Leak Test Your Tent

If you suspect that your tent is leaking, or you want to test your gear before you hit the campsite or hiking trail, a leak test will highlight if there’s a problem.

A leak test is a relatively simple process and all you’ll need is outside space to properly pitch your tent and a water source. Here’s how:

1. Pitch your tent properly as you would do for use. Make sure the flysheet is properly in place, guy lines and poles are deployed properly tensioned, and the tent is pegged as you would in-the-field.
2. Once your tent is pitched (or if it’s already pitched), make sure that the interior of the tent is fully dry. It’ll be very difficult to determine if or where there’s a leak if the inside surfaces are already damp from cleaning, condensation or wet weather. When you’ve checked the inside of the tent, close door and window flaps as you would during a rain storm.
3. Now you need to simulate rain. You will need to thoroughly wet the outside of the tent so that water runs over and off the outside of the tent as it would in a rain shower. Use a hose, a sprayer, a watering can or a bucket to wet the tent from the top down in a manner that you’d expect from rain – you’re not looking to simulate a water cannon, so leave high pressure or very concentrated jets of water out.
4. Finally check your tent thoroughly. Check for any signs of dripping, pooling, or damp spots on the floor, walls, or ceiling. Pay close attention to seams and zips, etc which can be more vulnerable to water ingress.
5. Make sure that your tent is thoroughly dry before you put it away.

What did your leak test find? If you have found a leak, then you’ll have to look at options to fix the waterproofing which will depend on the location and material that your tent is made from. If you haven’t found any leaks (congratulations!) but you have encountered significant wetness in your tent in use, then you’re likely to be encountering condensation.

©CAMPCRAFT