Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

[Todd Bradshaw]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

Sunforger is the best of the cotton canvas options, but dealing with the shrinkage makes getting a good fit which will stay that way quite difficult. I quit using it for that reason.

[rgthom]

On one of Roger Barnes videos he makes a carefully fitted boom tent using cotton Ventile. Then it gets wet and shrinks :-(
I see everyone is recommending the Sunbrella, but Weathermax is very good also.

[WI-Tom]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

I note that no one has mention silnylon as a boat tent option (not sure if the OP is after a storage cover or tent).

If a simple single-walled tent is what you're after, it might work OK. I got factory seconds cheap (cosmetic flaws) but haven't gotten around to making a tent yet. It would be very different, and probably less durable, than a Sunbrella or something similar, but I've used this kind of tarp for ultralight backpacking and it works well to keep you dry.

I tend to be lazy enough to just get by with whatever is easiest, and right now that's a cheap little backpacking tent that (barely) fits onto my boat's sleeping platform:

tent.jpg

A real boat tent would be much better. So much so that I might actually make one someday.

Tom

[Bruce Bateau]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

I'm not fond of Sunbrella for camping-cockpit tent. It's too heavy and hard to dry out on the fly, once it gets wet. I prefer the lighter more plastic-ey materials since they repel water and are easier to dry off and stow. For storage cover, its great.

[pez_leon]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

I'm not fond of Sunbrella for camping-cockpit tent [...] I prefer the lighter more plastic-ey materials since they repel water and are easier to dry off and stow.

I was just thinking about this. From the perspective of a backpacker these heavy canvas-esque fabrics are the last thing I'd think to build a tent from. Are they preferred over tent nylon because they breathe so much better? Bruce, do you get much condensation on the inside of your light plastic-ey materials?

Thanks!

- James

[WI-Tom]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

I was just thinking about this. From the perspective of a backpacker these heavy canvas-esque fabrics are the last thing I'd think to build a tent from. Are they preferred over tent nylon because they breathe so much better? Bruce, do you get much condensation on the inside of your light plastic-ey materials?

Thanks!

- James

I've used polytarp for a temporary improvised tent--there was lots of condensation. On land, I've used a single-walled silnylon tarp for years of backpacking, and condensation has not been a problem. I keep a gap at the bottom, and that--with the open ends--seems to provide enough ventilation to avoid problems in most conditions.

Tom

[rgthom]

For the canvas-esque materials there are a lot of good properties for the lighter Weathermax 65. It is uncoated and breathes. In my fully enclosed boat tent I have not had condensation issues. It is lighter than Sunbrella, but still tough and tear resistant. It is supposed to be rated 1500 hours UV, my 10 year old tent shows no fading. I have not camped in heavy rain, but chose this material because McMullen and other Salish sailors used and recommended it. It is cheaper than Sunbrella, about $22 for a 62 wide yard.
I would not want it for a backpacking tent, but if considering making a boat tent I would at least get a swatch of this and some of the other materials before deciding.

[Bruce Bateau]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

I find that the plasticy materials do get damp- depending on the relative humidity. There's not much to be done about it.

In this pic, you can see I've created a two-part tent. The lime material (sorry don't recall the trade name) is some kind of coated double-ripstop nylon. It sheds rain beautifully and is reasonably light and easy to sew. It always has a bit of dew that always dripped on my head. I sewed a smaller liner of Sunrbrella that hangs inside and catches most of the drips. It works great.

Here's what it looks like before the liner is installed:


Here's my friend Dan's all Sunbrella cover. It works fine but he reports it soaks up a lot of water over a few wet days and is heavy to handle.

[Bruce Bateau]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

A few other PNW sail & oar guys have tents similar to this:



This one belongs to Andy M and I think it is Sunbrella or similar with wooden battens. He claims his doesn't get drippy or clammy, but I always wonder if that's because he hasn't been out under the right conditions? Some say it is airflow, but I find that damp just comes with dusk around these parts.

[Breakaway]

If the Sunbrella is soaking up water and getting heavier, its water repellent needs to be renewed.Glen Raven Mills, maker of Sunbrella, recommends 303 Fabric Guard. I have use Star Brites fabric waterproofing to the same effect.

I





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Toxophilite]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

My understanding was that the heavier fabrics tend to be quieter/stronger in a breeze and also have insulating properties (in cold and warm weather)
More so than the the conventional modern backpacking tent fabrics.

I thought one generally preshrunk canvas. Does it keep shrinking? Perhaps it might not be ideal for the PNW. Probably would take forever to dry in cooler months.

[Todd Bradshaw]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

Pre-shrunk canvas will still shrink. If it doesn't have to fit anything specifically, that may not matter, but if it does, it can be a really big problem. Generally you figure about 3% even on Sunforger. When a 100" long seam on your tent of cover (which is not all that rare) shrinks 3" you are screwed if it was actually built to fit precisely. As for the guys with Sunbrella soaking up water, it simply means that it needs re-treatment. Which will also renew UV protection on both the fabric and the thread holding it together at the seams. As expensive as the cloth it as well as skilled labor to make something from it, it doesn't make much sense not to do whatever you can to protect it.

[Bruce Bateau]

Re: Sunbrella vs. Weathermax80

Pre-shrunk canvas will still shrink. If it doesn't have to fit anything specifically, that may not matter, but if it does, it can be a really big problem. Generally you figure about 3% even on Sunforger. When a 100" long seam on your tent of cover (which is not all that rare) shrinks 3" you are screwed if it was actually built to fit precisely. As for the guys with Sunbrella soaking up water, it simply means that it needs re-treatment. Which will also renew UV protection on both the fabric and the thread holding it together at the seams. As expensive as the cloth it as well as skilled labor to make something from it, it doesn't make much sense not to do whatever you can to protect it.

Agree that my Sunbrella needs recoating... As for some of my friends, even if it isn't soaking up, it is still kind of damp and dries a bit slow after several days of rain...

-Bruce