Man, the forests in England are just gorgeous. I'm from Alberta, Canada and not that we don't have wonderful forests, but something about the forests across the pond just sing to me. Swedwoods is another guy, the Swedish forests he makes videos in are just magical too.
We have a lot of those nylon tents here in the US. You really need a ground cloth and to regularly spray it with waterproofing (scotchgard or similar) and use a seam sealer. It looks like the water might have come thorough the seams.
Hey TA. I've used the F2 version of this for a while and it's a fantastic little tent. I havent had issues with rain, nor has my friend, but the UK is a bit more intense than Canada in that regard haha. i guess they upgraded some things as mine is all one piece and the bottom is completely waterproof, and mine came with seriously heavy duty stakes that weigh a ton. for a taut setup this is the method i use: - stake out all four corners tightly and then stake the rest of the bottom points - insert one pole, stake the guy line tightly, then do the other pole. you will need an axe/hammer to do the second one and you'll hear the line going taut while hammering it in - stake out all of the rain fly points with cordage Hope this helps! I think either the f1 version had serious flaws or you got a bad one from the seller unfortunately. i would highly recommend grabbing the f2 from varusteleka while they have them in stock
Years ago I grew up with "pup tents", had many, and always bought used. I grew up around the south half of Florida, USA in an out of swampy woodlands. Long story short, "foot print" for underneath, seamsealer for zippers sow-in and seams, waxstick or Chapstick for the zippers themselves. Start by scrubbing tent, inside and out (removes mustyness) and allow it to totally dry, then spray bottom of tent, first, with waterproof spray, then topside, then bottom again. Do this inside or at least out of direct weather. It gives you alot better setup. Love the videos!
I used one of these tents a few weeks ago for some field work. I had to pull so hard on the peak tie lines to stop from sagging that I thought I was going to break the tent. Mine also came new with those awful pegs. They're kind of charming tents but I'm not sure they're worth the hassle.
While you started the fire and roasted the chestnuts, my husband and I listened to Nat King Cole sing 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire'. Highly enjoyable moment.
I LOVE the 'go out in the woods and enjoy' type of camp video. WE still need to see you use the basics--like enough charged batteries and lighting devices. That forged pan looks wonderfully practical with its good balance and long handle to save fingers from the fire.
I’ve got one of these and the tent has been solid, haven’t had leaks in it I guess I’ve been lucky one thing with the guy lines to have a taught ridge line I found is to have the end guy lines quite long and pegged further away from the tent this creates a tighter ridge.
Lucky man on those chestnuts, don't run into those in Missouri. I've used the canvas version of that tent for almost 30 years, my kids grew up in it. All that military surplus you have to treat it, some sits in storage for decades. Great video young man, thanks for not sawing on something and make us listen to it
Having now seen this,, and after reading appx. 7/10 reviews of the same tent (tents obtained from 6 different sources) and that they do or will leak, I'm not going to get one. Also after seeing how little head room there is, I think one could do much better with a 10x10 ft/9x9m tarp and a mosquito netting. Thanks for putting this out !
@@TAOutdoors I have the old canvas one that has a nylon flysheet. The tent itself is fine, even the canvas ends - just rain can get through the zips and the bottom of the T they form - I'll get around to sewing a flap to cover them at some point, you might want to do the same. Still can use the banshee instead if it's due to rain. p.s. thin shockcord/bungee elastic tie-outs.
I used the original canvas one with fly in Shropshire a couple of years back in torrential rain and no rain got in at all. 16 hours of rain and I was nice and dry, if somewhat miserable.
check out the review of this tent by The Outdoor Gear Review from a few years back he absolutely hammered it even our own beloved Mack Tightwad called it a piece of poo, now he has got MAD sewing machine skills with military equipment and even he decided it wasn't worth trying to repair it
The Forest reminds me on Robin Hood:-) the tent looks good but thanks for showing the issues with it , chestnut at this time of the year is also here in Switzerland very common, hot and fresh roasted…..so delicious, good food, good Atmosphäre out in nature…way to be, thanks for sharing, take care, Taro
Lesson 101. Don't buy cheap. Spend money and buy quality. Still like yours and Simon's lavuu. Simon introduced the cooking apparatus awhile back. They good eh? Thank you for sharing. Atb from down here in Nz.
