Older rainfly needing treatment

[Autumn]

I have an older REI Quarter Dome tent that its rain fly is sticky. Would treating it with weather proofing help it or is it past its usability at this point?

[REI-JenK]

@Autumn thanks for the question! Sticky tent/rainfly material is fairly common over time and unfortunately doesn't have a surefire solution. Here's an article from Outside magazine with some tips on how to try to "fix" a sticky rainfly - we see mixed results in removing the stickiness and often the success of any treatment will likely depend on the severity of the stickiness and the age of the tent/rainfly.

[Autumn]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

[Philreedshikes]

I have an older quarter dome as well, and experienced the same thing.  I was able to lay it out in the sun which fixed most of this, I think I may have sprayed it with a garden hose in the backyard.

After which I sprayed it down with a can of waterproofing from walmart.  I took it out of storage for a backpacking trip to iceland last summer (2019).

the tent is heavier than my others, but extremely durable, so it got the 'nod' to travel.

here's some pix of it in action.

https://youtu.be/YkOgDHadfjQ

https://youtu.be/mIjs3VGcFho

[Autumn]

@Philreedshikes Thank you.

[mailforbiz]

I have the same issue with my quarter dome UL- sticky and flaking all over . Took it to REI and the associate recommended I use a sealant + waterproofing spray on rainfly and tent after thoroughly cleaning it with water/soap to remove the delamination. I did that (using Solarproof spray and a sealant bought from REI) and tried the tent over the weekend during a camping trip. Tent got really wet in a downpour . I’d like to think I did a decent job of spraying/sealing it so conclusion for me is  the tent is basically gone. Really sad