Can we talk about how everyone sets up their rain fly wrong

I was at Rocky Mountain National Park last weekend and saw three different groups all pitch their tents with the rain fly touching the inner tent. That's a sure way to wake up soaked because condensation will just run straight through. I learned this the hard way after a miserable night at Bear Lake in 2022, so please leave air gap of at least 4 inches between the fly and the tent body. Has anyone else noticed this mistake becoming more common?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_martinez8229d agoTop Commenter

Yeah the "touching the fly" thing is what I used to do actually. I thought it was fine until I woke up with water dripping on my face one time. Now I make sure there's that gap and it's way better.

sandra_bennett5929d ago

1990s tent design was a nightmare for condensation. I had a cheap Coleman with zero ventilation and woke up swimming more than once. Switching to a tent with a decent fly system, even just that 4 inch gap for airflow, stopped it completely. Now I set up with the fly door opposite the main door and never have issues.

simonp7629d ago

That's the thing with a lot of life advice actually... people always say "just do the simple thing" but nobody mentions the one weird edge case where it fails. Like a tent or a car or whatever, you have to figure out that one quirk yourself.