The short answer: pitch on the highest ground you can find, put a groundsheet under the tent but tucked inside its footprint, keep the inner tent from touching the flysheet, never store wet clothing inside, and open a vent even when it's raining. Most "leaks" are actually condensation.
British festivals and rain have a long and well-documented relationship. The good news is that staying dry has far more to do with where and how you pitch than with how much you spent on the tent. A £40 tent pitched well will beat a £200 tent pitched badly every time.
Choose your pitch carefully
Water flows downhill and collects in dips. That lovely flat hollow that nobody has taken is empty for a reason – it will be a pond by Saturday. Walk further into the campsite and look for a gentle slope or a rise.
- Go slightly uphill, and sleep with your head at the higher end.
- Avoid the bottom of any slope, and avoid ground that is already spongy underfoot.
- Look at the grass. Lush, dark green grass and rushes mean the ground stays wet.
- Avoid pitching directly under trees. They keep the first shower off but then drip for hours afterwards, and branches come down in wind.
- Check what is uphill of you. A path or track above your pitch will funnel water straight through your camp.
Pitch it properly
Take the extra ten minutes. It pays for itself.
- Peg out the flysheet tight. A slack flysheet sags, touches the inner tent, and water wicks straight through the contact point. This is the single most common cause of a "leaking" tent.
- Use every guy line. They are not decorative – they hold the fly away from the inner and stop the whole thing flapping in wind.
- Angle your pegs at about 45 degrees away from the tent, pushed fully into the ground.
- Point the smallest end into the wind if you can work out which way it's blowing.
Get the groundsheet right
An extra groundsheet or footprint under the tent protects the sewn-in floor from stones and stops damp rising. But it must be smaller than the tent's footprint, or tucked under so no edge sticks out. An overhanging groundsheet acts as a gutter, collecting rain running off the flysheet and channelling it neatly underneath you.
Inside, a cheap foam roll mat does double duty: it insulates you from the cold ground and lifts your sleeping bag clear of any moisture that does appear.
Understand condensation
A sleeping adult gives off around half a litre of moisture overnight. In a sealed tent that has to go somewhere, and it condenses on the inside of the flysheet, then drips. People wake up with wet patches and blame the tent.
- Open the vents, even in rain. That is what they are for.
- Leave a door slightly unzipped at the top if your tent has no vents.
- Never dry clothes inside the sleeping compartment. Hang them in the porch or on a guy line.
- Don't touch the flysheet from the inside when it's wet, and keep bags and bedding away from the walls.
Manage mud and wet kit
Once mud gets inside, everything stays damp. Set up a system on day one and stick to it.
- Keep a bin bag or cheap doormat just inside the porch as a boot zone. Wellies come off there, never in the sleeping area.
- Pack a dry bag or two large freezer bags. Phone, charger, spare socks and a dry hoodie live in those, sealed, all weekend.
- Carry a small pack of wet wipes to clean off legs and feet before you get into your sleeping bag.
- If it has rained all day, shake the flysheet from inside in the morning to knock the water off before the sun hits it.
What to do when it really does rain
If you wake up to standing water, don't panic and don't start digging trenches – most festivals prohibit it and it damages the land. Instead:
- Lift everything off the floor onto chairs, cool boxes or the top of your rucksack.
- Move to a better pitch if there's space. It is far less effort than a second bad night.
- Check your guy lines. Wet fabric stretches, so tents that were tight at teatime are slack by midnight.
- Head into the arena. It's warmer, drier under the tents and far more fun than sitting in a wet field.
Packing down a wet tent
You will almost certainly pack up wet. That's fine as long as you deal with it quickly. Bag the tent separately from your clothes, and when you get home put it up in a garden or spread it across a bannister within twenty-four hours. A wet tent left bagged for a week will grow mould and the waterproof coating will delaminate – that is what ruins tents, not the rain itself.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to re-waterproof a new tent?
No, but older tents benefit from a spray-on reproofer once a season, especially on the flysheet seams.
Is a pop-up tent a bad idea?
They are fine in dry weather and quick to put up, but they usually have shallower flysheets and fewer guy points, so they cope poorly with wind and driving rain.
Should I bring a tarp?
A cheap tarp strung between your tent and a couple of poles gives you a dry place to sit and to leave boots. It is one of the best value items you can take.
Why is my tent wet inside when it hasn't rained?
Condensation. Increase ventilation and keep damp clothing out of the sleeping compartment.
