Is My Tent Fly Ruined?

[DayTrip]

I have a 10+ year old North Face Mountain 25 4-season tent that I have not used in many years. I set it up in the yard today to assess it's condition. The tent seems perfectly fine, although floor had some slight white, dry "crack" lines which I think will be fine. The underside of the fly however is absurdly tacky and sticks to everything. I could barely stretch it onto the tent frame to secure it was so sticky. Did the waterproofing degrade so badly that it is now useless? Do you think it will dry out after being ventilated for awhile? Will washing with soap and water or some other product salvage it?

If anyone knows what this phenomenon is let me know. Thanks.

 

[DougPaul]

The polyurethane coating degrades with time. It can become sticky and will eventually develop a strong smell. You might be able to hold off the stickiness for a while with (unscented) talcum powder, but the coating's days are numbered.

Aftermarket recoating products do not work very well. Your best hope would be to get a new fly (or tent...).

Doug

 

[Chip]

Did the waterproofing degrade

yes

so badly that it is now useless?

no

Do you think it will dry out after being ventilated for awhile?

no

Will washing with soap and water or some other product salvage it?

no

If anyone knows what this phenomenon is let me know.

How does it smell ? What you have now is a rain fly that's not waterproof, which is fine in the winter, below 30.
You might find one on ebay where the tent/poles have been ruined but the fly is fine.

 

[TomD]

Hate to say it, but the fly is done. I had an early Gore-Tex bivy sack do the same thing- I had left it in the stuff sack for a long time and the coating on the bottom totally degraded, so it was beyond repair. The Mountain 25 is still in production and pretty much looks like the same tent I remember under that name. I would call TNF and ask about a replacement fly. I spent a couple of days in a Mountain 25 in Yosemite during a snowstorm on my first winter camping trip a few years ago. Not a big storm, but what a great tent.

 

[John H Swanson]

I had a fly that had this happen. I dusted it with a liberal amount of unscented talc and it is still working well 5+ yrs later. Though the talc added weight

 

[DayTrip]

I'm probably going to toss it. We had a very, very light rain Fri night and Sat AM I found water on top of the tent in several places and inside the tent on floor. Don't want to chance using, even with talc, and find out it didn't work. Based on how easily it leaked now I can't imagine it would hold up well in a decent rainfall. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to get a new tent!

 

[John H Swanson]

Talc won't fix the leak just the tackiness

 

[DayTrip]

It's settled then. Time for a new toy!

 

[mirabela]

I have a 23 year old Sierra Designs 2-man with the problem you're talking about. It's a little bit of a hassle to peel it apart from itself, but it still keeps the water out. I guess that's the real bottom line -- does it still do its job.

 

[Dana]

Had the same thing happen to the bottom (the non gore-tex side) of my OR bivy. Even though it was over 10 years old, OR replaced it for free.

 

[Jeff List]

Had the same thing happen to a 30 year old Sierra Designs tent (that was otherwise still good). I washed the heck out of the fly until all the waterproofing was completely gone. Same for the tent bathtub. Then I coated it with a 1:1 ratio (by weight) of silicone caulk and odorless mineral spirits. Now totally waterproof. (Heavier of course, but fine for a spare car-camping or loaner tent.)

 

[dave.m]

I *hate* it when this happens. Just hate it.

If anybody has any good explanation as to why, I would love to hear it. I store my gear dry and loose in breathable bags. I know for sure it's not UV degradation (as claimed by the TNF warranty department) as this doesn't explain why my TNF sleeping bag cover did this (PU coated floor). Not like that bag cover ever sat out in the bright sun all day.

It also doesn't explain why some PU coated flys do this and other don't. Same manufacturer (TNF). Same storage method. Same basement. Different years of manufacture.

IMO, the leading hunch is that there are differences year to year in the PU being used and that some PU coatings are more prone to this than others.

But it's just a hunch.

Good reason to restrict future purchases to nysil fabrics?

 

[TomD]

Dave, from what I have read, it is just a matter of time. The material slowly degrades no matter how you store it. I'm with you, some batches of it are probably slightly different, not so that you or I would notice, but different nonetheless.

Type "polyurethane degradation" into Google and read away. Some of the articles are way beyond me-it's organic chemistry.