[pct-l] Tarptent in heavy rain

[BrianBowlsby at ieice.com (Brian Bowlsby)]

Steve,

I just returned from completing the John Muir Trail and used the Virga
Tarptent with no problems.  I had one night of heavy rain during a
thunderstorm at Lake Virginia and stayed completely dry as well as all my
gear. (my two friends however both got wet in their bivy sack and Sierra
designs tent respectively!) I have the sewn-in flooring in my tarptent. I
did notice a bit of water wicking down the sides of the bug netting but it
never came close to getting on the ground sheet.  The condensation can be a
bit annoying on the inside of the tarp when getting dressed, but can be
greatly reduced if you sleep with the front door open, (there's no bugs in a
rainstorm!). With the "beak" down and doors open I was even able to cook
dinner in the midst of another rainstorm near Mather pass. I'm only 5'-8" so
I can just barely sit up without hitting my head at the front of the tarp.
Also, I keep my sleeping bag directly in the center of the tarp so that it
doesn't touch either side of the netting or top. You also want to make sure
to guy out the two sides of the tarp using the provided loops, just not too
tight or it will pull the ridgeline down a bit. Another trick I learned
during the rainstorm is that when the tarp begins to sag due to the weight
of water and condensation, I just adjusted my trekking pole,(used for front
pole) so that it was longer, which tightened up the ridgeline enough to take
the sag out! 

It sounds to me like you may be just too tall for the Virga? Your only
option may be to get the Squall instead. It would be much roomier for one
person and possibly a little taller so you could sit up in it?

Good luck,

Brian Bowlsby
PCT 2004

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Setzer [mailto:Steven.Setzer@Colorado.EDU] 
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 11:19 AM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Tarptent in heavy rain



I'm writing to let everyone know about my field test of my new Tarptent
Virga (the one-person tarp). Also to get feedback from Henry Shires and
others who have used the Tarptent.  Also, to let people know about my
mistakes so they don't do the same.

When I first set it up, it looked like a great design and I was really happy
with it. The material was good, construction was great, it was easy to set
up etc.  So I took it on my recent 5 day trip around the Maroon Bells near
Aspen CO.  The first thing I noticed is that its a bit small. I'm about 6ft
2in. and can't sit up in the tarp with out touching the ceiling.  I can't
get dressed in the tarp without touching the side walls. This is very
problematic when condensation is heavy.  In prolonged rain I think it would
be very frustrating to try to keep all your gear in the tarp and pack/get
dressed without everything getting wet from the condensation.  One of the
benefits of using a tarp over a tent is the increased room, but you don't
get this with the Tarptent Virga.

The bug netting looked great for keeping bugs out.  I didn't encounter any,
but I'm sure it would have worked fine.

However, the bug netting is a pain in heavy rain.  The netting sticks out
from the sides of the tarp no matter how much you mess with it when pitching
it.  So rain that runs down the side of the tarp hits the netting and gets
is wicked (as in "wicking" not like a "wicked" witch) into the interior of
the tarp.  At places where the groundsheet touches the netting, water
literally pours in.  So you definately want the edges of the goundsheet to
sit on top of the netting.  Not the other way around. This still doesn't
solve the problem because places where the netting and the groundsheet are
flush will still leak.  This is the only realistic solution I found to the
problem:  Even when you're not worried about bugs, you need to hold down the
netting with rocks.  You'll need them at the four corners and at the middle
of the sides.  You can pull the netting in and hold it in place with the
rocks so that none of the netting sticks out
the side of the tarp.   Then you need to place your groundsheet on top of
the netting and the rocks.  The rocks will hold the groundsheet up at the
edges (so the edges of the groundsheet are up off the ground and the
netting).  This way, any water that does come into the tarp from the sides
will run under the goundsheet instead of on top of it.  Once I figured this
out, rain was not a problem but I had to learn that the hard way.  I was out
of camp when a thunderstorm hit and came back to find my sleeping bag
soaked.  I was not pleased at that point.  I think if you use the system I
just described, things should stay dry.  The problem then remains the size
of the tarp.  I can't move around much without hitting the walls. (I'm tall
but I'm skinny so that's not the problem).  This not only knocks down
condensation onto all my gear and myself, but it messes up the
rock/groundsheet system so I have to always make sure its set up right. In
long, prolonged rain, I think I would go crazy trying to stay dry.

Other than the rain problems and the size, I thought it worked great. Very
light and easy to pitch.  It would work great for bugs.  I'm not sure I
would use it on the PCT (how many rainy nights are normal on the pct?). I
think I would need something bigger so I could hang out with all my gear
during a long rainstorm and still feel comfortable and dry and be able to
move around.

Has anyone else had similar problems?  Any feedback or comments?

Steve