Based on your experience, I have sealed the corner seams on my new Dipole 2 and used a bit of elastic cord to pull those mesh corners further out as well. Thanks for the heads up!
Thank you, I’m glad it helps. We’ll be taking it out for a section hike on the AT in a few weeks, and I’m certain the AT will have enough rain to put the Dipole through a workout. Good or bad I’m sure I’ll post a video along the way. So far my wife and I really like the tent except for the one leak, and all of the other seams have been taped well and not leaked. It is just the four short seams in the corners that appear to have been missed. I hear you though, seam sealing a whole tent is messy and time consuming. Plus the results always look messy. I’m glad I didn’t have to do much sealing to fix this.
I also ran into a leak problem last spring with my Dipole 2 li. I reached out and Henry spoke to me about it. He said he'd heard of the leak once before (possibly it was you) and that he believed it had to do with a seam that was sewn the incorrect way by the manufacturer on early models. The specs he claimed were correct he sent but the seam was sewn incorrectly. I also had water in the corners at the two edges after some good rain on a trip. Henry did offer to either give me a refund on the tent, or send me a patch kit if I wanted. I received the patch kit in a timely fashion and told him I'd try that first and if it continued to leak I would contact him about a return which he agreed to. Unfortunately, I never got around to patching it until now I am about to try now, so I feel I left it a bit long for the return. Thanks for your video. I think I'll try sealing those corners and see if that resolves the issue.
I redid the seam sealing after getting back from the AT last year, and didn’t get any water inside when I left it out in the rain. Since we weren’t in it, and because it sometimes didn’t leak on trail, I’m hopeful but not convinced. I need to make some time to get out again. The spacious interior and the ventilation are very nice. I hope it works out for you, it’s a nice tent to be inside of if it doesn’t leak.
You are quite welcome, thank you for watching. Yeah I’m on a roll, since my last two Triplexes and now this tent leaked out of the box. I’m hoping someone makes a silpoly version of a similar tent that is much less expensive in the future. Ah well, a future problem after we wear through this tent.
Thanks for making this video. I too have a Dipole 2 and pretty much ordered when they first came available. I've put about 10 nights in mine so far and overall would say this is an excellent tent, but have also had the same corner leaking in severe wind blown rain. Mine just puddled in the corner and was easily fixed with a cloth, but something i have had in my mind to investigate and this gives me a good head start on the issue. Hopefully this is something that can be recognised and addressed by Tarptent in future versions - and advice given to existing owners on how to fix. Other than this minor issue, it's a great tent and a worthy upgrade from the Duplex I had.
You are welcome. Can’t say I’m happy to hear you had the same issue but I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one, and that you are still liking the tent. I’d be interested in hearing if sealing the small seams fixed the issue for you too. The first time we had our tent in the rain only one corner had a small puddle, but the second time three corners leaked with one n particular having mire flow. I’m speculating that it was because the second time we put more gear in the corners, pulling down the bathtub and allowing water to enter (as well as the second storm being more vigorous). I’ll take ours out in April for what hopefully will be a few weeks on the AT. I’ll update the tent’s performance status I’m sure. Thanks for letting me know.
Great so far - much improved head/foot room (I’m 6’1”) compared to older Zpacks duplex. No issues with leaks thanks to your seam sealing tip. My only complaint is that pitching it is sometimes finicky. I have about 20 nights in it, so still learning. But I find that it often takes multiple adjustments to get it taught, particularly after opening or closing the doors. Older Zpacks tended to keep shape regardless of doors.
I agree. I like being able to move and extend the pole to slant away from the door opening, but that or opening doors twists and relaxes the tent. I’ve had to get out and relax lines to be able to close the doors due to weather after previously retensioning the lines to firm up the tent. And although it can set up with four stakes, I find it easier to build the setup with 8 stakes and then tighten it up. Love the tent once it is up though, and with practice it is only a little slower than a duplex. If it had never leaked I’d be pretty happy.
Really appreciate your video, sadly i already ordered the tent, if i knew their support was this worthless i wouldn't have, no matter how good the tent is the support is what makes a company to me. Well, now i know what to fix when it arrives, thanks alot.
