My lovely Soulpad just blew down!

[MrsMellowDrummer]

It was pitched in the garden to dry out, but we weren't sleeping in it... We've had very high winds and rain overnight, but I'm still amazed! The a-frame at the front has been blown out of shape (sobs!) - am hoping I'll be able to get a new one from Soulpad... Also the whole think is sopping wet, and it's waterlogged inside too. Do I need to re-waterproof it now? Has this happened to anybody else? I'm guessing my pitching was probably at fault - had used very weedy little pegs!

So sad for my lovely lovely tent...

Oh my goodness I'm so sorry for you! I thought bell tents were great for bad conditions. If you were using the pegs that came with it I think you should ask Soulpad for the replacement part.

You poor thing xx

Oh no. Poor you. Poor tent. Those weedy little wire pegs are a pile o shite if it's windy. Are they what came supplied with the tent?
If the tent is fairly new you shouldn't have to reproof it, just dry it out really carefully.

Poor you... but just be thankful it happened now and not halfway through a fortnight's holiday in France or something. At least you should have time to repair it and get better pegs before you use it again.

Did you use the larger pegs that come with it for the guy ropes? I've had my Soulpad up in windy conditions and the only time a peg was blown out was when I pitched it on waterlogged ground so that there was basically nothing holding the peg down.
I've always been amazed by how weather proof my tent is.

I don't think you should need to re-proof it - I've had mine rained on a lot and it hasn't leaked yet :)

I can only suggest that you put it back up and mop it out inside. Good luck.

Thanks all... Yes, it was (mainly) the pegs that came with it, but I'd used the teeny ones, not the big fat sensible ones. Didn't pitch it that carefully (foolishly) as in my head I was just drying it... And the ground it really damp and I guess the pegs just pinged out. I'm such a doofus.

Good to know I prob won't need to re-proof it. It's 3 years old, so I guess even if I do, it's done pretty well so far. And yes, Purple frog, you're right... better here than France!

It's sitting in a big heap in my kitchen at the mo - hoping for more clement weather tomorrow, and I'll try again...

I have dried mine inside before by draping it over a sofa and clothes horse - it took a couple of days. You could try that and also keep it near a radiator (if on ;))

We pitched ours at the top of a hill once, and came back after a day out to find it collapsed and the central pole bend double!

I rang the bell tent people (who we didn't actually buy it from) who were very helpful and said the poles are designed to give under great pressure because they're far cheaper to replace than the canvas, and if the pole didn't give, the canvas would have torn!

They'll replace the A-Frame for you no problem, I should imagine. They sent us a new pole but didn't send us one with the bedroom hoop (as I'd specified). When I rang to say we'd had to go camping and use slings to hold the bedroom up and was a tad annoyed, they sent us the right one straight away and told us to keep the old one as a spare - so I can definitely recommend Bell Tent UK as a helpful company