If you’re familiar with Black Diamond’s ultralight tents (such as the Firstlight, Hilight, or Oneshot), you’re probably aware of the controversy surrounding Epic™ fabric.

Nobody really knows how waterproof (or not) Epic actually is. And you can probably find reports all across the internet with people arguing either that Epic fabric is highly water-resistant—or not water-resistant at all.

So, with unexpected rain hitting the Southland, I thought I’d rig a new Oneshot outside my apartment and see what happens.

Hopefully, it will rain all day. That, plus the high humidity will make an excellent test of Epic’s ability to keep you dry in the wild. Stay tuned.

Update (4/22): Well, it looks like the mystery will remain unsolved, for now. We didn’t get enough rain to make any definitive statements on Epic’s waterproofness.

After about an hour and half of moderate but steady rain, the tent remained completely dry inside. The fabric showed no sign of becoming waterlogged—it was well-protected by the water-repellant coating on the exterior.

To make things a little more challenging, I did not seam-seal the tent. At least within this timeframe, I saw no evidence of water leaking through the unsealed seams.

I’d still like to repeat this test with a big Pacific storm: 24 hours of heavy rain, high humidity, and wind.

No one is recommending you use an Epic-fabric tent beside a stormy ocean. But I figure you won’t ever encounter conditions in the mountains that are any wetter. And I’m still curious how long the tent’s water-resistance would hold up.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 20th, 2007 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Gear. So There.