While testing the Oztrail Fast Frame 6 Tent in bad weather, I discovered a big design flaw that results in unfortunate leaking. #camping #tent #outdoor
I have a Coleman version of this tent, which i bought for the exact same reason, solo use. It randomly occurred to me one set-up, that if i flung the fly over before i extend the side poles/legs, whatever you want to call them, it was much easier to get it situated. Once it’s roughly in place, i then extend the corner legs. Much easier that way. I’m quite a bit taller than you, and i still find it _entertaining_ trying to float the fly over when the tent is completely erected.
With most tents and swags you need to season them to make them more water proof. When I buy a new swag or tent I set it up in the back yard and hose all the seams, you may need to do this 3 or 4 times for the stitching in the seams to seal better.
Agreed. A little drip from one seam is not a 'major problem'. All tents have the potential for seam stitch leaks and the test and season process you describe is standard procedure for experienced campers. So is adding seam sealant to your camping kit.
only if the tents are canvas, this is a polyester tent and "seasoning" it will not help, they need to seam seal it or send it back, as it should have come properly seam sealed.
You only need to season canvas...this is a manufacture issue!... My swag goes in the bath overnight, then set up to dry, once it dries, I hose it, let it dry and repeat hosing.
I bought the 6 person version of this tent with the blockout fabric - it has the same issue. I'm asking the retailer to provide me with seam sealant free of charge - I'm otherwise happy with the tent, but that drip is annoying. Note: the inside of the tent didn't get wet, only the tent inner as Ruth showed.
It's really disappointing that they haven't addressed this issue yet. Luckily the leak was fixed after I applied seam sealer, so the tent is not a total loss.
Sad to hear that. I have an OZtrail Fast Frame darkroom 4-person tent. In my tent, the fiberglass pole you talk about is located outside of the tent fly. So seems that stopped the leaks (I did a camping trip to the blue mountain and one night is pouring rain, no leaks to the inner tent). But because of the poles installed outside of the fly, the two metal poles that hold the fiberglass pole might have the potential to rust. I might inspect them later on and if there is any sign of rust, I'll go buy some paint spray to prevent it.
Air tents are the way to go these days. We love going away on weekends but the rainy season has just started. And there's nothing worse than having to pack up a wet tent. Then the next day if you have room in your backyard having to set it up and hope the rain doesn't come again to dry out.
Yes I concur Ruth. I have exactly the same issue. Thanks for the review. I have water pooling below the rear pole coming through the seam as you’ve discovered. I hope the tent is otherwise going strong for you?
The beauty with these fully covered tents is the condensation that builds up on the inside of the outside full cover. This in turn will run and drip in to the inner tent area wetting your gear and flooring. This is the ultimate tent failure in most models.
Thanks for the input! I luckily have not experienced any condensation in this tent, even when camping near river or during rain. I mostly sleep with the outer door in its 'awning' configuration, with the inner door zipped closed, unless it is raining heavily.
I bought one nearly a year ago for use for a 2 week camp once a year. My concern with this model is that there is access in each corner of the inner tent big enough to insert a pencil, just a few inches up from the ground, on the inside. Apart from the 4 access holes for giant centipedes these tents are good and airy. I do not use the fly but have the inner under a tarp rigged either on a rope or a ridge pole.
I haven't been able to find a way to pitch it that prevents the leak from going into the tent, even with the guylines tightened as much as they can be. I did manage to fix the leak eventually by putting seam sealer on the outside of that seam 😆
Would consider it to actually be a relatively cheap tent and the little velcro patches and leaks show that to be true. wouldnt expect more than a couple of years use out of something like this. Thanks for the video.
I was just about to buy the same tent, but the 10p capacity. Thanks for the review! Would you say it's worth the buy with the seam sealant on hand? Where exactly was the leak?
Too bad about the tent having such an obvious fault. The company should have tested a prototype before putting it on the market. Did you say what it cost you? Other people are going to be disappointed when they figure out the flaw.
The tent itself was R5000 (about 330 USD) and the seam sealer to fix the leak was about R150 (10 USD). I'm glad that the fix worked, but it was pretty disappointing to know that Oztrail themselves could have easily prevented this.
Not ideal, but with a R150 fix, I think the rest of the pros of this tent makes it worth it. Something I didn't quite get: if it's leaking through the flysheet, does the water eventually get into the tent? Or does it just end on top of the tent?
The water spills out of the pole sleeve onto the inner tent. If enough rain falls, it eventually starts seeping through the inner tent in that area, and if you have the nylon door open on the tent inner with just the mesh door closed, the water spills straight through the mesh and into the tent itself. Hope that makes sense 😅
Makes perfect sense, thanks. I spoke to oztrail last week to find out when they are getting the blockout series in South Africa, I do like a cooler tent during the day. Based on your review, I might decide it's not worth waiting for that. It adds a about R2500 to the price.
@@gerardroeleveld4854 Nice! I haven't tried their blockout series, so I'm not sure how it would compare, but this tent does have really great air flow when all the windows and doors are open, which keeps it fairly cool.
We camped through a pretty serious night of continuous rain in this tent, that problem isn't as serious as you indicated because we never noticed it.
I have a Coleman version of this tent, which i bought for the exact same reason, solo use. It randomly occurred to me one set-up, that if i flung the fly over before i extend the side poles/legs, whatever you want to call them, it was much easier to get it situated. Once it’s roughly in place, i then extend the corner legs. Much easier that way. I’m quite a bit taller than you, and i still find it _entertaining_ trying to float the fly over when the tent is completely erected.
