How To Take Care Of Your Zippers

When it comes to camping, the quality of tent zippers cannot be compromised. Imagine tucking in for the night after a very rainy day of camping, only to find that the tent zipper refuses to zip close and its teeth has come loose. Without a repair kit and replacement zipper on hand, the campers will soon be in for a very wet, cold, and windy night.

Its important to look for high quality and top grade zippers while choosing your tent. There are some which are simply not stable and can break because of pressure as they start to become rusty and tarnish due to the exposure of light. There are mainly two types of zippers,

1. Coil Zippers
2. Tooth zip, which is also known as the Vislon or “chunky” zip

How to Take Care of Tent Zippers

• Always keep the tent and its zippers free from grit and dirt. After using the tent, shake it out to remove the dust and dirt, and wipe the zippers with a piece of cloth.
• Don’t force zippers if they refuse to budge. If fabric somehow gets caught in the teeth, gently work it out instead of pulling on it. The slider or coil can be easily damaged if the zipper is pulled too hard.
• Use zipper lubes so the tent can be zipped up smoothly and without snags. However, do take note that applying lube or any other grease-based product on the zipper makes it more prone to dirt and dust. Wipe and clean the zippers fairly regularly if lubrication is used.

Here are some tools to fix some of the problems:

A Set of Pliers

Normal pliers or tool like plass, will help fix the uneven teeth of the zipper. If you don’t really have the set of pliers needed to fix the zippers, then you can also use bi-scrip/locking tool to fix the teeth back which people normally prefer to have better grip.

Glue

Glue can basically help us fixing the torn out zipper from your tent, it increases the stability and shields the tent. The best glues which are available in the market right now are as follows:

1. Tear Mender TG06H Fabric and Leather Adhesive
2. Beacon FT4D Fabri-Tac Adhesive
3. Permatex Fabric Repair Kit 25247
4. Silnet Glue.

Lubricant/Oil/Crayon/Grease

Sometimes, the zippers get stuck in the middle and doesn't move back or forth.  A Lubricant/Oil/Crayon or Grease (anyone of these) can help smooth it out and keep the canvas tent zippers intact.

Spare Zippers or Zipper Parts

It’s important to keep spare zippers, just in case a zipper gets broken and you need to get rid of the insects and bugs.

Bit by Bit Process

Identify the problem: There might be various reasons due to which your zippers might not work properly. For example, stuck zippers, broken slider, and teeth that won't clinch are only some of these common issues. To resolve these problems you first need to understand what is causing your zipper not to work properly.

Apply lubricant: If your zipper is not working properly and it is getting caught, take a graphite pencil and rub it on the teeth of zipper. If this trick doesn’t work then you need to apply lubricant, which is not oil based. Also check the slider as sometimes it comes out which may cause it to stop clinching the tent's zipper teeth together.

Check stuck fabric in the zipper: Occasionally, you may discover that your zipper or slider is not working properly because of a piece of thread or cloth that is stuck in the zipper. When this thing happens, the first important thing to remember is to be gentle. This tip is important because you do not want to ruin your tent by creating any tears or rips. Pull your zipper to the direction where it is going from where it is stuck, and pull the fabric in the opposite direction.

Properly position the locking pliers: Make sure you use locking pliers when they are in locked position. Use the screw adjustment, when closing on the zipper slider. Be careful when clamping the zipper slider. Ensure that you do not clamp the zipper fabric or zipper pulls. Remove the pliers and slightly tighten the screw adjustment. A 1/8th or 1/16th of a turn would be enough. Remember to apply the slightest pressure possible to both sides of your zipper slipper when re-applying it.

Clamp down the locking mechanism, after you place the locking pliers again to its right position on the zipper slider. Make sure that the locking pliers lock moderately as you clamp down. On both sides, press the zipper slider using the same setting before you change anything. You may need to do a few tries using successively tighter settings on your locking pliers, but rest assured that your tent zipper will zip properly again.

Determine if the slider needs replacement: Zipper will not be able to work if the slider is broken. So if in case this happens ensure that you have another slider to fix your tent zipper.

To replace the slider, firstly locate the broken zipper and then remove the zipper stops with the help of pair of pliers. Pull down the zipper slider to detach it from the zipper till the point where it starts. Next you will have to put the top at the top and bottom and use the pliers to crimp the bottom and top stop. To make sure that it works fine, slide the zipper up and down. Lastly, apply some glue on the zipper's bottom.

When you are buying the outdoor shelter, quality of the zippers is very important to check as it is the crucial factor before making the purchase.

Ways to make your zipper lasts longer

Here are some quick tips that will not surely prevent your zipper from early damage.

