When purchasing a tent, it is important to look at the tent's waterproof rating whenever you are at a tent sale in addition to the tent's size, weight, seasonality, and features. For camping in the UK, where rain is a year-round fixture and Mother Nature, although breathtaking, is sometimes capricious, the fabric's ability to tolerate everything from drizzles to downpours is crucial.
How do you rate water resistance?
Millimetres (mm) are used to measure waterproof ratings, and they typically range from 800 to 10,000 mm. These numbers show how much water pressure a cloth can tolerate. Therefore, before a tent with a 2,000mm rating begins to leak, it can withstand a 2,000mm, or two-meter, column of water bearing down on it.
How do ratings for waterproofness get determined?
Tent makers use a technique known as the Hydrostatic Head (HH) test to gauge a fabric's level of waterproofness. A material's water resistance is expressed in terms of HH. After carefully filling a clear, graded tube with water and clamping sample material onto its bottom, they wait for at least three drops of water to eventually seep through. The waterproof rating of the fabric is determined by measuring the height of water in millimetres at the point of leakage.
Tent fabrics are coated with protective coatings that seal the spaces between the threads, allowing water to bead and run off while keeping the material's quality intact. Usually, silicone (Sil) is used for nylon textiles and polyurethane (PU) for polyester fabrics. To obtain the intended HH, factors such as the application method, coating thickness, and number of coats applied are used.
Does a higher HH tent always perform better?
Given that they can tolerate higher water pressure, it stands to reason that higher HH ratings are superior. That is true, but keep in mind that you can still stay completely dry with an umbrella with a very low HH. Tents are used for a variety of activities and are subject to a range of stresses, such as exposure to sunlight, inclement weather, strong winds, handling, and abrasion from uneven, wet ground. Higher HH fabrics may not be necessary for the kind of conditions you will be working in because they are heavier and more rigid.
It is also critical to keep in mind that there are other factors that affect a tent's overall water resistance besides HH. Even with a 10,000-mm tent, leaks can still occur from improper stitching, neglected heat-taped seams (or sealant applied in the case of silnylon), poorly designed tents, and water seeping through zippers and windows.
So which ratings of tent are appropriate for what kind of weather?
All things considered, there are broad recommendations for selecting the appropriate water-resistant model at a tent sale. Tent floors typically receive higher ratings than floors because they can withstand the additional strain of campers above and their continuous contact with the ground below.
To decide which HH ratings are best for a particular setting, consider the time of year you want to camp as well as the local conditions. Two- to three-season tents are often made with floors rated at 1,500 mm and walls rated at 1000 mm in certain countries, but these specifications might not be sufficient in other environments.
In the UK, two- and three-season tents should have fly waterproof ratings exceeding 1,500mm and floor ratings exceeding 3,000mm to withstand most winds and rain, even during the heaviest of summer showers. Comparatively, you should consider fly minimums of 3,000mm and 5,000-10,000mm on floors for 3 and 4 season tents, which are appropriate for camping in any month, anywhere in the UK and Scotland. They can also shield you from heavy rain and light to substantial snowfall.
If you have the proper equipment, you can concentrate on having fun on your adventure rather than attempting to stop the water from dripping off your head. The last question you should consider asking yourself is not so much which tent to buy as it is, "Where are you heading next?" since you have equipment made to keep you comfortable outside.