Great idea!
With most tents and swags you need to season them to make them more water proof. When I buy a new swag or tent I set it up in the back yard and hose all the seams, you may need to do this 3 or 4 times for the stitching in the seams to seal better.
Agreed. A little drip from one seam is not a 'major problem'. All tents have the potential for seam stitch leaks and the test and season process you describe is standard procedure for experienced campers. So is adding seam sealant to your camping kit.
only if the tents are canvas, this is a polyester tent and "seasoning" it will not help, they need to seam seal it or send it back, as it should have come properly seam sealed.
You only need to season canvas...this is a manufacture issue!...
My swag goes in the bath overnight, then set up to dry, once it dries, I hose it, let it dry and repeat hosing.
I bought the 6 person version of this tent with the blockout fabric - it has the same issue. I'm asking the retailer to provide me with seam sealant free of charge - I'm otherwise happy with the tent, but that drip is annoying. Note: the inside of the tent didn't get wet, only the tent inner as Ruth showed.
It's really disappointing that they haven't addressed this issue yet. Luckily the leak was fixed after I applied seam sealer, so the tent is not a total loss.
Sad to hear that. I have an OZtrail Fast Frame darkroom 4-person tent. In my tent, the fiberglass pole you talk about is located outside of the tent fly. So seems that stopped the leaks (I did a camping trip to the blue mountain and one night is pouring rain, no leaks to the inner tent). But because of the poles installed outside of the fly, the two metal poles that hold the fiberglass pole might have the potential to rust. I might inspect them later on and if there is any sign of rust, I'll go buy some paint spray to prevent it.
Very interesting! It is amazing how such small design changes can have such a big impact.
Air tents are the way to go these days. We love going away on weekends but the rainy season has just started. And there's nothing worse than having to pack up a wet tent. Then the next day if you have room in your backyard having to set it up and hope the rain doesn't come again to dry out.
Yes I concur Ruth. I have exactly the same issue. Thanks for the review. I have water pooling below the rear pole coming through the seam as you’ve discovered. I hope the tent is otherwise going strong for you?
The beauty with these fully covered tents is the condensation that builds up on the inside of the outside full cover. This in turn will run and drip in to the inner tent area wetting your gear and flooring. This is the ultimate tent failure in most models.
Thanks for the input! I luckily have not experienced any condensation in this tent, even when camping near river or during rain. I mostly sleep with the outer door in its 'awning' configuration, with the inner door zipped closed, unless it is raining heavily.
ya adding ur own sealant is the best idear
I bought one nearly a year ago for use for a 2 week camp once a year. My concern with this model is that there is access in each corner of the inner tent big enough to insert a pencil, just a few inches up from the ground, on the inside. Apart from the 4 access holes for giant centipedes these tents are good and airy. I do not use the fly but have the inner under a tarp rigged either on a rope or a ridge pole.
😮
I think that your have to extent the tent vary well from the strings, so the water of the rain goes down without leaks in the tent.
I haven't been able to find a way to pitch it that prevents the leak from going into the tent, even with the guylines tightened as much as they can be. I did manage to fix the leak eventually by putting seam sealer on the outside of that seam 😆
I'm about to buy it but now have to think about that more or anyone have any idea about the coleman if it better ? Thanks
❤ thank you
You're welcome 😊
Would consider it to actually be a relatively cheap tent and the little velcro patches and leaks show that to be true. wouldnt expect more than a couple of years use out of something like this. Thanks for the video.
Thank you 🙏
No problem!
I was just about to buy the same tent, but the 10p capacity. Thanks for the review! Would you say it's worth the buy with the seam sealant on hand? Where exactly was the leak?
The leak was just over the door, in the pole sleeve that holds the flysheet away from the door.
Nice review and thank you for sharing
Thanks!
Too bad about the tent having such an obvious fault. The company should have tested a prototype before putting it on the market. Did you say what it cost you? Other people are going to be disappointed when they figure out the flaw.
The tent itself was R5000 (about 330 USD) and the seam sealer to fix the leak was about R150 (10 USD). I'm glad that the fix worked, but it was pretty disappointing to know that Oztrail themselves could have easily prevented this.
Not ideal, but with a R150 fix, I think the rest of the pros of this tent makes it worth it.
Something I didn't quite get: if it's leaking through the flysheet, does the water eventually get into the tent? Or does it just end on top of the tent?
The water spills out of the pole sleeve onto the inner tent. If enough rain falls, it eventually starts seeping through the inner tent in that area, and if you have the nylon door open on the tent inner with just the mesh door closed, the water spills straight through the mesh and into the tent itself. Hope that makes sense 😅
Makes perfect sense, thanks. I spoke to oztrail last week to find out when they are getting the blockout series in South Africa, I do like a cooler tent during the day.
Based on your review, I might decide it's not worth waiting for that. It adds a about R2500 to the price.
@@gerardroeleveld4854 Nice! I haven't tried their blockout series, so I'm not sure how it would compare, but this tent does have really great air flow when all the windows and doors are open, which keeps it fairly cool.
Awesome review Ruth 👍
Thank you!
Where did you buy the seam sealant?
I bought it from Cape Union Mart in Menlyn Park Shopping Centre in Pretoria.
thanks
Problem? Yes. MAJOR PROBLEM!!!! No, that’s click bait.
Oh settle down princess. You made it sound as though you were drowning. It's a few drops get over it. For the price of this tents it's well worth it.
😂
Livid over that? Then ;roughing it' is not you