You may not have to fix it now that they are aware of the issue, at least I’d hope so. Tarptent did eventually get back with me, duplicated the issue, and came up with a repair kit that was subsequently sent to me. Haven’t seen it personally since it was sent after I left to hike on the AT. Seam sealing the tent appears to have fixed the leaks. It’s been a good tent so far, though it is more tricky to get a good setup on uneven ground than a triplex. I’d advise practicing a bit on non ideal sites. On the bright side, if the doors and vents are closed when the tent is packed it can be pitched in the rain without getting the inside wet. I hear what your saying about support, but I hope the tent is fixed at the factory and serves you well. Thanks for watching.
@@hobblinhikers1847 I hope it's already fixed but if it's not i know what to do thanks to you. It seem to be a great tent, and since i am used to Hilleberg that also can be set up in rain it's a "must" feature for where i hike, it can rain alot.
I also own a DiPole 2 LI and can confirm there are leaks on the corners. First night in the rain it rained all night and I had probably 1/2 -1 cup of water in the tent and a wet pad.
Misery loves company, but I’d rather be alone on this one! Sorry to hear you had the same experience. The seam seal appears to have fixed the issue for me. Henry sent a kit of tape and patches to fix the issue, but by that time we were out on trail so it is just sitting until we get back. Since the seal seems to be working I’m not sure I’ll ever use it. If you haven’t already seam sealed you might contact Henry and see if he’ll send a kit to you. It is a difficult tent to set up on uneven ground, but otherwise it is, so far, performing well . The ventilation and room have been fantastic.
I bought a Dipole 2 Li about 6 months ago. On the very first test setup one of the corner stakeouts came right off the tent. Had it sewn back on by my girlfriend so we went on a trip and on the third setup had another stakeout corner come right off... They did send me a replacement but for the price they shouldn't have any of these issues.
Having worked for a manufacturing company for many years I’m somewhat sympathetic to having occasional issues if they are corrected quickly, but it does sting to be the customer receiving a lemon. How is the new tent working out?
It is the primary reason to sleep in a tent, isn’t it? I’m not sure why we’ve been so lucky as to have expensive tents from two companies leak. I’m hopeful that this is the last issue while we take it out hiking for a few months. Thanks for watching!
Hey All, Henry owner of Tarptent, got back to me with the following: " Yes, we did extensive testing both in-house and via all the Dipole 2 Li tents in use. We’ve had one directly reported leak - the youtube poster - and that’s it. The “issue” is the junction point where the interior fabric meets the canopy edge. There are always variances in manufacturing and in what must be very rare cases the way that those seams join along the hem edge it’s possible for water to wick into the interior fabric seam. For the last month we have been applying a bit of silicone to that junction so that wicking is now impossible." Henry did not say what people who bought their tents prior to this discovery should do, but if I were an early adopter, I'd do what Hobblin Hikers did and seam seal where the interior fabric meets the canopy edge. Notice Henry did say this was the only report of this defect so far. Dude, you are indeed a lucky guy! As someone contemplating buying this tent, I'm thankful for you doing such a thorough job testing and documenting your test results on this. Hey. how was your hike and what are your field test results. Looking forward to a video update.
Thank you! There was another commenter that said he had similar, though less severe results. The hike has been good, but all of the rain we’ve had in the tent recently has been light and without wind. Not much of a test. Today and through the weekend it is absolutely dumping rain, but I don’t trust the tent enough to go out for days in hard rain so we’re doing the hotel thing and trying hike around the mess. Henry sent a patch kit to me, but it was after I left on the hike so I don’t know what it involved. I’m seeing the tent is finicky to set up when the ground is uneven or so rocky or rooty that peg placement is limited. Other than that we’ve liked the tent.
It's common knowledge that Tarptent has awful customer service. It is a shame that a great designer is a moron when it comes to marketing and customer service.
