What is a PU rating?
You may notice the letters PU before or after a given waterproof rating. These letters indicate that a polyurethane waterproof coating has been applied to the inside of the tent fabric.
Is 1500mm waterproof good?
There’s no internationally recognised standard of what specific rating ‘waterproof’ is, but 1500mm is widely accepted as being the minimum to be deemed waterproof and able to handle most rain conditions.
Is 5000mm waterproof enough?
If you are out for a day in the mountains, you should look for your main waterproof to be rated 5000mm or higher, and most good waterproofs will be around 10,000mm, the highest being around 20,000mm for the wettest conditions. A lower rating means the water will eventually get through if the rain is heavy.
How waterproof is 1500mm hydrostatic head?
Water is poured into the tube until the fabric allows water to leak through. At this point the height of the water is measured in millimetres. The resulting measurement is the HH. So a tent made from fabric which leaked at 1500mm is half as waterproof as one which leaked at 3000mm.
Does PU coating wear off?
Also, these PU Coatings will wear off over time; anywhere between 5-15 years depending on the use and care of the product. To extend the life of the PU Coating, always store backpacks in well ventilated areas and take care of these PU Coated products as you would anything valuable.
What does hydrostatic head 3000mm mean?
A tent made from 3000mm HH (Hydrostatic Head) can keep you perfectly dry for most camping in the UK. You could buy a tent that has 10,000mm HH though but still get wet. That’s because Hydrostatic Head is only one factor in a tent’s design. The seams where the tent fabric has been stitched together need to be good.
What does waterproof to 2000mm mean?
If a garment is 2,000mm waterproof this means the fabric can withstand 2,000mm of water over a day before water will start to penetrate through. The minimum standard for a jacket to be waterproof is 1,500mm so a jacket with a waterproof rating of 2,000mm would be suitable for moderate rain.
What does 15k waterproof mean?
In that 15k/15k rating, the first number measures the waterproof rating. The “k” is thousands and the “mm” is millimeters. A 15k mm rating means that until you reach 15,000 millimeters of water, in a 1-inch diameter column, stacked on top of the fabric, the water will not penetrate the membrane.
Is 1500 HH good for a tent?
The recognised industry standard at which a tent is considered waterproof and suitable for summer camping is 1500 HH.
Is PU water resistant?
The short answer is yes, to a certain degree. There are several factors that make some polyurethanes more absorbent than others. Depending on the physical properties and material, thermoset polyurethanes can practically have zero water absorption compared to other known materials.