My middle son has an REI Quarterdome tent which is always set up in the garage after a trip for at least a day before it is packed away 100% dry. He pulled out the Quarterdome last night to demo it for some Scouts at a Troop meeting and the inside of the rain fly was really sticky. Even though it had no signs of mildew and although we knew it was packed away dry, we treated it for mildew twice as recommended on the REI web site. It was still sticky, so I emailed REI and their response was to tell us it was time to throw away the fly and buy a new tent (see below). I have camped and owned lightweight tents for almost 30 years now and this is the first time I have seen something like this. The REI Quarterdome is a lightweight tent with a new type of fabric, so I am guessing the culprit is the type of fabric as my other tents are years older than this tent, stored right next to this one in the same way and they have no issues. We are going to return it (great REI policy) and my son will buy a replacement for it. He isn't sure if he wants another REI tent or perhaps a Big Agnes Seedhouse he saw on the REI Outlet store for a great price.

My original question to REI:
I have 4 REI tents and am having problems with one of them. The Quarterdome is my son's backpacking tent and when he pulled it out last night, he discovered that the inside of the fly is very sticky. There is no mildew so I don't know why this happened, but we washed it twice using the formula on your web site and it still has the problem. It has also spread to the pole sleeves which are also sticky. My other REI tents are the Hobitat 6, Taj and Half Dome. All 4 tents are always put away dry and are all stored together. I am not sure why this one tent is having a problem and the other 3 REI tents are not. I do know the Quarterdome rain fly material is different. Could it be having some type of reaction?

First REI response:
Thank you for your inquiry regarding your Quarterdome tent. The urethane coating on the inside of the rainfly has begun to have a chemical reaction from the coating touching the nylon for a long period of time. This happens to tents which are tightly rolled and not used very often. There is not anything you can do, it is time to look for a replacement tent. He may want to keep the tent body to use as a summer-time bug tent, and just get rid of the rainfly. Here are some tent storage recommendations: Loosely fold your tent and store it in a large container like a plastic storage tub with a loose-fitting lid for air-circulation. Hang your tent in a closet so that it has lots of air circulation. If we can be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us.

My reply to REI response:
That is not the type of answer I expect to get from REI. I have bought REI gear for 25+ years now and have never heard that tents are disposable items. My Taj and Half Dome are both older than the Quarterdome. All are stored the same way and used 6+ times per year. You can't be serious. I have to throw away the fly?

REI’s second response:
Thanks for your response to my prior e-mail. Of course, your tent is covered by the REI 100% satisfaction guarantee. I had discussed your tent with our Product Quality Assurance Lead Inspector. The information I shared with you about the reason why this happened to your tent is a result of that conversation. Unfortunately, there is not a fix for this problem. If you would like to exchange the entire tent, please feel free to send it back to our Returns Department or take it to your local REI store. I checked to see if we have any replacement rainflys for your tent, and we do not. Have a good winter season!

lifetime warranty. :)

Refreshing.

OK, it looks like the problem is with the urethane coating, different from the silicon coating on my other tent flys. Moral of the story seems to be to hang up your urethane tent flys so they don't stay in contact with the nylon tent fabric, but go ahead and roll your silicone tent flys with the tent and don't worry about it.

REI's last response:
Thanks for your questions regarding the differences in the materials. I do not have an answer for you on this issue. We have received some complaints from other customers experiencing the same problem, but not always on the same tent. We do not have any statistics on this issue, we just know that it very occasionally happens to tents with urethane coatings, and it appears to be related to storage and the reaction between the nylon fabric and the coating. Fabrics coated with silicone do not seem to have this problem. If we can be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us.

LGraubner
Thanks for the info. and heads up, it is an interesting dilemma . One of my tents is REI's Hobitat 4, had a problem with the ground covering and REI's policy took care of everything. I guess I'll check out the construction materials of my tents and adapt if necessary.

Boppa

Boppa, do you take your Hobitat 4 into the BWCA? I had considered taking our Hobitat 6, but it is so large and heavy (20 lb. range) that I haven't seriously considered it. And I wasn't sure about the single wall construction for much of the tent if I ran into a lot of rain. Plus, if I got a big windstorm, the tent seems to be too boxy to hold up well. I like to take mine mostly on family camping trips when fair weather is in the forecast.