Thats very discouraging about their customer service. Henry, whom you spoke with, is Henry Shires, the creator and owner of Tarptent. There really isn't any excuse for not getting back to a concerned customer, especially after multiple attempts. One thing about Tarptent is that they don't, by default, seam seal their non DCF tents. In their FAQS they mention this and offer to sell seam grip or seam seal it for you for a price. The Dipole is a DCF tent and they say in the FAQ that you DO NOT have to seam seal their Lithium (DCF) models. I think the issue here is that, to my knowledge, the Dipole models are the only DCF tents they make with sewn waterproof SilPoly attached to them. The sewing holes 100% allow water to leak through as you experienced (and hopefully fixed with seam grip). My guess is that this is an issue with a newer model that should have seam sealed sewing holes on a DCF model that they say you do not need to seam seal. I haven't used my Dipole 2 in heavy rain yet myself and it did fine in the snow a few times here in the NE winter season. I'm going to seal up my seams on those panels after watching your video. Tarptent really should make customers aware by either seam sealing those stiches for you in advance (because this is a LI model and they say on their website you do not need to seam seal it), or at least making their customers aware of sealing those stitched areas with an included note card and disclaimer on their website. Overall, I'd be very frustrated if I had your experience.
Thank you for your response - I hope you have a much better experience, and maybe this is a one-off. On my tent the silnylon is taped,like the DCF portions, at the other seams where water could come inside. You may be able to observe this on yours. I’m hopeful that this experience helps someone before they get wet. Not sure what to say about Henry. Except for this rather large issue, we’ve liked the design of the tent. Thank you for watching.
@@hobblinhikers1847 I'm going to have to go set mine up outside and take a closer look at it. Hopefully they come through in the end and help take care of you.
Heh! Thank you but I’ve given up on that. It didn’t appear to leak after seam sealing the short seams. In a few weeks I’ll take it out on a section of the AT for a few weeks and I’m sure I’ll learn more. I’m hopeful that this is the extent of the manufacturing issues.
Hey Hobblin Hikers, I reached out to Henry on your behalf because I wanted to help you out with your issues, and because I really love the design of this tent and want to buy one. However at this price point I sure don't want to buy it if it's gonna leak the way you are describing. At any rate, he got back to me right away, he says he sent you an email as well? Seems like a really nice guy, super concerned with this issue. He seems to think it's something to do with the way it was pitched, but he told me he was looking into it. I told him I agreed with you and others that the sewing of the silpoly and DCF is problematic and it shouldn't be hard to duplicate your issue with a water test. As regards the adjustable vents, it's as you said, pull them all the way up in a heavy rain, tent has plenty of ventilation options elsewhere. Anyway, please keep us updated on any feedback from Henry. I should point out that I bought a Slingfin Portal 2 a couple years back that was not supposed to require any seam sealing, but the company did a recall where they had to seam seal the entire tent. So, let's all give Henry some slack and time to work out the kinks, It's one of the coolest ultralight DCF designs in terms of headroom, less condensation, and overall space, I've seen out there. Having said this, I let Henry know I'm not shelling out this kind of dough if it's gonna leak.
Well thank you much for reaching out! Very kind. Yes, as it happens he did send a response that I read just this morning, and then replied back myself. In part of his response he thought that maybe the leak was caused by uneven ground where I was pitched causing water to flow past the drain mesh and into the tent, but I pointed out that one tent site was at a state park tent pad that was as flat as could be expected and the other wasn’t too bad either. Also, the spray bottle was able to cause water ingress while pitched on a flat concrete floor. I believe the leak is fixed after my seam sealing the corners (at least it passed the spray bottle test on concrete). We will see though. After next week I plan on taking the tent on a long section hike on the AT and I’m certain I’ll have some more rain experiences soon. He said he was still studying the issue. I informed him of these videos and suggested that he put in a comment to explain his response and findings, since at least one person who commented had also seen a corner leak. In his email he said they had been snowed in and the office without internet for 10 days, and afterwards he was catching up orders etc, and that was why his reply was so many weeks later. I’d agree about the tent design, and my initial impressions are positive if the leak is ignored, but that is a pretty big issue to ignore for sure. Thank you again for reaching out! After I’ve had some time with the tent and Henry has maybe gotten back again I’m sure I’ll put out an update.
Awesome. I don’t want to wish rain on you, but in this case I hope you get at least one day on your section hike when it rains cats and dogs so you can test your seam seal and general likes dislikes.
Ouch, I search and search reviews prior and then find your video the day after I purchase my very own. Was yours the Dipole 2 Li? Looks like an amazing tent otherwise, but yeah, as the other viewer stated, price should mean they stand on their head for customers.
