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I spent Monday night in a Cimarron, without a stove, at just over 8000 feet. The temperatures were in the mid to upper thirties and there were two of us in the Cimarron. Around midnight an intense thunderstorm hit. The Cimarron handled the storm like a champ, but the top of my quilt, and my friend's sleeping bag, did get a little wet. In addition, we both felt a slight mist on our faces. In the morning we discussed the Cimarron's performance and the possible reasons why there was a bit of water in the shelter. I believe the water was from condensation being knocked off the walls of the Cimarron by the wind and rain. However, my friend believes the water was due to rain passing through the shelter. The Cimarron is seam sealed and neither of us noticed any drips, or excess water, along the seams.

Any thoughts?

-Condensation -

A reality of single wall sinylon shelters in high humidity situations such as heavy and sustained rain. I have experienced the same in my Red Cliff and other single wall 4 season shelters. I just got back from an 8 night trip with some rainy days and nights however my SXL stove kept most of the condensation at bay a dried gear out quickly. I never observed what I felt was a penetration of the precipitation through the shelter or seams at any time even during some extreme weather. I did have some blow under and into the peak vent during very high winds but would characterize it as minor. My wife generally rolls her eyes at me when I pack the stove in the summer months until we experience heavy rain and condensation. She is always happy when things are dry and warm regardless of ambient temperature.

When temperatures are below 40 degrees it is difficult to get enough ventilation to negate condensation while providing shelter from precipitation. The cooler temps make natural evaporation much slower so any heating of ambient temperature will help. There are many ways to do this but the most efficient is to have a stove.

Condensation being knocked off known as misting . I dislike it as much as anyone but the only resolution is either a liner or nest or a drying heat source .


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FWIW I rarely use liners but I'll sometimes have something to throw over my bag if that happens . A sheet of tyvek works , a rain jacket can help .


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Understood. Thank you for the explanation.

There are two options here: one is condensation being knocked off the walls by the rain hitting the outside the shelter. This is unavoidable if there is condensation on the inside of your shelter. The second option is actual water coming through the silnylon itself. Silnylon is just over the edge of being waterproof anyways and there is some variation in the coating process. Some manufactures (not Seek Outside) are known to use sub par silnylon and I have personally experienced misting through silnylon on at least two shelters where it was not condensation. I have also used some silnylon shelters that have not experienced this.

I haven't used a Seek Outside shelter, so I can't comment on the Cimarron specifically, and have been using Cuben shelters the past few years.