I remember years ago in the US military we were issued half a canvas shelter and poles. We would set up only half and the other half we would hook up our poncho liners. Worked great. Preferred the space all to myself.
I remember too... there were always those who didn't appreciate silence/never shut up, and or those who needed a "G.I. bath"... We bought our own ponchos or 10x10s, and used shotgun cleaning rods screwed together for a pole if there weren't any trees/fence posts to run a ridge line. Those were sucks we couldn't embrace ! Thanks for serving.
I'm so glad you did a video with this tent. I was waiting for it for a while lol. I was thinking about buying one but now I'm going to go with something else. Thanks Mike, love the videos. Keep up the totally awesome work!
chestnuts again, and still here!!! Good!!! Eating fruits at time!! Very good!! Exercice to connect with earth, eating fruits of estation of the year. To connect to the Heavens: loving, loving, loving.
My wife started looking for one of these tents as you were pitching it. She found one on eBay and started to bid on it… and then you woke up and showed all that water. Thank you for saving us $60 😁
I’m so envious of you being able to getting out in the elements as you do. I know i work way to much in the hospital but we are so short on staff and i give up my time off to help as much as possible. I truly love your setup and what you do because you are indeed right on tap with your channel, thanks for sharing. A channel you should watch is TheOutdoorgearreview. Awesome channel.
Your so right young man. It is what it is.....its a leaker and that it. Good that is was cheap so your not out as much. I've seen this before and it's always been that the seams haven't been treated , water proofed and it come in from all the seams around the bottom. While it's hanging out to dry you can get a better look at the zippers. But I do believe it's at the seams. If you want to fool with it, get you some water proofer and go over all the bottom seams .....at least 4 times , let dry and then while it's hanging up , spray it down and see if it will hold. It should do better and give you some more use. Anywho, good video hun. Thank you for sharing with us all. Blessings to you and the family. Take Care 👍 🌹
I'm sure others have said the same thing but with a pup tent like that, it's necessary to A) use a ground sheet. And B) trench around the perimeter. Those two actions will help. A little bit, but essentially that tent is a POS and unless you bring a tarp to act as a rain fly, you're getting wet even doing steps A & B.
I have the canvas version with separate rain fly. Mine too leaked from the groundsheet almost identical to yours but a good coating of Fabsil cured that problem, I also sprayed around the doors, zips and all seams and it has not leaked since.
I love the layout obvious because I have one. I honestly don't know if you care beat it. I have the size two. Canvas. Heavy yes, kind of small yes. Still my favorite.
I find leaving the middle lines on either side of the tent untensioned helps keep the ridge taught. The tighter you make them, the lower the ridge it seems. I also had to seam seal mine. Those are also definitely not the stock tent pegs.
Forty years ago I bought a tent from Payless for thirty five dollars. Had it for twenty years. It barely wore out, in the sun every day all summer and fall. No tarp on top. That tent NEVER leaked, not even in thunderstorms! So I know it can be done. I mourned when it finally 'died'... So then I started hunting for the perfect tent, unfortunately that tent was the perfect tent and never could replace it. Heh... I had a yard full of tents, everybody in the neighborhood hahaha, thought I had a homeless encampment, but I was just having fun with all my tents...lol And they ALL leaked except for this thick skinned popper upper from Hong Kong. I left it outside for f about four years day and night, I could not get it to UN-pop! I was stunned how long it lasted... I'd get another one but they are too thin skinned these days, and I probably could not UN-pop it anyway... Anyway I cut out the bottom of that tent and use it for the groundcloth on my next tent, best ground cloth I ever saw! I heard even the expensive Eureka tents' bottoms seep water from the ground, and your bedding gets wet, still.
I use the same tent setup, I have a Basha over the top as a rain guard, i also try and tie the top ends to trees to keep the ridgeline tight. they are rubbish tents that will also build up water inside from breathing condensation aswell. A good light simple summer tent for good weather.