Isn’t that how it works sometimes?! Hopefully you don’t have my tent’s issues and it is a one-off manufacturer defect, because otherwise I think it will be a great tent, you’ll probably love the space. I do have the dipole 2 Li - just check your seams before trusting it in the rain. I’m not too hurt getting a lemon, and initially TT got back with me quickly, but then they ghosted me. Doesn’t make sense to me either. Good luck with your tent, and thank you for watching!
I hear you. Testing each tent would add even more cost, but quality inspections and testing the initial production pieces might have caught this. Recently I looked into dyneema a bit and am under the impression that a large portion of the cost is due to the material. The original manufacturer of “Cuban fiber” was purchased and the new owners are maybe getting their money out while they can. It is the poor response to my customer complaint that bugs me. Ah well. Thank you much for watching.
Your leaking issues would be frustrating. I have the Dipole1, the single person version, and I have not had any leaks. Even in high winds with rain for hours or thunderstorms including hail it’s been completely dry inside. I agree with you that it’s a good idea to pitch the tent such that the top of the end struts lean out some.
Thanks! Yeah, once is one thing but to have my last 3 DCF tents leak…. I did hear back from Tarptent last night, and they believe that the leak has to do with how the materials sewed as well as the angle of the roofline, bathtub tension, and setup. However they said it appeared to only show up in the two person version so you should be safe. Good to hear it has worked out for you. Other than the leak, which admittedly is a pretty big, we’ve liked the tent and have hopes for it now that it is seam sealed. I’ll find out soon as we are going to do a section of the AT for however long it is still fun and I’m sure there will be rain.
Based on your experience, I have sealed the corner seams on my new Dipole 2 and used a bit of elastic cord to pull those mesh corners further out as well. Thanks for the heads up!
Glad to hear the video was helpful! Hopefully these tents work out great in the miles to come. Thank you for watching.
Very much appreciate this video. I’m considering a dipole 2 but at $800+ I’d preferred it be seam sealed and waterproofed. Keep us updated. Thank you.
Thank you, I’m glad it helps. We’ll be taking it out for a section hike on the AT in a few weeks, and I’m certain the AT will have enough rain to put the Dipole through a workout. Good or bad I’m sure I’ll post a video along the way. So far my wife and I really like the tent except for the one leak, and all of the other seams have been taped well and not leaked. It is just the four short seams in the corners that appear to have been missed. I hear you though, seam sealing a whole tent is messy and time consuming. Plus the results always look messy. I’m glad I didn’t have to do much sealing to fix this.
Good to hear you’re doing an AT section. Sounds fun. Again, keep all of us updated especially regarding any dealings with customer service.
I also ran into a leak problem last spring with my Dipole 2 li. I reached out and Henry spoke to me about it. He said he'd heard of the leak once before (possibly it was you) and that he believed it had to do with a seam that was sewn the incorrect way by the manufacturer on early models. The specs he claimed were correct he sent but the seam was sewn incorrectly. I also had water in the corners at the two edges after some good rain on a trip. Henry did offer to either give me a refund on the tent, or send me a patch kit if I wanted. I received the patch kit in a timely fashion and told him I'd try that first and if it continued to leak I would contact him about a return which he agreed to. Unfortunately, I never got around to patching it until now I am about to try now, so I feel I left it a bit long for the return.
Thanks for your video. I think I'll try sealing those corners and see if that resolves the issue.
I redid the seam sealing after getting back from the AT last year, and didn’t get any water inside when I left it out in the rain. Since we weren’t in it, and because it sometimes didn’t leak on trail, I’m hopeful but not convinced. I need to make some time to get out again.
The spacious interior and the ventilation are very nice.
I hope it works out for you, it’s a nice tent to be inside of if it doesn’t leak.
Thank you for this video. I can't believe a tent at this price point would leak like that.
You are quite welcome, thank you for watching. Yeah I’m on a roll, since my last two Triplexes and now this tent leaked out of the box. I’m hoping someone makes a silpoly version of a similar tent that is much less expensive in the future. Ah well, a future problem after we wear through this tent.
