I had no new gear on the South Cumberland hike but I did have an issue with my Rainbow. This was the first time it had been in the rain so I was anxious to see how it would preform. I put it up around 3pm on Friday, it rained overnight to some degree but I couldn't say how much the rain woke me up three times but I slept very well so I don't know if the rain was constant or intermittent. Beginning around 11am Saturday it rained very steady until 3pm. We got a few hours break and then it started up again about 6:30pm. The rain kept up steady but light all night.Around 4am I woke up feeling light mist hitting my face! I got my headlamp on and couldn't see any leaks so off it went. Another minute later there it goes again just a light little mist on my face. OK, light back on and now I look around some more and see there is water droplets on my sleeping bag...my down sleeping bag. This is not good. So I get my bandanna and wipe it all off and check the seams again and they seem to be holding out just fine so I lay back down with my light and wait. Sure enough after a minute when enough rain drops hit there is a little mist that sprinkles down on me.
It's like the fabric has finally become saturated and the pressure from the rain drops pushed a bit of water through the tightly woven fabric. There wasn't much to do except pull out my extra garbage bags and drape them over the sleeping bag to keep the down from soaking. I don't think it would have though it was such a small amount coming in but I didn't want to carry a sodden, heavy bag back. After posting my problem on backpackinglight.com message boards it seems this is an issue with single wall tents you just have to plan for and live with. So I may look into an ultralight tarp or maybe a sleeping bag cover to have just in case I know rain is in the forecast.
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