Hike up to Eagle Lake in Tahoe and noticed something about tents

I was up at Eagle Lake near Tahoe last weekend and saw about a dozen tents set up around the shore. What caught my eye was how many people had their rain flies pulled way too tight against the tent body. You could see condensation dripping inside on a few of them. I always leave a small gap between the fly and the tent for airflow, and it made a big difference on my last trip in wet weather. Anybody else notice this at popular campsites?

2 comments

2 Comments

simonp4016d ago

A tight fly is actually fine for most conditions. The issue isn't the gap, it's the lack of ventilation in the tent itself. If you're zipped up tight with no mesh open, the gap won't save you. I keep my fly snug against the body to cut wind and rain splash, then crack a vent at the top. That combo works way better than leaving a wide gap that just lets drizzle and bugs in. Condensation happens either way when it's humid, it's just part of camping.

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angela_dixon15d ago

Yeah but tight against the body kills airflow between layers which is actually what stops condensation.