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View Full Version : Harrison film changing tent stinks. Literally.



MenacingTourist
19-Aug-2012, 20:37
Took a longer than anticipated break from shooting and pulled out the tent to check my holders for film and the thing reeks. The coating on the fabric has always been a bit "sticky" but now it's really sticky and my wife and kids tell me it "stinks like barf".

Currently trying to air it out and see if that helps...

Anyone else have this happen to them?

Thanks,

Alan.

Lachlan 717
19-Aug-2012, 20:40
I have 2; both stink of "barf".

They do gas off, though.

Daniel Stone
19-Aug-2012, 20:47
to help with reducing the tackiness, try using some baby powder on the outside. Powder your hands, and rub it lightly on the OUTSIDE. Just a little bit can help reduce the sticky feeling.

Best to do this when its fully zipped up, both zippers!

-Dan

MenacingTourist
19-Aug-2012, 21:04
I have 2; both stink of "barf".

They do gas off, though.

I feel better now, thanks :)
My three year old was very serious when she informed me of this. I guess I'm living with it.

C. D. Keth
20-Aug-2012, 20:16
You can wipe the whole thing down with a fairly weak bleach solution, just like you might with a backpack or tent. Make sure it's set up with the poles so it dries really well and the smell should go, or at least lessen. I've loaded hundreds of thousands of feet of film in mine and it still smells a bit funny.

Ivan J. Eberle
21-Aug-2012, 14:38
If these are as I might expect them to be, coated with polyurethane like many other nylon fabrics, it's likely the smell of the coating breaking down--putting the "PU" in (the common industry acronym for) PolyUrethane. To my nose this smells more like tomcats than barf, though :-)
I've had this very thing happen with any number of tents and backpacks after 10-15 years. Probably not much to be done about it that won't risk stripping off the coating.
Hope it doesn't happen to the Photoflex changing room I bought, but if it does, it was only $80 new.

Robbie Bedell
21-Aug-2012, 19:01
Alan, If you think it smells bad now wait until the rubber inside coating melts. Mine did. It was gruesome..Harrison was no help.. I have gotten along without a tent for a while, but I am with Ivan, my next will be Photoflex..Robbie

http://robbiebedell.photoshelter.com

Frank Petronio
21-Aug-2012, 19:07
I've been keeping mine in a larger box so it isn't so compressed. Hopefully it holds up because otherwise they are great.

Robbie Bedell
21-Aug-2012, 19:15
Frank, That may be the way to go. I always kept mine tightly rolled in it's little baggy thing...

http://robbiebedell.photoshelter.com

joselsgil
21-Aug-2012, 19:57
My tent is still too new to stink, but I have had rain gear stink as described.

Would spraying the tent with Fabreeze help with the eliminating the smell?

Drew Bedo
22-Aug-2012, 06:43
I like my Harrison tent.

Frank Petronio
22-Aug-2012, 07:25
Cameron Diaz is supposed to have really bad BO but would you still...?

Ivan J. Eberle
22-Aug-2012, 08:20
Geezum, Frank-- what have I been missing out on by using a Photoflex instead I'd a Harrison? Is the experience of putting your hands inside a Harrison as hot as dirty sex with a movie star?

Frank Petronio
22-Aug-2012, 08:26
I've had the Calumet and Photoflex and if they work for you then be happy, the price is right. I just prefer the larger, flatter working area of the Harrison even though they cost more. They are well constructed, other than the coating issues that people have.

I think they need to be stored in a large container and not in their travel stuff sack ~ and you shouldn't have DEET or anything that could be a solvent on your arms when you use them. I don't hold Harrison faultless - I suspect there are more durable, robust coatings they could have found after this has been a persistent problem for years now - but apparently they haven't. So only buy one knowing what you are potentially getting into.

Ivan J. Eberle
22-Aug-2012, 08:41
So it's not really the same as feeling up a starlet, I take it...

C. D. Keth
22-Aug-2012, 09:20
...I suspect there are more durable, robust coatings they could have found after this has been a persistent problem for years now - but apparently they haven't. So only buy one knowing what you are potentially getting into.

They smell a little bit but I don't think it's a durability issue. As I said earlier in the thread, I've loaded hundreds of thousands of feet (I'm probably into millions but I don't keep track show to show) in mine and it works just as well as when it was new. The coating isn't flaking off or anything. It just smells funny. Most of the smell even goes away if I air it out in the sun regularly like you would a camping tent.