Never force your zipper: which means don’t over stuff your tent as this will put weight on zipper especially when closing the tent. Never force your zipper that is stuck, instead do it gently, hold the zipper’s track using your one hand and back the slider up. Free the stuck textile by sliding  the zipper from one side to the other.

Regularly clean your zippers: Without proper maintenance your tent zipper will less likely live longer especially when it continuously accumulates dirt and grit between its zippers. Regularly clean your zipper as it takes a very less time to clean it and remove all impurities that accumulate into the teeth which may impede the free movement of your zipper.

Sea salt can be one of the destructive elements to your tent zippers, so make sure that you do the cleaning after your tent gets near to the sea. Use cool and fresh water when rinsing your tent zippers.

Lubricate the zipper: This tip is one of most effective ways of prolonging the lifespan of your tent zipper. Zippers also deserve to have healthy teeth and body, so go an extra mile in taking care of it by applying a dry grease on zipper tracks and post ends. While applying lubricant is generally helpful, it is also important to take the type of lubricant into account if you decide to use one. Manufacturers have come up with several products which they design specifically for outdoor gears, and these items are what typically works best for your tent zippers. Some campers, hikers, and backpackers do not recommend the use of wax as this lubricant may cause dirt to get stuck in the zipper while scented wax has the tendency to attract bugs and other insects.

Greasing your tent zippers up is a great way to protect your gears. Greasing up the tent zippers is one effective way to keep them running. Before applying any lubricant, make sure you have cleaned the zipper because you want to avoid catching any dirt in your tent zipper. You may have also come across various zipper lubricant products. You may use pastels or powdered graphite. Others use beeswax which they can soften using a hairdryer or a heat gun to make it quick-to-apply whereas some people prefer using Teflon-Silicone Lubricant which allows easy handling of the tent zipper.

How To Keep Your Cash And Other Valuable Safe At Festivals.

How To Keep Your Cash And Other Valuable Safe At Festivals.

In UK, festival season strikes very commonly, which now upon us and it’s time to have that last minute packing panic. It’s very ordinary to worry about losing your valuables in the mud, to thieves and through drunken antics.

Luckily, theft is very rare at festivals, only handful will fall victim to theft out of around 10,000 people. Opportunities are everywhere, as a festival-goer you should make it difficult for thieves to get these opportunities to get to you. Here are our tips & tricks on how to keep your valuables safe at music festivals.

How To Deter Tent Thieves

Most of the people who attend festivals, their primary motive of it is to have fun and enjoy with family and friends, due to which tent theft is really rare at festivals. However opportunities are everywhere. Leaving cash or valuable in your tents is not a good idea, it’s much safer to keep them on your person. Padlocking your tent might seem like an effective security measure, but it is actually the opposite. It notify thieves that there must be something worth stealing thus padlocking your tent is not advisable.

Spread Everything Out

Don’t make it easy for the thieves to come in your tent and just swipe a bag and run by keeping stuff in organized way. Rather leave your tent in a complete mess and spread your valuables in different places. For example keep some cash in your wash, some in your socks, some in your pillowcase, some in a bag of dirty clothes, etc, which will lessen the chances of losing all the valuables.

Make Friends With Your Neighbors

Once you are done with placing your tent at your desired location, make sure to get yourself introduce with your neighbors and become friends with them as soon as possible, which will make your trip more excited and will be helpful for security. If there is any suspicious person standing near your tent or your neighbor’s tent so you can ask them some friendly questions and tell him that you are doubtful. Your tent can do same for you in your absence.

Don’t be smug

People usually go back to their tents late night in a drunken state, taking out their clothes and throwing it anywhere in a tent. When they wake up in morning they are not able to find their clothes and as well as their ID cards, electronic gadgets and other valuables. In order to avoid this, ensure that you keep all your valuable safely before sleeping. Same goes for handbags or backpacks, empty them before you go to sleep and also when you go in huge crowd make sure to keep your belongings in front pocket of your bags or in some hidden pockets of your bags to keep them safe from thieves.

“Sorry! Wrong Tent!”

This actually happens a lot, maybe it’s a genuine mistake, but who knows. Imagine yourself waking up in morning and seeing a stranger sleeping in your tent or some stranger disturbs your sleep by trying to climb inside. If a tent owner wakes up, stranger will just say “SORRY” and will move to other potential victim. It is because usually people buys tents from local stores where there is sale on tents, which increase the provision of having same tents and then facing such kind of issues.

To avoid such problem you should put a unique flag outside your tent or keep a torch close to you while sleeping, so if someone tries to step in you can shine this on his/her face and signal them to move out.

Other ways to protect valuables

·         Get insurance for your valuable if it is so much important for you.

·         Report all incidents to the police about the stolen item so they might help you finding your asset.

·         Check the festival’s lost property policy as festival will likely have lost property policy, many items are recovered and returned to their owner.

