Free Delivery Over £50*

Tent Maintenance

Always make sure your tent is dry before packing it away to avoid damage from mildew and dampness. If you do not intend to use your tent for some time, the best thing to do is remove it from its bag, separate each component and store them in a dry place away from heat and direct sunlight. Ideally, loosely folding the flysheet and inners. It’s a good idea to re-lubricate zips and poles as necessary.

If your tent has been damaged during your trip we strongly suggest you return it to us for repair before storing it. This will mean your tent is ready to use the next time you go away.

Condensation is formed when the warm air inside the tent hits the relatively cool fabric of the tent. This warm air cannot escape through the waterproof fabric and moisture quickly builds up. Please take preventative measures, like ventilating your tent and storing wet stuff outside, to reduce or eradicate condensation. If you encounter water build up inside of your tent even though you’ve tried ways to prevent condensation, it may be that your tent is leaking.

To test for a leak, pitch the tent and apply water to the fabric using a hosepipe or watering can. If water penetrates through the seams or through the fabric itself you have a leaky tent. You can send the item to us for further inspection and repair.

We recommend using a tent cleaner e.g. Storm tent cleaner or pure soap to clean your tent or bivi bag. Wash the item in a bath or tub of warm water. Always rinse the tent/bivi and dry thoroughly in the shade. DO NOT use detergents to clean your tent/bivi as they may harm the proofing and NEVER machine wash or tumble dry your tent/bivi.

Over time, the coating on the outside of the flysheet will wear off and the fabric will lose its shine and stop beading raindrops. The easiest way to rejuvenate the fabric is to apply a spray-on reproof such as a reproofing product by Storm designed for use with lightweight nylon fabrics.

Mildew (identified by black marks and a mouldy smell) occurs when a tent/bivi is put away for storage when it is still damp. Mildew can cause permanent damage to the fabric and proofing because the microbes actually destroy the fibres in the fabric. Sponge the affected areas with a mild solution of disinfectant, then sponge with a general tent cleaner or soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly – DO NOT USE DETERGENTS. Please note that this will not remove the black marks. In severe cases of mildew, the only real solution is to replace the affected part of the tent/bivi with new fabric. To avoid mildew make sure your tent is thoroughly dry before storing, paying particular attention to webbing straps, zips and the shock cord in your poles as these take longer to dry.

Tent Repairs

Return the damaged parts to us for repair. Please mark the damaged area clearly to help speed the process up. We will then inspect the damage and contact you with a quote for repair (we won’t start any work without your go-ahead). If the damage is covered by our warranty, we will repair and return the product to you free of charge.

Each repair is different, therefore, we cannot give an exact quote until we have assessed the damage. If you return the damaged part of the tent, we will give you an exact quote for repair. A full list of estimated prices can be seen here.

We usually quote 3 working weeks for repairs. However, at busy times of the year (April to August) it can take longer. If you have a trip planned, we strongly recommend calling our customer services department on 01773 837387 before sending your tent to us, to check the estimated repair time.

Email our customer service team with a returns form. Please include a daytime telephone number. You do not necessarily need to send the whole tent back to us just the affected inner/flysheet/poles. We recommend using a traceable service such as Royal Mail recorded post, or a carrier like Parcelforce, UPS or DHL.

 

We do not recommend replacing pole sections in a broken pole, as there may be unforeseen damage to other sections of the pole, which could lead to your pole breaking again in the future. The safest option would be to replace the whole pole with a new one.

When purchasing a new replacement pole for your tent, it is important to make sure the pole specifications match the original pole specifications to be compatible with your model tent.

Guarantees

Our guarantee is only valid on products bought from our authorised resellers or from www.terra-nova.co.uk. Our Retail Partners list is regularly maintained but may still contain errors. If you are in any doubt about the validity of the retailer you are thinking of buying from please contact us beforehand.

Our guarantee is a Back to Base guarantee, which means you are responsible for the cost of returning it to us. Our advice is to return the tent to the retailer you purchased it from, as they are experienced in dealing with these issues and can offer excellent advice. If you bought your tent from our website, please read our Returns Policy for information and returns forms.

The lifetime of a product depends greatly on how your product is used and cared for. For example, a tent used at a high altitude for an expedition is likely to be passed its useful life by the end of that trip. However, irregular use and good maintenance can see a tent last for many years, but even then the fabrics and their coatings do degrade over time regardless of usage. A large factor in determining tent life can also be UV light exposure, especially when used at high altitudes. To reduce the effect of UV light, keep your tent cleaned and proofed with a Tent Cleaner and a separate re-proofer. Try to minimise exposure to sunlight by striking your camp, where possible, during the day.

The guarantee covers defects in materials and workmanship and extends to the first owner of the product. The guarantee excludes damage caused by wear and tear, including weathering, UV light degradation, storm damage, misuse, neglect, or accident.

No. Terra Nova tents and bivi bags are guaranteed for the lifetime of the product to the original owner. Wild Country tents and bivi bags are guaranteed to the original owner for 2 years. All other products are guaranteed for 1 year to the original owner.

Please note: Proof of purchase will be required for claims under guarantee and all guarantees are Back to Base so you are responsible for the cost of any return.

Products

The Trisar can only be pitched inner tent first, however, the inner fabric is proofed to greatly reduce water absorption if pitched in the rain. A tip we suggest is to knock any water off the inner, from inside the tent, once it is pitched to reduces the chance of leaking. As the pole sleeves are continuous, it is possible to pitch any inner first tent with the fly laid over the inner. Obviously, this can be difficult in windy conditions.