I've got the F2 version of that tent (used it quite bit)- looks identical but I think the material is different. When I first set up mine I sprayed the whole thing with Nikkiwax tent sealant - that night we had torrential rain and inside it wasn't much drier than yours. I used a 2x3 garden tarp for a ground sheet and assumed that water had collected between that and the base of the tent. 2nd camp it also rained - no ground sheet and a little drier. It takes 16 pegs as you will know, the originals are really heavy and not like the ones you had. I use light alloy pegs made by Highlander and have no complaints. Despite it's shortcomings I like it (under £30). Great video, love the cook set.
I bought one and it didn't rain overnight but when I sat up my head brushed the ceiling and my hair was soaked instantly from the condensation, that's with all the vents open. After watching similar videos I gave mine a serious going over with Fabsil and I seam sealed it. It is supposed to rain tomorrow so I'll try it again and wear a hat this time.
I bought this F2 tent, which is what you have. The F1 is canvas. It comes in ALOT of versions. Some with doors on both ends, some with one, some with mosquito netting doors some without. Usually the luck of the draw which you get. You have to use a ground cloth underneath. Also there is a VERY rare separate rainfly which cover the whole tent if you can find one I lucked out and found one in England. The sagging can be reduced if you stake out the ends farther away from the tent. Follow the angle of the small overhang on the ends. Check out a you tube video showing mods you can do to really improve the tent. Don't give up on it. I really like mine
These tents are quite old and the seams perish, I used a spread of clear silicone to seal mine and it solved the ingress issue completely. To get tent taught I peg out the bottom footprint all round first, put poles up both ends then peg out the rest and adjust taught. That's how I use my F1, hope this helps :)
I've got this tent if it rains I stick 3 x 3 DD tarp over it it's worked for me TBF never got rain inside I only use this tent now and then but had it out in rain and was dry with tarp over it cheers good vid.
Very wooded area! Fall is such a nice season to be out in the woods. Thanks for showing all the gear. Roasted chestnuts, pot hanging a juicy steak and a nice little fire. Close call, almost got soaked 😮💨 Thanks for the video, I really enjoyed it! Take care and cheers from Canada. 👍
To help guard against widowmakers, you could run a fairly stout, taut rope over top of your tent between two trees that would slow-down or stop a branch that would fall on your tent. We used to do that during windy nights over top of our poncho hooches when I was in the Army. ALso, you MUST use a tent footprint ground mat. That won't help if the zips are leaking, but it'll help the water well up under the tent. Cheers.
I should receive mine today (tan color). Also used. I will seam seal it and waterproof prior to in service. I don't have any chestnut though, just a lot of pine cones. Thanks for the video.
Great video sorry to see the tent didn’t work out. I liked the extensions on the sides and the vents. I really liked the cooking set up and am going to check out the website for them. This is what reviews like yours are all about, to find out what works and what doesn’t. Thanks.
Reminds me of a tent I used in the cub scouts. I still have the tent but haven't used it since i was a kid. lol, I can only imagine what shape it might be in. Been in a bag the whole time.
The first thing I noticed is how heavy that tent looks, and the poles. Lately I've been obsessed with ultralight gear, everything from titanium cookware to lightweight tents, tarps, poles, etc.
Nice video man. I have a canvas F1 myself and had to run my own lines when I got it. I use two lines coming off of each peak to tension the ridge, and run them out to either side. You can put quite a bit more tension on it. A little bit longer lines on the sides will help you out there. I did an overnight with it a few weeks ago if you want to see how I set it up. Cheers
Seems like it should have a fly over it to help weather proof against rain better. Looking at tent seems there should be a pole loop in the mid to help have it tight. Our old one had three before we got kitted with new tents.
A rain fly protects a tent from rain. That's why they made it. I could camp under a bed sheet, but I wouldn't think it would stop rain. But if I put a tarp over it, I'd have the protection needed. Same thing. They make other tents that can stop rain... you'll usually find that they are double walled tents.
