which is designed to be waterproof.
This will then make sure that any rain does fall hits the rain fly and runs off of the tent without ever hitting the tent walls. If the rain never hits the tent walls it won’t have a chance to soak into the walls of the tent thus getting inside of your tent.
Another method that tent makers use to waterproof their tents is to seal all of their seams of the tent from the factory. Most tents will have a lot of tiny holes that are made when the tent walls are sewn together during the manufacturing process.
If these holes are not sealed either at the factory or by you with tent seam sealer then they will be an entry point for rainwater. Some tent manufacturers will seal these seams from the factory using different techniques that vary based on the manufacturer. If you want to check out the seam sealant that I would recommend on Amazon click here.
If your tent does not come with its seams sealed from the factory you can purchase seam sealers yourself and seal your tent with that. Seam sealers are going to want to be used around all of the internal seams of your tent to help keep rainwater from getting in through your tent walls at the seams. This can be done yearly depending on the type of sealant you are using but it may only need to be applied once.
Who Makes the Best RainProof Tents?
Any tent that uses a full coverage rain fly is going to be a rainproof tent. One brand that stands out to me that is specifically designed to offer rainproof tents is Alps mountaineering. They offer different types of tents that are suited for different amounts of people.
Alps mountaineering also designs their tents for camping enthusiasts so they use the best materials to make their tents and design them to be some of the best tents on the market.
They are going to be a bit more in price than a standard Coleman tent but I would argue that they are worth the extra cost for the features and build quality that you get with them. If you want to check out the current price of this ALPS Mountaineering 4-person tent on Amazon click here.
Full Cover Rain Fly To Keep the Rain Off
I would argue that no tent is actually rainproof, most tents are going to be rain resistant to their best extent. What you can do is add as many layers of protection against rain as you can to try to keep the rain off of your tent. This can be done with a rainfly that covers your full tent area instead of a partial cover rain fly.
Use a Tarp To Cover Your Tent
If your tent did not come with a full coverage rain fly you are in luck because you can make your own rain fly using a tarp. Using a tarp over your tent may not look the best but it will prevent excess water from hitting your tent in the event of a downpour. If you are expecting to get a lot of rain over your trip adding another layer of protection to help your tent stay dry.
Put a Tarp Under Your Tent
Another way that you can use a tarp to protect you from rain is to lay a tarp under your tent when you are setting it up at your campsite. This will keep another layer between you and the ground and any water that may be sitting on the ground.
The material used to make tarps is not waterproof but it is water resistant. As long as the water is not sitting on the tarp for long periods of time it would not have a chance to soak through the tarp and into your tent.
Another way you can use a tarp to help protect your tent from rain is to use a tarp in combination with ropes to string tarps over common areas of your campsite to help keep those areas rain free.
You want to first take your rope and tie it to a tree or other anchor point at your campsite at least a few feet above your head. You can then attach the rope to the tarp and then string your tarp over your campsite. From there you would want to have another rope set up on another tree to create a sloped roof over your campsite with the tarp in the air.
Apply Water Resistant Spray to Your Tent
Another way that you can try to help keep rain from getting into your tent is to spray your tent with water resistant spray. What this does is put a coating on your tent walls that will make them hydrophobic or more water resistant.
With the spray applied to your tent walls any rainwater that would hit your tent walls should bead off of the tent walls easier. This would help keep your tent dry inside because the water would not have the opportunity to seep into the walls of the tent. If you’d like to check out the water repellant that I would recommend on Amazon click here.
Buy A Tent With A Water Resistant Tub
One feature that helps keep water out of tents that some tents have is a water-resistant tub at the bottom of the tent. The tub would be made of water-resistant materials like a tarp to help keep water out.
What is nice about the tub feature is that this material extends up to the walls of the tent for 4 or 5 inches to help keep any groundwater around the tent from being able to get into the tent. So if puddles start forming next to your tent you should have a few inches of extra protection from you and the rainwater.
The dome tent to the right shows an example of the tub around the base of the tent that I mentioned. If you are interested in checking out the current price of this ALPS Mountaineering 2-person tent click here.
Rainproof Tent Features You Want
If you are wanting a rainproof tent that is going to last you a long time there are a couple of features that will enhance your camping experience if you are going to be dealing with rain on a consistent basis.
A vestibule is another section of tents that is sectioned off from the main portion of the tent and will typically be screened in to prevent bugs from getting in. Think of a vestibule as a fancy word for a front porch for your tent.
What is nice about a tent with a vestibule is that you can use the vestibule to take your shoes off before entering the tent. This is useful if you are going to be walking outside in the rain because you don’t want to track in rainwater and mud from your shoes into your tent if you can prevent it. A vestibule also has the added benefit of giving you a place to store extra stuff such as your cooler instead of just leaving it outside at your campsite.
Another nice feature to have on your tent is a tent with two doors. If you aren’t planning on getting a tent with a vestibule you would want to look at getting one with two doors. Tents with two doors are nice because they give you the option of using one door as an entrance for your tent and one door as an exit.
This at least allows you to contain any messes that you would track into your tent in one area. This will make cleaning up your tent easier when the time comes because you won’t need to clean as many areas.
What I like about this tent is that it is a 4 person tent with two vestibules to extend from end to end of the tent.
It says in the description that these extend 35 inches from each side of the tent. This tent also features two doors to get in and out of.
This ALPS mountaineering tent also features factory sealed seams to provide extra rain protection from the factory. Another nice feature of this tent is a special floor with an additional coating to help prevent unwanted water from coming through the floor of the tent.
Say that you’re looking for just a two-person tent designed to be rainproof look no further. This tent has a lot of the same features as the other ALPS 4 person tent that I listed above, it’s just a bit smaller designed to fit 2 people comfortably.
This two-person tent also comes with two doors which is not that common on smaller tents. This tent is also designed with special ventilation sections designed to keep the tent well ventilated in the summer months.
To check out the current price of this ALPS Mountaineering Taurus 2-Person Tent on Amazon click here.
In Conclusion
Rainproof tents are designed to rainproof from the factory but there are other techniques that you can use on your old tent to help make it rain proof if you don’t want to pay for a new one. I outlined the features that I would want to have on my tent to help keep the rain out.
I would suggest you look at getting a tent with those features if you plan on buying a new one. Hopefully, this article was able to teach you something and give you ideas of what features you would want in your next tent to help protect you from rain.
