[jonesbr]

I have a 4 season north face tent that is about 15 yrs old. I have had it stored correctly(dry and loose) for the last 8 yrs without using it and when I got it out, all the rubberized fabric is incredibly sticky. I called North Face and they basically said "Oh yeah, that is the normal breakdown of the material...so sorry, but you can send it back and we will give you a new tent at 50% off."
Does anyone know:1. Is this normal for all 4 season tents????
2. Is there anyway to wash off the sticky and waterproof it again?

[bbense]

[pin!head]

..the end is near..

50% is a sweet bro-deal on your pick of a lighter/drier/better vented tent.
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Friends don't let friends ski groomers.

[TomD]

I had something similar happen to a bivy sack and a Sierra Design tent. What is happening is that the polyurethane coating is deteriorating/decomposing/breaking down, whatever you want to call it.

I have seen this question before and as far as I know, there is no way to fix the problem. The deterioration is caused by the reaction between the coating and air. Some tents seem to do better than others, depending on the material.

If it is just a panel or two, you might consider having them replaced, but if it's the whole tent, I'd just get a new one. At 50% off, that would seem to be the best idea.

[skibum]

I know people who have VE-24 and VE-25s from the late 70s and early 80s and the tents go and go. I have an 18 year old WildCountry Hyperspace that has been all over the world many times. So the waterproof coating can last a very long time.

I would suspect 8 yrs of storage has much to do with the coating failure. Most people get their tents out a lot more than that even if it is just the kids camping in the backyard. So much time for long term exposure to various plasstic vapors probably caused the problem.

We recoated a Sierra Designs tent by doing the same as getting the glue off climbing skins. We used paper bags and a cool iron. The trick is all the pealing coating has to come off and then there are bottles of recoat you can brush on.

Good luck! If you are going to camp more than once every 8 yrs, the new tent deal would be great.

[rsireland3]

hehe, sticky tent. be careful to whom you lend your tent if you do not wish it to be returned sticky.
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[jamesp]

[cesare]

I have a TNF Arrowhead I bought in about 1990. It is still in great shape. I wonder about storing a tent loose. Mine is stored in a stuff sack but not as tight as the stuff sack it came in. I have the tent and fly in separate bags. They are neither tight nor loose but probably closer to what you would call tight than loose. And I don't use it a whole lot these days, maybe about 7 or so days a year. I think it's certainly possible that the more time the coating is exposed to air or uv the faster it degrades.
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that sounds like a sure-fire way to get bitch-slapped by devil's club -- dschane

[bbense]

[nils]

when i lived in oregon and seattle WA, i had this problem with stored tents.

now that i think about it, i haven't had any issues since moving to california. here in tahoe things are pretty damn dry year-round.
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"Now is not the time for sound-bites" - David Cameron

For Sale: 7tm bindings

[SkaredShtles]

[mjg]

I bought an REI ultralight 2 person tent a few years back. Last time I pulled it out I had the dreaded sticky coating on the rain fly. It was stored in a stuff sack in a closet in northern California. Not knowing what was going on, I brought it back to REI. They looked at, agreed it was iccky, looked up on their computer that I had in fact purchased the tent from an REI, and, without my asking, offered me a complete refund. From what I'm reading, I feel pretty fortunate, maybe even a tad guilty.


Okay, I'm over the guilt part.

Now I'm storing the tent hanging on a hanger; maybe I should put it back in the stuff sack? I thought air would help, but from what I'm reading I'm not so certain.

[splittilps]

Wow, I've had my 93 NF Starship in its stuff sack for the past 4 years since getting a new lighter better ventilated tent as a wedding gift.

With some luck, the NF has broken down and I can get a sweet deal on a bivy!

[skizix]

I have a Sierra Designs 4-season that I used a whole lot for the first half of its life, but is rarely used anymore. Just about 15 years old, and still going strong. I store it, with fly, in the stuffsack that it came with, wich is, like most lightweght tent stuffsacks...too small, so I can barely cram the thing in there -- so definitely storing it "tight". I've had it out maybe twice in the last four years, and no problems (well, a zipper is starting to go, but that is another story).

I think tight may be the way to go.

Talcum powder may help you. I always use it after seam sealing a tent, to take down the tackiness of the fresh seam sealer.

[maine-man]

Two examples...had an OLD VE-23 (I am young, it was given to me as a college bum since I was poor and sleeping under rocks sucked) that when "stored as recommended" in the loose had the same problem happen in 3 seasons...the fabric delamed, got all clammy, exaclty as you explained. I even spent the time to wash it (college size washer/dryer used to clean team gear) and re-treated with spray coating...nothing!!! It was done.

Story 2...now have a simple TNF 3-season tent, heavily used the first 5-6 years and now used maybe 3-4 times a year (ain't it nice to stay with friends). Always gets dried out after every trip, re-rolled and stored tight in its bag, kept in the dark and dry...now going on 10 years with that thing and no signs of any damage.

I have my methods, good luck with yours. And if you want to pass up that 50% deal, please let me know...I WOULD TAKE A TNF VE-25...just let me know where to send the check!
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"How do you ski with such huge gonads?" - Bambi