Repairing a tent

Monique

This weekend I was out camping in the dunes near the sea, celebrating someones birthday. The weather was great and we had a nice barbeque, but someone stepped on one of the tent lines and ripped out the side of my borrowed tent

Before I bring it back I'd like to repair it, but have no idea how or where to do that.. anyone an idea where to go? It's the outer tent, some kind of synthetic material.

PerennialII

I've a similar process under works .... punched a hole to "untearable" fabric. I asked from the place I bought it from and they instructed to contact the company manufacturing them (or someone close enough affiliated) ... they've some sort of repair kits suited for those somewhat unusual fabrics. Don't know if there is an easier way to it ... some general repair equipment or so

Astronuc

Some shops which sell camping equipment sell tent repair kits. Usually this involve sewing a patch and then glueing (adhesive) of similar material over the tear.

I suspect the tent is nylon (very common and most likely) or similar polyester. There are repair kits for this.

See example - http://totalescape.com/gear/tent.html

Monique

I don't think a repair kit is going to do it, I mean, the hole is large enough to easily step through it

I guess I'll start looking for a second hand tent at Ebay and replace it

DocToxyn

When you say "outer tent", do you mean "the fly", or layer of fabric you put over the already set-up tent to shed rain, etc., or are we talking about a panel in the tent itself? You may be able to contact the manufacturer and just buy a new fly and not an entire tent. If you do need a new tent check out clearance or "bargain-basement" oncampmor.com or sierratradingpost.com along with e-bay.

Monique

The bolded one..

DocToxyn

Great, that should be easier and cheaper to replace . I'd contact the company and ask about a new one.

DaveC426913

Good call Doc. A wrecked fly is a definite simplification of the problem.

brewnog

I've had varying degrees of success with tent repair kits.

However, I've found that nothing works better than gaffer tape, seriously.

I have a tent which is dedicated to festivals, so I don't have to worry about getting my very, very nice mountain tent burnt/slashed/lost. It probably has about 6 metres of gaffer tape on it, and never leaks.

Give it a go before you chuck it away!

nbo10

You should be able to buy another rain fly. Check the manufacturers website. Or if you're handy with a needle, it wouldn't be too hard to repair it yourself. You can buy sealant to make it waterproof. It's not hard.

JMD

Monique

I'm picking up a brand new 2nd hand tent tomorrow for €10
These internet markets come in really handy!

Here's me and my boy trying to figure out how to set up the tent

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brewnog

Can't say fairer than €10! Can't even get decent gaffer tape for that!

Although I'm a little worried how you can get a brand new, second hand tent. Perhaps it's a magic tautological tent, full of opposites. Maybe when you get in there, gravity will be upside down, black will become white, and night will become day.

Ivan Seeking

Wow, your hair is so long. How long did it take to grow?

Monique

Long? It used to be much longer, but I don't like to have it extend past my waist. I think from the shoulder to the waist is about 2 yrs of growth.. I'm going to the hairdresser coming monday to get a completely new & short hairdo, so no more long hair.

Hey! In this pic you can see the ripped tent, left to the guy in the white shirt.

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Hurkyl

Oh no! It's so pretty as is, though. I'm always sad when someone chops off her hair.

DocToxyn

Good catch on the tent, looks nice. One suggestion though, its best if you don't put the pole through your foot . Happy camping!

Ivan Seeking

I second that emotion.

... but I know that Monique with be beautiful with or without long hair.