MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Looking at getting a new tent.
Been dismissing tents with a HH of 3000mm on the basis that they could be prone to leaking, thinking I should be going for 5000mm as the higher the number the more waterproof it will be. That's not taking into consideration the zips, seems etc.
If you were buying a new tent, would you be factoring in the higher the HH the better?
If there was nothing else in it, or I was specifically looking for a tent to use in extreme conditions I would. However, as you've noted a fabric with a 5m head is pointless if the seams leak. Its also pointless if it doesn't breath well and suffers condensation, or the design is rubbish. Of course its a tangible number than marketing departments can hand their hat on to say A must be better than B. Depending what you are doing with it, for example, weight might be more important.
As above, quality of seams, zips and groundsheet is probably more important than just HH.
Just noticed I spelt 'seams' wrong 😳
I think real-world reviews are worth reading as starting to realise there are more factors at play then that figure alone.
Bear in mind that if you have 100mm of hydrostatic head on top of your tent it has probably already collapsed. 10cm of water is 100kg per square metre. Will the structure of your tent support half a tonne per square metre? If not, 5000mm hydrostatic head is probably overkill.
If be more relaxed about the hydrostatic head of the fabric used in a tent groundsheet than most other applications. Once you get above a certain, relatively low level, of pressure applied by (say) wind driven heavy rain, most of the force which can page water through a fabric comes from other factors. Examples are keeping on a tent groundsheet, or rucksack straps pressing on a jacket. A tent groundsheet isn't really subject to these extra forces.
This reply makes me seem a right Anorak!
Groundsheet probably needs a higher hydrostatic head than the tent skin. As you are walking on it and placing things on it it will see much higher pressure. Same problem with waterproof trousers, they can leak when you kneel on them.
There's a bit of an art to putting up a tent, get it right and it holds its shape, sheds water quickly. Get it wrong, it sags, holds water, flaps in the wind etc.
As above, nothing is touching the material so it stays waterproof.
Like a coat, you can always reproof a tent.
Are you discounting the alpkit tents because of the low rating?
It also depends on where and how you'll be using it. 4 season use in the mountains would have me focussing on tents with a higher HH, valley use in summer would have me less concerned. OP, what is the tent going to be used for?
Been dismissing tents with a HH of 3000mm on the basis that they could be prone to leaking
This rules out an awful lot of proven weather resistant tents like Hilleberg,MSR and much of the Terra Nova range.
Hydrostatic head is a lab test that does not replicate the way tents are used in reality or the factors that cause them to leak. It does not give you any guarantee of weather proofness which has more to do with design and construction than the absolute waterproofness of the fabric.
As above. Where HH is most important is on the groundsheet. That's where the most pressure is put on the waterproof coating.
Thanks for all the replies.
Warming to the idea of 'dropping' to a 3000 HH.
It'll be used in camp sites in summer - always with a car at hand too (or at least that has always been the case).
It's only ever me and the wife but a 2 man will be too small. I quite like the idea of it being light enough to wild camp with but that'll probably never happen TBH. Our current one is heavy and has, if anything, too big a space that is kind of superfluous - we just end up filling it with stuff. We want a tent that's easy to put up, doesn't leak 😉 , a proven design, light-ish, some extra space to change in etc, not hideously expensive - moon on a stick?
Tried the OEX Coyote 3 but it's too narrow at the end and my feet will push the inner against the flysheet which isn't good. Apart from that it looks perfect. Decent weight as pack can be split, 5000HH, integrated ground sheet, looks great, good 'other' space...and on offer at G.O at mo for £125.
Like the inner of Vango Mirage 3000 (5000HH) but other space too small.
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/vango-mirage-300-tent-p367467
Dismissing Alpkit as more than I want to spend.
Feel free to throw any suggestions my way 🙂
Wild Country Hoolie 3.
Lots of really good expensive tents have a hydro static head of zero
Lots of really good expensive tents have a hydro static head of zero
When there's no water sitting on them they let through water?
When there's no water sitting on them they let through water?
Useful for desert camping.
It's only ever me and the wife but a 2 man will be too small. I quite like the idea of it being light enough to wild camp with but that'll probably never happen TBH. Our current one is heavy and has, if anything, too big a space that is kind of superfluous - we just end up filling it with stuff. We want a tent that's easy to put up, doesn't leak , a proven design, light-ish, some extra space to change in etc, not hideously expensive - moon on a stick?
In STW "recommend what I have" fashion, I give you the Khyam Highlander.
http://www.outdoormegastore.co.uk/khyam-highlander-tent.html
Once you've initially assembled it, the whole thing comes down in one piece. So subsequent pitches are literally under a minute, maybe another minute to peg the guys out. There's plenty of room for two people and it's bombproof.
I've just dug mine out to check over in preparation for a trip and it's still fine. I've had it, at best guess, 20 years now. It's been to the moon and back, and it was second-hand when it came to me. Can't fault it at all, and it ticks all your boxes. It's a seriously awesome piece of kit.
That said, at over 4.5kg I'd wager it's too heavy for wild camping (though your OEX back there is almost exactly the same weight), but TBH any one-tent-fits-all solution is going to be a compromise.
I've never even known the HH of any of my tents over the years and not had a single one leak in bad weather (used all year round on fell tops in rain, snow etc). OTTOMH I've had a Macpac Minaret, North Face VE25, Macpac Ultralight and probably some other I can't recall.
For camping in foul UK weather I'd look at makes that come from places with a similar climate such as Macpac from NZ, they cope very well with wet weather and are easy to keep dry when pitching / decamping in heavy rain.
Get a bivy bag for wild camping and a air beam tent for car camping, really quick to put up.
Spend money on nice hotel instead. Then look smugly out of warm bar room window, gently sipping a nice wee dram of single malt, and watch idiots try to put up tent in force 10 gale and biblical rainstorm.
Close to making a decision. Not discounted others but looking at these 2 at the mo...porch is better on Berghaus but I think the Hoolie is probably the better tent generally.
This:
Or this:
I wouldn't use a tent's HH as any worthwhile metric - ease of set up/ design and functionality more important - Your more likely to see the integrity of the seams breached or suffer condensation than actual water permeating the silnylon ..