The weekend had lots of steady rain and the tent leaked :( First one side above the door started with slow drops falling, then the other door, then another leak further back into the tent. The drips were from the seems over the top of the tent. I thought it was leaking when I was in Woolomin, but as I had the vents open, wasn't certain if the water was from that or not. Another possibility at the time was from my raincoat - I had been in and out a few times. Decided not to worry about it then, and wait until we had more rain to check.
Well the weekends rain made it clear that it was leaking. I have an Exped, 2 person, Auriga Mesh tent. Well had. Called Mountain Equipment in Sydney, and talked with Heather. the tent is 6 months old. Considering that I've only been using it the last 6 weeks - that's not much use yet. Heather said they have never had problems with these tents, so she thinks this may be faulty. I posted the rain fly back to Sydney yesterday. Exped has a 5 year warrenty.
So, in the mean time, I have a 3 person tent from Barbeques Galore. It cost me the pricely sum of $49. I also bought a green poly tarp from Bunnings just in case. The 3 person is more roomy, not as ventilated, but so far, has kept the rain off.
The tarp is also for covering the tent when the sun is out - if I'm not moving. Tents don't like the sun - and all of them have warnings about prolonged UV exposure. So if I'm in a spot that is very sunny and am not moving for a while, then I'll cover the tent with the tarp.
For the moment I'll stay in Barraba a bit longer, but thinking its getting time to move on.