Thanks for making this video. I too have a Dipole 2 and pretty much ordered when they first came available. I've put about 10 nights in mine so far and overall would say this is an excellent tent, but have also had the same corner leaking in severe wind blown rain. Mine just puddled in the corner and was easily fixed with a cloth, but something i have had in my mind to investigate and this gives me a good head start on the issue. Hopefully this is something that can be recognised and addressed by Tarptent in future versions - and advice given to existing owners on how to fix.
Other than this minor issue, it's a great tent and a worthy upgrade from the Duplex I had.
You are welcome. Can’t say I’m happy to hear you had the same issue but I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one, and that you are still liking the tent. I’d be interested in hearing if sealing the small seams fixed the issue for you too. The first time we had our tent in the rain only one corner had a small puddle, but the second time three corners leaked with one n particular having mire flow. I’m speculating that it was because the second time we put more gear in the corners, pulling down the bathtub and allowing water to enter (as well as the second storm being more vigorous). I’ll take ours out in April for what hopefully will be a few weeks on the AT. I’ll update the tent’s performance status I’m sure. Thanks for letting me know.
Seam sealed mine and have had no issues… thanks for identifying the problem and fix!
Excellent! I’m glad to hear that. How have you liked the tent so far?
Great so far - much improved head/foot room (I’m 6’1”) compared to older Zpacks duplex. No issues with leaks thanks to your seam sealing tip. My only complaint is that pitching it is sometimes finicky. I have about 20 nights in it, so still learning. But I find that it often takes multiple adjustments to get it taught, particularly after opening or closing the doors. Older Zpacks tended to keep shape regardless of doors.
I agree. I like being able to move and extend the pole to slant away from the door opening, but that or opening doors twists and relaxes the tent. I’ve had to get out and relax lines to be able to close the doors due to weather after previously retensioning the lines to firm up the tent. And although it can set up with four stakes, I find it easier to build the setup with 8 stakes and then tighten it up. Love the tent once it is up though, and with practice it is only a little slower than a duplex. If it had never leaked I’d be pretty happy.
Really appreciate your video, sadly i already ordered the tent, if i knew their support was this worthless i wouldn't have, no matter how good the tent is the support is what makes a company to me. Well, now i know what to fix when it arrives, thanks alot.
You may not have to fix it now that they are aware of the issue, at least I’d hope so. Tarptent did eventually get back with me, duplicated the issue, and came up with a repair kit that was subsequently sent to me. Haven’t seen it personally since it was sent after I left to hike on the AT. Seam sealing the tent appears to have fixed the leaks. It’s been a good tent so far, though it is more tricky to get a good setup on uneven ground than a triplex. I’d advise practicing a bit on non ideal sites. On the bright side, if the doors and vents are closed when the tent is packed it can be pitched in the rain without getting the inside wet. I hear what your saying about support, but I hope the tent is fixed at the factory and serves you well. Thanks for watching.
@@hobblinhikers1847 I hope it's already fixed but if it's not i know what to do thanks to you. It seem to be a great tent, and since i am used to Hilleberg that also can be set up in rain it's a "must" feature for where i hike, it can rain alot.
I also own a DiPole 2 LI and can confirm there are leaks on the corners. First night in the rain it rained all night and I had probably 1/2 -1 cup of water in the tent and a wet pad.
Misery loves company, but I’d rather be alone on this one! Sorry to hear you had the same experience. The seam seal appears to have fixed the issue for me. Henry sent a kit of tape and patches to fix the issue, but by that time we were out on trail so it is just sitting until we get back. Since the seal seems to be working I’m not sure I’ll ever use it. If you haven’t already seam sealed you might contact Henry and see if he’ll send a kit to you. It is a difficult tent to set up on uneven ground, but otherwise it is, so far, performing well . The ventilation and room have been fantastic.
I bought a Dipole 2 Li about 6 months ago. On the very first test setup one of the corner stakeouts came right off the tent. Had it sewn back on by my girlfriend so we went on a trip and on the third setup had another stakeout corner come right off... They did send me a replacement but for the price they shouldn't have any of these issues.
Having worked for a manufacturing company for many years I’m somewhat sympathetic to having occasional issues if they are corrected quickly, but it does sting to be the customer receiving a lemon. How is the new tent working out?