Get Creative

You can attach something noisy with your zips inside the tent, such as empty beer cans, which can be attach through strings using ring pulls, working like a makeshift intruder alarm, so if someone tries to enter it make loud enough noise to wake you or deter an intruder.

You can also keep bottles outside your tent door under the mats provided by white duck outdoors along with tents, so if in case someone try to enter in the tent these bottle will make sound that will alert you before he/she steals your valuable.

How to clean a Tent

How To Clean A Tent?

Canvas camping tents are very elastic and make exotic shelters for camping trips. Over the time, you might see filth on your tent, your tent will show grime from your camping adventures but a little care from your side will keep your tent fresh and clean.  The good news is that canvas tents are easy to clean with the help of a few common household tools. Follow the simple steps below.

Step 1 - Remove Dust from Your Tent

You can easily clean dust from your canvas camping tents, if your canvas camping tent has accumulated lots of dust, dirt, and debris. Starting with unfolding your tent and aggressively shaking it to remove as much dust as possible and then lay the unfurled tent on a clean surface. Attach the stick brush with your vacuum cleaner and proceed to thoroughly vacuum the tent, paying special attention to any exceptionally dust-laden areas, corners, and storage pockets, as there are very high chances for Bugs to be there. In case you don’t have vacuum cleaner or forgot to take it you can use a Dust buster, or a broom and dustpan in its place.

Step 2 - Remove Mold and Mildew from Your Tent

Once you are done with cleaning dust from the tent, separate the canvas tent canopy from the floor of the tent. You will wash the floor separately. You can leave the guy-lines on if they are dirty, just remember they must also be retreated in the end to prevent UV damage. If there are mold or mildew deposits on your canvas tent, you can effectively clean it with an easy-to-make homemade cleaning solution. (Read our blog on how to clean mold or mildew from a tent). To make this solution, combine ¼ cup of white wine vinegar and 1 cup of water. Combine the elements inside an empty spray bottle and jiggle it thoroughly. Spray your cleaning solution onto any mold or mildew-infested areas and allow it to sit for few minutes. Then you can wipe away any mold and mildew deposits with a sponge, paper towel, scrub brush, or washcloth. Continue to repeat this process until your canvas tent has been completely purged of mold and mildew.

Once you are done with removing all the traces of growth from the floor of tent, take a second empty spray bottle and fill it with warm water, which is healthy for cleaning the tent, and use it to rinse off your cleaning solution. Immediately use dry cloth or paper towel to dry the freshly cleaned area.

Step 3 - Remove Stains from Your Tent

You need to give your canvas camping tent a full wash, if it is exceptionally filthy and covered in stains. To perform this, fill a very large container with about 1 foot (30cm) of warm water. Add various cups of Ox clean and use your best judgment on how much to use vs. how dirty the tent is and reference the suggestions on the box. Stir thoroughly until the solution is dissolved completely. Warm water dissolves the solution better than cold water. Place the tent canvas (not the floor) in the container and fill it with water until the tent is submerged. Stir and agitate thoroughly so the solution is well mixed and the canvas is soaking evenly. Allow the tent to marinate for 4-10 hours, stirring occasionally. It’s OK to leave it soaking overnight if you need to. Place you tent on to clean surface to allow it to get dry and then clean it like a kitchen floor. Sweep it, mop it and rinse it. Repeat the process of soaking several times to make sure it’s completely clean then spread the canvas out on top of your clean tent floor and pitch it. You can also pitch the floor on top of your car, then place the canvas on top of that to assist with run off. Don’t put the canvas directly on your car because Ox clean can strip clear coat. Always allow your tent to dry completely after a camping trip and any cleaning. If you let the water stay for too long, the moisture could cause more mold and mildew to form. The best way to dry every area of your canvas tent is to set it up and allow it to air dry.

With a little TLC and a few basic ingredients, your clean tent will allow you years of camping enjoyment.

How to keep Bugs away from Your Tent

How to Keep Bugs Away from Your Tent

What can change your trip from a living heaven to living hell? “BUGS”…

These bugs and other outdoor pests can make your camping a living hell. If you are a fan of great outdoors, you probably know from your experience that how these tiny insects can ruin even the most idyllic camping location with the noises they make or the bites they deliver to you. Luckily, you are not helpless in the face of these little demons. Don’t be discourage from setting up camp exactly where you want by a handful of insects. Just follow the instructions in this article to keep bugs away from your tent, and you will be able to enjoy pest-free outdoor experience of “Cold Air in Dark Night with Warm Fires and Bright Stars”. Read on to find out more.

First, make sure all the equipment you are carrying with you for camping is in good working order before you head out. Carefully check your tent, set up your tent in the backyard, for any places from where the bugs could get in, small holes, or maybe the zip is broken leaving gaps. If you find any such areas, repair them -patch the holes, fix a snagged zipper by lubricating with oil to see if that will release it.