By sleeving the poles through the inner we can create more tension on the inner, which reduces the amount of saggy fabric to create more space. Also, with a tent sleeved through the fly, the inner can not add any strength to the overall structure. The outward force created by the poles in the inner opposes the tension from the flysheet when this is fitted over the tent. This combination creates a more rigid structure, better suited to poor weather.

If a tent has ‘compact’ in its name, it refers to its compact pack size of just 32x24cm, or smaller, making it a perfect tent for backpacking and bikepacking trips.

Fill power is a measure of the loft achieved by a fixed weight of down and there are several methods of determining this. The Lorch method is the current standard for testing loft in Europe and is the recommended standard of the International Down and Feather Laboratory, and is used by Terra Nova for this reason.

The greater the fill power, the greater the warmth for a given weight of down. The higher the figure the better the loft and so greater the warmth of the same weight of down. This means that a sleeping bag using 775 fill power down will be lighter and more compact than a 450 fill power sleeping bag with the same temperature rating.

Valances are ‘skirts’ sewn to the bottom of the fly-sheet. They allow a tent to be pitched where pegs can’t be used (glaciers, moraine, deserts, etc.). Rocks, snow or sand are piled on the valance to hold the fly in place. We only recommend valances if extended use in these conditions is anticipated, as they will add significant weight and result in increased condensation. Valances can be factory-fitted to any of the tents in our ranges. Cost varies from tent to tent and may take several weeks to be completed as we must fit them to our factory production standards.

This is a pole repair sleeve. If you snap one of your tent poles, push the damaged ends into the tube and tape it in place (duct tape works well). You should be able to keep using the tent until you get a chance to return the pole to us for repair/replacement. The ‘keyhole’ in the centre of the tube can be used to remove the pole-ends if you need to replace the elastic shock-cord or push a peg through the 2 holes at the end of the tube to form a ‘T’ handle; you can now use the ‘hook’ at the other end to remove your pegs.

Groundsheet protectors protect the groundsheet of the inner tent area only. If the tent includes a porch area, then this will not be covered by a groundsheet protector. However, a Footprint covers the whole ‘area of the tent, including the porch area(s).

We recommend using the following Seam Sealer/Glue for sealing seams on Terra Nova Tents:

When applying seam sealant, avoid getting any on your tent zip. This can cause problems with zip use and may need to be replaced. If your zip has been damaged with sealant and needs replacing, this is a chargeable repair.

Graded products have been used for photography, ex-display or testing purposes. Each product will be graded depending on its wear. Seconds are cosmetic only. We do not offer any products with faults that may affect their performance or function. Typically these faults are stitching imperfections (such as incorrect embroidery), wrong fabric colours or dye migration.

It is not always possible to specify which year the graded/seconds tent was in production, but the product will always be fit for purpose.

PFCs are a group of chemicals used to create a durable water-repellent (DWR) finish on the outer surface of waterproof fabrics. They generate the water-beading effect to help prevent the outer surface of the fabric from wetting out. However, these chemicals are so durable that they take a long time to break down in nature and there are concerns that this will have a negative impact on the environment long term. Therefore, we are working hard to find alternative chemistries that offer appropriate levels of durable performance. The current group of PFCs use 6 carbon atoms as part of their chemical makeup and are known as carbon 6 (C6) DWR. The new chemistries remove the carbon element so are known as carbon zero (C0) or PFC-free.

We have been testing both PU-coated (flysheet and groundsheet) and non-coated (breathable inner) PFC-free fabrics for some time, both in our lab and in the field and we are making good progress. However, it is a challenge with the current chemistries to maintain acceptable levels of performance for the PU-coated flysheet and groundsheet fabrics. We’re pleased to say that we have been able to confidently adopt PFC-free DWR for most of the breathable inner fabrics found in our Terra Nova tents. In addition, our flysheet and groundsheet fabrics that are coated on both sides with silicone (Si2) are naturally PFC-free.

Shopping on Terra Nova Equipment

Yes, the Terra Nova Trade-In applies to all tents regardless of the brand of tent you are sending in. All we ask is that the tent is complete and any excess dirt is removed, so we can process the order of your new Terra Nova Tent faster.

To find out more about the Terra Nova Trade-In Scheme, click here.

Yes. If you wish to purchase items from our online store directly, simply shop as normal and look for your country when entering the shipping address. If your country is not listed, please contact us and we’ll do our best to help.

Alternatively, if you’re looking to buy from a store, many retailers now stock Terra Nova, Wild Country and Extremities brand products all over the world. You can find your nearest retailer here.

Delivery charges are calculated automatically by our website during checkout. Simply add the items you wish to purchase to your basket, select your delivery postcode/country, and the website will provide a delivery cost based upon the items ordered and delivery country. We aim to keep our delivery charges to a minimum by simply covering our costs for shipping the items to you.

Terra Nova Equipment Ltd. is primarily a manufacturer. As such, we do not operate our own retail stores. If you wish to see our products, we have a vast array of retail partners nationwide and globally. To find your nearest stockist, you can use our stockist locator.

More help & advice

Buying Guides

Buying Guides

Everything you need to make an informed decision.

Learn more

Product Information and Advice

Product Information and Advice

If you need some information or advice, chances are you'll find it here.

Learn more

Support

Support

From tent repairs to product guarantees, we want to help you get the support you need from us.

Learn more