@@hobblinhikers1847 new tent has held up on 2 trips so far.
Honestly, for the price, leaking is unacceptable. Before lightness, features etc.... it should not leak
It is the primary reason to sleep in a tent, isn’t it? I’m not sure why we’ve been so lucky as to have expensive tents from two companies leak. I’m hopeful that this is the last issue while we take it out hiking for a few months. Thanks for watching!
Hey All,
Henry owner of Tarptent, got back to me with the following:
" Yes, we did extensive testing both in-house and via all the Dipole 2 Li tents in use. We’ve had one directly reported leak - the youtube poster - and that’s it. The “issue” is the junction point where the interior fabric meets the canopy edge. There are always variances in manufacturing and in what must be very rare cases the way that those seams join along the hem edge it’s possible for water to wick into the interior fabric seam. For the last month we have been applying a bit of silicone to that junction so that wicking is now impossible."
Henry did not say what people who bought their tents prior to this discovery should do, but if I were an early adopter, I'd do what Hobblin Hikers did and seam seal where the interior fabric meets the canopy edge. Notice Henry did say this was the only report of this defect so far.
Dude, you are indeed a lucky guy! As someone contemplating buying this tent, I'm thankful for you doing such a thorough job testing and documenting your test results on this. Hey. how was your hike and what are your field test results. Looking forward to a video update.
Thank you! There was another commenter that said he had similar, though less severe results. The hike has been good, but all of the rain we’ve had in the tent recently has been light and without wind. Not much of a test. Today and through the weekend it is absolutely dumping rain, but I don’t trust the tent enough to go out for days in hard rain so we’re doing the hotel thing and trying hike around the mess.
Henry sent a patch kit to me, but it was after I left on the hike so I don’t know what it involved.
I’m seeing the tent is finicky to set up when the ground is uneven or so rocky or rooty that peg placement is limited. Other than that we’ve liked the tent.
It's common knowledge that Tarptent has awful customer service. It is a shame that a great designer is a moron when it comes to marketing and customer service.
Thats very discouraging about their customer service. Henry, whom you spoke with, is Henry Shires, the creator and owner of Tarptent. There really isn't any excuse for not getting back to a concerned customer, especially after multiple attempts. One thing about Tarptent is that they don't, by default, seam seal their non DCF tents. In their FAQS they mention this and offer to sell seam grip or seam seal it for you for a price. The Dipole is a DCF tent and they say in the FAQ that you DO NOT have to seam seal their Lithium (DCF) models. I think the issue here is that, to my knowledge, the Dipole models are the only DCF tents they make with sewn waterproof SilPoly attached to them. The sewing holes 100% allow water to leak through as you experienced (and hopefully fixed with seam grip). My guess is that this is an issue with a newer model that should have seam sealed sewing holes on a DCF model that they say you do not need to seam seal. I haven't used my Dipole 2 in heavy rain yet myself and it did fine in the snow a few times here in the NE winter season. I'm going to seal up my seams on those panels after watching your video. Tarptent really should make customers aware by either seam sealing those stiches for you in advance (because this is a LI model and they say on their website you do not need to seam seal it), or at least making their customers aware of sealing those stitched areas with an included note card and disclaimer on their website. Overall, I'd be very frustrated if I had your experience.
Thank you for your response - I hope you have a much better experience, and maybe this is a one-off. On my tent the silnylon is taped,like the DCF portions, at the other seams where water could come inside. You may be able to observe this on yours. I’m hopeful that this experience helps someone before they get wet. Not sure what to say about Henry. Except for this rather large issue, we’ve liked the design of the tent. Thank you for watching.
@@hobblinhikers1847 I'm going to have to go set mine up outside and take a closer look at it. Hopefully they come through in the end and help take care of you.
Heh! Thank you but I’ve given up on that. It didn’t appear to leak after seam sealing the short seams. In a few weeks I’ll take it out on a section of the AT for a few weeks and I’m sure I’ll learn more. I’m hopeful that this is the extent of the manufacturing issues.