Secondly, once you are out in wild choose the location for your campsite wisely. Places which are prone to insect infestations- such as those with standing water (a literal breeding ground for mosquitoes), lots of vegetation (a source of shelter for the same), or the presence of utility light poles (bugs are attracted to light)- do “Avoid” them. Next look for the natural features of your environment that are within your control, which means you do such activities in which you can prevent bugs gathering around your tent. For example, keep the dustbins away from your tent or don’t eat inside your tent as the smell of food can attract bugs. Don’t leave your cooking stuff unwashed and make sure you store your food in either plastic or airtight container. Similarly, as mentioned above, bugs are attracted towards light, try not to use torches, lanterns, and sources of artificial light away from the door of your tent.

These are the “DO IT YOURSELF” methods for deterring bugs during your outdoor adventures. Here are some necessary things which you should carry with yourself when u r going for camping and expecting an insect free zone. First, take along a good insect repellent - most of the commercial ones are very effective, yet also contain DEET, a chemical thought by some to be toxic to humans. If you don't want to expose yourself to this substance, then try one of the all-natural home-made ones - there are lots of recipes out there on the internet, so do your own research. In many of these 'natural' bug sprays, substances like eucalyptus oil are the active ingredient - so not only are they effective in shielding you from mosquitoes, they also make you smell good. Citronella candles are another good option here. Some outdoors men will even go to the lengths of hanging garlic and onions upon their tents as it is thought to keep the insects away! A final pointer: wear insect repellent clothing, i.e. if the climate permits, choose thickly woven long sleeve shirts and pants, with thick woolen socks and heavy boots. On the other hand, if it's really hot, this won't be an option: fortunately, though, there are special clothes you can purchase that have insect repellent within their fabric, and that are said to work well in deterring bugs.

How to Manage a Breathable Canvas Tent

We have combined our accumulated experience and believe in the philosophy “truth is in the details” with innovation today in textile manufacturing to produce tents that exceed our customer’s expectation.

We use an Army Duck Cotton Canvas 10.10 Oz, 100% Cotton with a high-density weave structure. Our Canvas Tent fabric has UV, Anti-Mildew & Waterproofing agent saturated throughout the canvas before manufacturing so even after wear and tear it will still provide a waterproof barrier.

We achieve a high value of hydro-static water head creating a waterproof canvas that minimizes condensation build up. The canvas tents’ structure of cotton allows moisture to pass through and at the same time provide a barrier to water droplets.

We also offer a range of Flame Retardant finish meeting CPAI 84 USA Outdoor Camping Standard.

Understanding the Water Proof
Our canvas tents are manufactured from waterproof and water repellent fabrics. However, with the addition of seams, zips and other desirable features for camping, hunting, recreation, glamping tent cannot be as waterproof as a car, house or other solid structures.

Following are the common examples of how water can enter a camping/glamping tent. Hence, corrective actions and notes to consider are:

Condensation
When warm moist air meets cooler air, condensation of water gas into water liquid occurs. The tent walls and roof form an impermeable layer between the inside and outside climatic conditions. The moisture inside the tent condenses on the canvas fabric and water droplets are formed. Sometimes these water droplets build up to appear that the fabric is leaking when in fact the cause is condensation. Condensation can be reduced if the tent is well ventilated to reduce the buildup of warm moist air on the ceiling.

Zips
All care is taken in the canvas tents’ design to cover zips with storm flaps or position them where water will not flow. At times wind driven rain could force water under the flaps and through the zips. To minimize this, ensure all doors and windows are closed with flaps securely covering the zip wherever possible. If the ground is very wet or water pools under the floor, then the downward pressure of standing or kneeling on the floor can draw water through minute wear holes in the floor fabric or where there are joins in the floor fabric. To prevent this, do not set up the tent in hollows and make sure water drains away from the tent site.

Structural Integrity
A well set-up cotton canvas tent on level ground is structurally strong and most waterproof. During periods of prolonged rain and wind it may be necessary to tighten and adjust the frame, pegs and guy ropes as well as making sure any groundwater is flowing away from the campsite. A sagging roof or awning weakens the tent structure and could allow water to collect on the roof causing leakage, structural damage, and fabric tears.

Wet Tents
A Water & Mildew Canvas Tent will definitely survive the test of nature in the great outdoors. However, there is a certain element of extra care a camper needs to undertake to ensure the tent performs over the years. Never pack a soiled or wet tent. Make sure the tent is dry and dusted prior to packing it back.
 Cotton tents, if packed in airtight bags will cause the microorganism to grow on it.

 Hence, the practice of ensuring the above mentioned key points is mandatory.