PSA: That cheap rainfly I bought on Amazon split right down the seam in a moderate storm last Saturday.

I was camped up near Big Sur when the wind picked up around midnight, and the fly tore open about 8 inches, dumping water straight onto my sleeping bag, so I ended up wrapping my gear in trash bags and hunkering down in the car until morning has anyone else had a budget rainfly let go on them during a real trip?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.anna3d ago

I mean, I've had a budget rainfly hold up just fine in some pretty nasty weather, but it depends a lot on the specific brand and materials. In my experience, the real gamble is the stitching and seam tape on those cheap ones - they're often not reinforced properly for wind load. A friend of mine grabbed a random $25 fly from a different seller and it's still going strong after two seasons, so your mileage may vary. Take this with a grain of salt, but I think the key is checking the denier rating and reading reviews that mention actual storm conditions, not just backyard tests.

keith2743d ago

Are you me lol? I literally had the same thing happen with a cheap rainfly I grabbed off Amazon for like 30 bucks. That thing saw three seasons of camping in the Pacific Northwest, solid rain and wind, and it never let me down. But then I loaned it to my brother and he got some random off-brand one when his ripped, and yeah, the seam tape came apart on that thing in one night of light drizzle. It's crazy how much it varies. I think you hit it right on the head with the denier rating thing, that's what I look at first now. And those reviews from people who actually tested it in a storm are worth more than anything. Some cheap stuff is just built better for whatever reason, guess it's luck of the draw sometimes.

olivia_lopez983d ago

Oh come on, is it really that big of a deal? I've had cheap rainflies get soaked and saggy before, but a catastrophic 8-inch seam split sounds more like bad luck or maybe user error than a systemic problem. @ward.anna makes a good point about checking reviews, but I think people overhype budget gear failures too.

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