Very, very occasionally, here at Outdoor World Direct, we get a customer with a polycotton tent, reporting that their tent has a phenomenon of fine misting during heavy rain storms when camping.
Customer Example
Here is a classic example of such as customer email, and what this customer was experiencing inside their tent.
"Hi David,
So sorry to bother you, I’m hoping you can put my mind at ease… We bought the Anantara TC from you. The tent has been great apart from one thing… when we get heavy rain (not a drizzle or normal rain - when it’s heavy) it’s as though the rain makes it through the tent material as there’s a very fine mist in the tent. It feels like light little pins and needles on your skin. It only happens when there’s a real downpour, no issue at all if it’s only a drizzle or “normal” rain (if that makes sense..? Sorry, it’s hard to explain). We’ve taken the tent out quite a bit and we spent 3 week in The Lakes last year where it rained every day, so was hoping its fibres would have done their thing by now and it would be waterproof. We went to St Neots in July and had heavy rain, that caused this fine mist in the tent that seemed to come through the roof. We’re now in Devon and it done exactly the same thing again yesterday afternoon. It’s not the zips, and it’s doesn’t feel like it’s just where the stitching is… it feels like the water is coming through the whole of the material roof section. Is this normal when the rain is heavy?? We never experienced this in our old tent but it wasn’t a polycotton, it was polyester. “”
What is Fine Misting?
A fine mist appears come sometimes appear inside the polycotton tent during heavy rain showers. Naturally - people think their tent is leaking water. As the customer describes above - its not water dropping from a specific point, it is a really fine mist you might encounter in a spa type environment.
Fine misting usually occurs in the living space of the tent:
Why Does Misting Occur?
When you purchase your polycotton tent, you may be advised to weather your tent. This is a process whereby you spray the tent with water, and allow it to dry off. This then seals the cotton fibres as they swell due to the water, and then mesh together stronger.
This misting usually happens due to the opposite of weathering occurring. The hot sun shrinks the fibres, slightly reversing the weathering process.
The truth is - it should only happen in certain “rare” conditions - usually strong sunshine, which causes the cotton fibres to shrink - the opposite of weathering is occurring - then seriously heavy downpours of rain afterwards causes the fine mist inside the tent.
How Does Polycotton Work?
Polycotton is a mixed fabric - 35% cotton and 65% polyester. Polycotton is a fantastic fabric for family camping. The fabric is very versatile, as it can perform in both hot and cold conditions, and is adaptive to the seasonal variances of the camping season. In the heat, the tent breathes reducing the oven-like effect compared to a polyester tent. In the colder environment, the cotton fabric traps the warmth, ultimately giving the camper the best of both worlds.
Conclusion
There are very few downsides to having a polycotton tent, but fine misting can be one of them - but its a small price to pay to have a tent which is breathable, because condensation is a far worse issue to deal with - and will occur consistently, as opposed to fine misting.
Other Resources:
Think I am talking a load of waffle, well check out this forum, where campers are discussing this fine misting occurring in their tents, this forum topic, dates back to 2011.