Me and my wife used a pup tent through a bad storm and heavy rain 🌧 and the tent ⛺ held up and we stayed dry ? When we buy a new tent ⛺ We treat it heavy with camp 🏕 dry and wax the seems and heat them with a hair dryer . Alot of people don't treat their new tents .but ,you should before you go back packing and wanna stay dry , it was just a 20 dollar 💵 🤪 tent ⛺ from Walmart ? It's not always the price of a tent that makes it the best , it's how it's weather treated ? For backpacks 🎒 I do the same and buy that 1 dollar 💵 poncho to cover me and my backpack 🎒 who likes a wet sleeping bag and water soaked 😜 food ? I like this guy's method of cooking 🍳 and I never thought about cooking chestnuts 🌰 but ,there really good 👍 😋 This guy is an awesome bushcrafter..Thanks for sharing, I learned something new 😋
Dutch army hooped bivvy, if you can get hold of one. If you're after a surplus tent they are by far the best. Plenty of room for gear, there's a bit of headroom and they are bombproof
I had a Chinese replica of the OZ tent and had the same issue. I found the material around the zip was the best wicking material known to man. Water would run down the proofed outer until it met the zip and just the pourious nature of the material wicked the rain inside
Hey Mike I have watch your show for a long time does the U.K. have any snakes I never seen any on your show I thinking your state didn't have any. Stay safe keep up the good work God bless.
Hello Donnie. We only have three native snakes in the U.K. Grass snake, smooth snake and adder. The only one likely to give you any trouble if bitten is the adder. It's the only venomous snake we have but the bites aren't fatal (unless you're a small mammal). I've personally only ever seen adders when out and about hiking, never a grass snake or smooth snake. I live further north than Mike though, in Northumberland.
Wow. Feels like the seller should have disclosed some things. Lots of good suggestions here in the comments. Took the kids camping several years ago. First night out POURED down rain! Wasn't expecting it, so didn't dig a ditch around the tent. Ended up with a huge puddle in the middle of the tent. Very memorable trip!
We use a lot these tents here in Portugal, and the pegs, are really thin just like that. Next time, boil the chestnuts in water and only one cut doesn't need to cut in X. Pour the water away peels e. One who are wonderful, a. Zeca comes out faster, and you can puree it to accompany it with beef ribs . congratulations on r another video brother. hug
Nice video mate when I was young I stayed in a tent with a friend while we was fishing on a river and when we woke up there were puddles just like that aha
Hi TA, thanks for the great videos. I was encouraged to buy some french military surplus many years ago (40 years ago) against my better judgment - it was crap then and it seems it hasn't changed. Have bought surplus from many countries but I always come back to the UK military stuff. Always get UK military surplus, far superior in, mostly, every way but I guess it's interesting to try other kit.
2:00 The tent body looks crunched up. I'd replace them with longer guy lines in order to get a more horizontal line. Alternatively, tie them to an elevated point, like from the top of a small stick, that's planted in the ground.
yeah same problems for me, i was in formation and we had to sleep in it, water literally came trought the tissue in top of me and dropping in my face , i had a very bad night
OK, rule number one, always get a waterproof tent. THEN always bring a bottom tarp and a top tarp! Even waterproof tents leak. heh... I also always bring a waterproof tarp for the inside of the tent/floor; plus I use a ground pad for under the sleeping bag and put it on top of the 'rug' tarp, then I use my down coat for a blanket and sleep in a down vest over a sweatshirt and sweatpants. AND I use a synthetic bag, Colemans usually because if gear gets stolen, can be easily replaced; and as down bags tend to not dry out when they get wet. Maybe I will use an army bivy bag too. Bottom line, is, GEAR MATTERS! And a good down coat can save your life if you keep it DRY. And a nice army style thick PONCHO. A friend of mine always had an umbrella... And try to use 2 person tents for all your gear and shoes and all that, plus if you can get a zipper on it with metal zipper holders, you can get a luggage lock, and will keep pilferers out while you go walking around which is especially good if you go to a campground.
Another great vid 👍 Put a stone in each corner of ridge , tie off with para cord and attach to above branches when possible , Taught and tight . That said if you do the French thing then seek legion surplus ( hard to find ) but much better for the foreigner than standard issue 😎
Yea the first thing we did with used pup's was run wm through the wash, then set it up, water proof coat and seal the seams. We didn't bother with ground sheets back in the 70's though, and as long as the rain didn't river (which it almost always did) we would be fairly ok. Those tent pegs are far more common than any other style here still, and any dryness, rock or root will totally do a number on them in moments LMAO
