Hilleberg Floor Delaminating?

[Psamathe]

There were some white marks on the floor of my Rogen (yellow label) which I'd assumed was toothpaste and I got round to gently wiping with a moist tissue and the coating came away.

There are a few other smaller white marks but I'm not planning on wiping them as they are the same as the one above was (i.e it's mot just one mark but all in dame area of floor.

Purchased 2019 but pandemic has meant just 6 weeks actual use.

Tent only had 6 weeks use and has a footprint. Is this normal/repairable/an issue Hilleberg should address/etc.

Any thoughts on what I should/can do?

Thanks
Ian

[simonineaston]

Yikes! I'm going to guess but it does look there's something foreign on the material - how it's contributed to the breakdown is harder to tell. Given the way it's coming off, I don't think you have much to lose by approaching either the retailer, or else the maker and asking for assistance. The worst that can happen is they both tell you they won't help.

[Psamathe]

... I'm going to guess but it does look there's something foreign on the material - how it's contributed to the breakdown is harder to tell. ...

The bit that looks like something on the material is a rubbery film, the coating where it has detached from the fabric. If I put a finger on it and drag a little it stretches (I've not moved far as it will likely just pull more of the coating off.

nb always been put away dry. Used for only two trips, one for a month and currently 2 weeks into a trip.

Thanks
Ian

[slowster]

I had a pair of Karrimor panniers which similarly delaminated, but only after something like two decades. Only six weeks' use suggests either a manufacturing defect or contact with a fairly powerful solvent, but I cannot think what you might use in a tent that would contain such a solvent.

I guess the first thing to do is email the UK retailer and see what they say. Please let us know what the eventual outcome is.

[Neil Wheadon]

Contact your retailer (hopefully you bought it from a shop)
Failing that contact Hilleberg. We had a failure 22 years ago during a world trip after 3 months if memory serves me right and they sent a replacement. Subsequent tents (we've had 3) have all been fine
Neil

[Psamathe]

I've had some e-mail correspondence with Hilleberg. They wanted some more (reasonable/sensible) details.

Even though tent purchased (from retailer, new) 3 years ago, their attitude "this shouldn't happen to our tents" and they are going to replace the floor (using their UK repair agent).

Tent is working fine so things are on hold until I get back from current tour when they say to contact them to progress the repair.

Very helpful company, very easy to deal with, no need for any "strong words", just problem and they're sorting it. Good company to deal with (particularly after my "other end of the spectrum" for a catastrophic failure of my MSR tent 3 months after buying new).

Thanks everybody for the input.

Ian

[simonineaston]

Excellent news! Thanks for letting us know.

[Neil Wheadon]

It's why we bought 3 more and continue to recommend the company
Neil

[horizon]

"this shouldn't happen to our tents"

Ian

It absolutely shouldn't happen to their tents (or anyone else's for that matter). But what we are talking about here is a materials failure, not a manufacturing failure. No matter how well Hilleberg make their tents (in their factory in Estonia for those who are interested) and how good their designs are, they can be let down by an issue with the fabric itself.

There is lots of good information on their website here:
https://hilleberg.com/eng/about-our-ten ... facturing/ including information about their testing and inspection.

But I haven't so far been able to glean who makes their fabric and where it comes from. I had an old Vango Force Ten that had a flysheet that delaminated and another (Aquatite) where the groundsheet delaminated and I reckon other makes like Saunders suffered from fabric failure too. I'm fairly sceptical about modern synthetic fabrics especially those with a very high technical specification such as Goretex and while things are no doubt much better today, it seems it isn't all over yet.

I reckon Hilleberg wil be very curious to know what went wrong and if it is a generic failure, they may have hundreds of tents to replace and a legal battle with whichever factory (assuming it isn't their own) in the Far East produced it.

Do keep us informed. If it is something that resulted from a foreign agent so to speak, then that might explain things. If not, then Hilleberg's commitment to quality might also produce some interesting results.

[simonineaston]

Hilleberg make their tents (in their factory in Estonia for those who are interested)

I went through a phase of sending occasional postcards to one Emma, who I know from the signed off QC tag, made my Nallo... after I sold it, I stopped sending them.

[Sweep]

Hilleberg make their tents (in their factory in Estonia for those who are interested)

I went through a phase of sending occasional postcards to one Emma, who I know from the signed off QC tag, made my Nallo... after I sold it, I stopped sending them.

Sounds rather intents.
You might get in trouble for that sort of thing these days.