Visited Yosemite last month and it hit me how useless my old rain fly was

I went up to Yosemite last month for a 4 day trip, and the second night a storm rolled in around 2 AM. My six year old rain fly turned into a puddle catcher instead of shedding water, and I woke up with my sleeping bag soaked and my tent floor floating. The weight of the wet gear on my pack the next morning was brutal, maybe 5 extra pounds of water. That experience made me realize I've been cheaping out on something that's literally the difference between a good trip and a miserable one. I spent 4 hours drying everything out by a fire and still had damp socks for two days. So now I'm wondering, what rain fly material actually holds up in heavy rain without weighing a ton? I'm budgeting around $80 to replace it. Has anyone else had a similar wake up call with their shelter gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

sage_lewis1023d ago

Ngl I had the exact same thing happen in the Smokies last spring and it totally ruined my whole trip.

sage_lewis1023d ago

Honestly man, $80 feels like a lot to drop on a rain fly for a tent that might not even be worth keeping. I had a similar thing happen with a cheap Coleman in the Smokies and just bought a $20 tarp from Walmart and draped it over the ridgeline. Worked fine the rest of the trip, no extra weight. Folks get real dramatic about gear failures, but sometimes it's just bad luck with a storm that would soak anything. Maybe test your current setup with a hose before you throw money at it.