By the way, REI now offers vestibules for the Hobitat tents.

So I'm impying from REI's response that the best way to store a tent is by hanging it in the open rather that rolling it or stuffing it.

Does this resolved the fold versus stuff thread that was going on? The answer being hanging it.

Thoughts?

The sales reps at my local REI store told me they had never heard of hanging tents for storage. They recommended that I let it dry inside for a day after using it, but they said rolling it would be just fine for long term storage and that is what they have always told their customers and done themselves. It is also how they store their new tents in the store and how they store their rental tents.

On the REI web site, you will see the following instructions:
"Make sure your tent is DRY when you store it. That's dry, dry, DRY. No tent-care rule is more important. If you leave a tent wet, even damp, for a prolonged period of time, you are inviting mildew to overtake it. After a trip, unpack your tent and inspect it for dampness. If you detect even a trace, set it up in a shady spot (a garage, for instance) and let it air dry. If you have the space, store it loosely outside of its stuff sack. Avoid storing it in damp basements or hot attics."

I am convinced this problem is with the new urethane coated material on this Quarterdome tent. REI tried something new and now a couple years later of actual use, they have found a defect.

But to answer your original question, I am thinking about getting some large Rubbermaid tubs to loosely store my tents in.

I've never have had this problem, but here is what I do with all tents.

I hang each one in a cotton storage bag on a hook, like you see a few Sleeping bag manufactures supply with your purchase.

It would be nicer to dry them out and store in a warm room or closet.

REI sells the cotton bags I use, there plenty large so you should get plenty of air circulation.

This one ended up well. He took the tent back and ordered a Big Agnes Seedhouse 3 (last year's model) from REIOUTLET.COM to replace the defective REI Quarterdome. He also got the footprint with the Big Agnes and an extra $88 back on the credit card.

It happened to me once and I didn't know what caused it. I spread out the fly upside down and sprinkled it with talc powder. It seemed to fix the problem.

LGraubner - No we have not taken the Hobitat 4 into the BW - we fly in and require full outfitting. It is on the heavy side with ground cloth and stakes but we love it. It affords a tremendous amount of space for two and I can stand in it - as well as leaving and entering much more graciously.
We use it on our warmer weather trips to the Adirondacks, Vermont and Maine; due to the large amount of mesh it is great in warm weather. We have had it in both strong winds and rain and are very impressed with its performance.

We tend not to use it in cooler weather due to all of the mesh. We switch over to a Cabela's XPG Deluxe for 4. It also has performed well and feel it stays warmer on cooler weather trips.

Boppa

Bannock, this tent fly was so sticky that it felt like someone had put syrup or honey on the fly and let it dry. You couldn't even shake out the fly as it kept adhering to itself. It was literally clinging to itself like a sheet of Saran Wrap. I have never seen anything quite like this either, but now he has a new tent.

I had the same issue.
Only used my REI half Dome 2+ a couple times a year always put away dry and clean.
When I took it out last year to use it was really sticky on the underside of the rain fly.
I took it to my local REI store and was told that it was a couple months out of warranty.
I thought there was a lifetime warranty?

I asked if i could purchase a replacement, as this seems to be a known issue by the employees and online blogs.
I was told they don't sell replacements and I needed to buy a new tent.

I didn't realizes I was buying a disposable tent.

I think this is unbelievably poor customer service and i will go out of my way to not buy from REI in the future.

If there anyone making replacements please let me know.

10 year old thread...

BA Seedhouse is an awesome tent,

Blatz: "BA Seedhouse is an awesome tent, "

I had the same thing happen to my Seedhouse. I now know to store my tents in a pillowcase loosely packed as possible

Resurrecting a 10 year old post to bitch about something? Apparently as the first post of a new member?

Learn something about VOC's. It is something that can affect any tent manufacturers product, in spite of so called clean and dry storage. Could be as simple as storage in vinyl tubs. Can often be fixed with some talcum powder.

Far as REI quality and warranty changes, I'll stay with my own opinions and those of trusted friends. The complaints I have head from them, or personally experienced, are very few and further between.

butthead

Wow, a ten year old thread!
Maybe someone needs to lock out these threads after a few years. JMO