Harrison tent problem

[Hiro]

I'd like to ask comments (better yet, answers) re. a problem with the Harrison film changing tent.

A photographer in Japan is having a problem with his. The symptom is that the exterior of the tent is getting sticky. He says the silver reflective coating/material is appearently "melting" or becoming gummy.

I don't use one myself but have heard pretty much nothing but praise (except perhaps the price) for the Harrison tent. Has anyone had a problem like that or heard about it? Is there anything that can be done to stop/reverse the situation?

The local distributor was of little help, and an inquiry was just sent to Camera Essentials. I thought someone in the forum might be able to shed some light on it.

Any comments are appreciated.

[tim atherton]

I've used my mine in some fair extremes of heat and cold and not encountered this (it has fared very well), but I imagine if you got say insect repellent or some other chemical on it, it could do that, because it is a coating on the fabric.

I have found Camera Essentials to be helpful the couple of times I've had to deal with them - hopefully they will be with this?

[Ed Sandifer]

I had a Harrison tent which I acquired used, and had the same problem with a black, tar-like substance coming off the tent lining. It was impossible to clean off (at least as hard as I tried to do so) and made using the tent pretty gruesome. Some of the stuff even got on my film. It turns out, as I found, that others have had this happen as well.

[Frank Petronio]

I heard about this before as well. Maybe something introduced on the hands does this (like sunscreen or DEET)?

I bought a new one and it is fine, it seems like the same material as the less expensive Calumet and PhotoFlex but the Harrison is larger.

[lee\c]

I saw this on a friends and Camera Essentials is aware of the problem and will rectify if it is within the 6 months warantee period. It is a function of something in the materials they used in manufacturing the tents. That is what my friend was told anyway. Good luck

lee\c

[Hiro]

I did suspect chemicals, including some detergent to clean the surface (if used). Perhaps the high humidity doesn't help, either. I'll see what Camera Essentials would say and will update here if there is a significant development.

Thank you everyone for helpful comments and info.

[lee\c]

Hiro,

I think you will hear that it is somesort of outgassing of the material they used for the sleeves. Good luck.

lee\c

[Hiro]

I exchanged a few e-mails with Camera Essentials, and here's the gist.

They are aware of the problem (material deterioration) with the tent, but the cause is still unknown due to the limited number of samples. They mentioned the "sleeve fabric" as Lee noted (thanks, Lee) but didn't specifically comment on the issue with the "reflective coating" I raised. The sleeve material has been changed, but there seem to be some unknowns about the problem itself.

Good news is that they offered a replacement tent at cost, in exchange for the old tent. I think it's a rather generous offer, considering the warranty period has long expired. Then it would also be a good way for them to get hold of more samples for analysis, so I guess it works both ways.

Well, that's my story. Thanks again for the comments.