Hey Hobblin Hikers, I reached out to Henry on your behalf because I wanted to help you out with your issues, and because I really love the design of this tent and want to buy one. However at this price point I sure don't want to buy it if it's gonna leak the way you are describing. At any rate, he got back to me right away, he says he sent you an email as well? Seems like a really nice guy, super concerned with this issue. He seems to think it's something to do with the way it was pitched, but he told me he was looking into it. I told him I agreed with you and others that the sewing of the silpoly and DCF is problematic and it shouldn't be hard to duplicate your issue with a water test. As regards the adjustable vents, it's as you said, pull them all the way up in a heavy rain, tent has plenty of ventilation options elsewhere. Anyway, please keep us updated on any feedback from Henry. I should point out that I bought a Slingfin Portal 2 a couple years back that was not supposed to require any seam sealing, but the company did a recall where they had to seam seal the entire tent. So, let's all give Henry some slack and time to work out the kinks, It's one of the coolest ultralight DCF designs in terms of headroom, less condensation, and overall space, I've seen out there. Having said this, I let Henry know I'm not shelling out this kind of dough if it's gonna leak.
Well thank you much for reaching out! Very kind. Yes, as it happens he did send a response that I read just this morning, and then replied back myself. In part of his response he thought that maybe the leak was caused by uneven ground where I was pitched causing water to flow past the drain mesh and into the tent, but I pointed out that one tent site was at a state park tent pad that was as flat as could be expected and the other wasn’t too bad either. Also, the spray bottle was able to cause water ingress while pitched on a flat concrete floor. I believe the leak is fixed after my seam sealing the corners (at least it passed the spray bottle test on concrete). We will see though. After next week I plan on taking the tent on a long section hike on the AT and I’m certain I’ll have some more rain experiences soon. He said he was still studying the issue. I informed him of these videos and suggested that he put in a comment to explain his response and findings, since at least one person who commented had also seen a corner leak. In his email he said they had been snowed in and the office without internet for 10 days, and afterwards he was catching up orders etc, and that was why his reply was so many weeks later.
I’d agree about the tent design, and my initial impressions are positive if the leak is ignored, but that is a pretty big issue to ignore for sure. Thank you again for reaching out! After I’ve had some time with the tent and Henry has maybe gotten back again I’m sure I’ll put out an update.
Awesome. I don’t want to wish rain on you, but in this case I hope you get at least one day on your section hike when it rains cats and dogs so you can test your seam seal and general likes dislikes.
Ouch, I search and search reviews prior and then find your video the day after I purchase my very own. Was yours the Dipole 2 Li? Looks like an amazing tent otherwise, but yeah, as the other viewer stated, price should mean they stand on their head for customers.
Isn’t that how it works sometimes?! Hopefully you don’t have my tent’s issues and it is a one-off manufacturer defect, because otherwise I think it will be a great tent, you’ll probably love the space. I do have the dipole 2 Li - just check your seams before trusting it in the rain. I’m not too hurt getting a lemon, and initially TT got back with me quickly, but then they ghosted me. Doesn’t make sense to me either. Good luck with your tent, and thank you for watching!
For the money this tent costs you'd think Tart Tent would test these tents for leaks before shipping the tents.
I hear you. Testing each tent would add even more cost, but quality inspections and testing the initial production pieces might have caught this. Recently I looked into dyneema a bit and am under the impression that a large portion of the cost is due to the material. The original manufacturer of “Cuban fiber” was purchased and the new owners are maybe getting their money out while they can. It is the poor response to my customer complaint that bugs me. Ah well. Thank you much for watching.
Your leaking issues would be frustrating. I have the Dipole1, the single person version, and I have not had any leaks. Even in high winds with rain for hours or thunderstorms including hail it’s been completely dry inside. I agree with you that it’s a good idea to pitch the tent such that the top of the end struts lean out some.
Thanks! Yeah, once is one thing but to have my last 3 DCF tents leak…. I did hear back from Tarptent last night, and they believe that the leak has to do with how the materials sewed as well as the angle of the roofline, bathtub tension, and setup. However they said it appeared to only show up in the two person version so you should be safe. Good to hear it has worked out for you. Other than the leak, which admittedly is a pretty big, we’ve liked the tent and have hopes for it now that it is seam sealed. I’ll find out soon as we are going to do a section of the AT for however long it is still fun and I’m sure there will be rain.