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I'm daydreaming about a new tent as part of my summer trip planning. There are some really light tents out there now but part of that weight reduction is coming from reduced waterproofing.
So, my question is - what is the minimum waterproof rating that you look for for a tent? Particularly for the floor?
I'm pretty sure my MSR Mutha Hubba had a 10,000 mm waterproof rating on the floor when it was brand new. The updated model the following year dropped that to 3,000 mm and the current generation of MSR Hubba Hubba tents is down to 1,200 mm.
Other higher end tents like Big Agnes are also only 1,200 mm rated.
Lower cost tents like Eureka will get you 1,800 mm and weigh about 1 lb more.
The Nature Hike tents are either 3,000 mm or 4,000 mm depending on the version and are close to an Eureka in weight.
To get back up to a 10,000 mm rating it seems you have to a tent made of Dyneema, which look really light until you add the poles to make them freestanding and then you're back up to 4+ lbs and paying $700+.
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I don’t need any more tents but I have been looking at this one for awhile. 10,000mm floor. Still under 2 lbs even with the optional liner to help with condensation and can fit 2 wide pads.
Last edited by ShawnD (6/14/2023 12:50 pm)
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Great question! It's something I was initially concerned about but just don't bother about anymore.
I usually bring a small poly tarp for lining the inside of the tent and I'm good for any amount of water. Even the bottom of my 2000mm MEC Camper 4 will soak through (mind you, it's 12 years old now so that might just be wear and tear). It's in and around .4kg but multi-purpose and has yet to fail me. If it did fail, I don't think any tent would stand up to that amount of rain.
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I love my Tarptent Scarp II but if I were to get something lighter it would be hard to ignore the Durston X Mid 2. No single walls for me.
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ShawnD wrote:
...
That's one of the Dyneema fabric tents I've looked at. Upside is that I wouldn't have any worries about the waterproofing.
Downside is that it isn't a freestanding tent and while you can make it freestanding with the aid of treking poles or rigging a couple of paddles to spread the bottom corners, I don't think it would really compare to a tent designed to be freestanding. It also uses a sleeve for the pole and I really don't want to go back to that style after the convenience of my MSR.
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I usually bring a small poly tarp for lining the inside of the tent and I'm good for any amount of water. Even the bottom of my 2000mm MEC Camper 4 will soak through (mind you, it's 12 years old now so that might just be wear and tear). ...
Ya, I'm happy to use an extra tarp inside an older tent to keep using it as it gets older, but I figure if I'm buying a new tent then I want the floor to start off waterproof.
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I think in terms of floor waterproofing I think the best/cheapest option is cheap plastic liner (eg Dollarama paint drop sheet plastic) used on the inside of your tent.
Not sure of the waterproof ratings, but a few years ago I bought a nature hike 2p tent, my daughter gave me heck as to why I would trust a no name Chinese tent in the middle of the backcountry, she said don't skimp, buy a brand name, so I bought the Nemo Hornet 2p. Well in my experience the Nemo leaks worse (I presume its through the floor...) than the Nature Hike. Nature hike tent is also nicely seam sealed for a budget tent.
Yes the Nemo is lighter, but if the weather is going to be rainy, I would rather be in the Nature Hike tent.
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There's a nylon version of the Nature Hike now that is lighter than the Nemo and has double the waterproofing:
There's a version out of NZ that uses a heavier floor material (40D vs 20D): and a 5,000mm floor rating compared to the 4,000mm on the Nature Hike.
The Nature Hikes really do like good value and have really good ratings on Amazon with over 1,000 reviews.
Another from InTents in NZ is an MSR copy/clone:
Compared to the MSR Hubba Hubba series it has heavier material, 5,000mm floor waterproofing vs 1,200mm for MSR and the extra 1 lb in weight to go with it.
At the moment I'm leaning toward one of the 2 options from NZ.
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My Big Agnes from 15 years ago survived the area where it was pitched getting a minor flood with no issues. I think it was 1200mm.
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