As he unpacks his tent pulls out the instructions on top of the Aberdeen Plateau, where we are setting up camp for the night and reads, “Before using tent, use waterproof applicant to seal seams” ahhhhh! Lucky for Lonnie, it never rained enough to pool the water in his tent.

I never realized that I had to waterproof a new tent until my family and I went camping at Bear Lake a few years ago. Luckily our friends brought towels.  It took most of them to soak up the pool of water that was covering one third of the tent floor. The seams on the bottom of the tent leaked the worst.  All the rain drained down the tent side of the tent and right through the little holes that are made in the seam when the sides and bottom of the tent are sewed together.

I picked up a little bottle of waterproof gunk that you dab onto the seams.  Since I used the waterproofing product,  it hasn’t rained on our family camping expeditions so I am not sure if it worked or not. ….I hope we never find out.

Enjoy your camping this long weekend and don’t forget to waterproof your tents. If you purchase more expensive tents, they may be waterproofed already. Prio to the tnet purchase would be a good time to read the label or ask one of your local outdoor store reps like Don at AG Outdoor Superstore.