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On the other hand I've seen plenty of cheap wal-mart tents that leak. most cheap tents (and actuallymost expensive tents too!) leak out of box, unless they are waterproofed and seam sealed. This means, after you buy it, before you go out, set it up, and run seam sealer over all the seams - then spray it down with a good tent waterproofer such as nikwax.


Since this is the beginners forum it might be worthwhile to point out that most high-quality tents these days (other than silnylon types) are seam-sealed already, and little if any further sealing is necessary. Likewise, when new, they have a DWR already. The pre-trip setup-and-make-sure is still a good idea, though.