Are there any grow tents without light leaks?

[Buds Buddy]

As the title states, I'm trying to find out if anybody has bought a Grow Tent without any light leaks. I've been through several tents & have never had one with NO Light Leaks. I have not bought any of the 1080 D Mylar Tents as of yet or the 2000 D AC Infinity Tent. The AC Infinity has the 1" poles like the Gorilla Tent also. I'm looking to buy a New 5 x 5 Tent. The one I have now is only 6 months old & it appears I'm looking at the stars at night through it there's so many pin holes in it. "Do Not Buy LA Garden Tents". They are TRASH ! Worst tent I've ever bought. I'm considering Mars but I don't like the D-Zipper Doors. Those always leak light. I prefer a tent that unzips down the center with a flap that opens to each side. The Flaps cover the Zippers on the doors on these tents & you get less light leak. I also don't trust Mars anymore because they keep switching up the way they build there lights & I'm not satisfied with the parts they're using. Bought 5 lights from them & only 2 have the same Meanwell drivers. The last light I bought flickers a little too.
Anyway, I'm wondering if the 1080 D or the 2000 D Mylar Fabric makes any difference as far as light leaks. I know I'll get some light leak through the zippers on any tent I buy. But will I see pin holes in the fabric of the heavier Mylar material ?
Any info you can provide on tents would be very helpful. I'm tired of buying junk tents. I have to have a 5 x 5 as my light is 51" long so it wont fit in a 4 x 4. I would also prefer the square double flap door openings. Any tent recommendations are appreciated. I'm not concerned with the cost as long as it's a good tent.

 

[VetSmoke85]

I'll be interested to read thoughts on this too. I read something a little while ago that basically said the heavier fabrics aren't necessary and you can use 210D with no problems as long as the inner mylar lining and seams are good quality. Or words to that effect.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I'll be interested to read thoughts on this too. I read something a little while ago that basically said the heavier fabrics aren't necessary and you can use 210D with no problems as long as the inner mylar lining and seams are good quality. Or words to that effect.

They make a 210 D ? 600 D was the lightest I came across. The AC Infinity Tent is interesting because it has the outer Black Oxford Cloth on the outside. A Mylar inside. But it has a Blue Layer in between the cloth & the Mylar.
The reviews only say there's been a small light leak in the zippers but nothing about pin hole light leaks. I'm leaning toward this tent at the moment; but still haven't made up my mind. Kind of hoping someone who reads this has one & can provide more info.

 

[VetSmoke85]

The BudBox Pro XL might be a good one to look at. Got the openings you want. 5x5 in two different heights. White interior that beats silver mylar.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Also wondering if the Gorilla Tents are worth the money ?

 

[Buds Buddy]

The BudBox Pro XL might be a good one to look at. Got the openings you want. 5x5 in two different heights. White interior that beats silver mylar.

Haven't looked at that one yet, but I will now. Thanks.

 

[VetSmoke85]

They make a 210 D ? 600 D was the lightest I came across. The AC Infinity Tent is interesting because it has the outer Black Oxford Cloth on the outside. A Mylar inside. But it has a Blue Layer in between the cloth & the Mylar.
The reviews only say there's been a small light leak in the zippers but nothing about pin hole light leaks. I'm leaning toward this tent at the moment; but still haven't made up my mind. Kind of hoping someone who reads this has one & can provide more info.

Yeah it tends to only be used on smaller tents by most manufacturers it seems. My little Prodigy 40x40 tent is 210D. The AC Infinity tents do look a little Gucci.

 

[VetSmoke85]

Haven't looked at that one yet, but I will now. Thanks.

They have a little video on their site showing a test Black dog LED did with it against a Gorilla tent.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Yeah it tends to only be used on smaller tents by most manufacturers it seems. My little Prodigy 40x40 tent is 210D. The AC Infinity tents do look a little Gucci.

It's surely got my attention & the price isn't bad at about $200. The 1" poles are a plus too.

 

[Buds Buddy]

They have a little video on their site showing a test Black dog LED did with it against a Gorilla tent.

Cool, going to take a look now.

 

[bobrown14]

I dont worry about light leaks. I grow outdoors and indoors. Man the moon when its getting full and after its REAL bright for a week or longer. Some nights I dont need a flashlight.

If your plants are reacting poorly to a little bit of light leak with all the doors closed, I'd be looking for better seeds/genetics.

I have an LA tent too its a 5x10. I dont even shut the doors in flower just turn lights off and weed good.

 

[Delps8]

s the title states, I'm trying to find out if anybody has bought a Grow Tent without any light leaks.

I have a Gorilla grow tent that's in a garage in SoCal. I sat inside the tent for a few minutes to check things out. I could see no light. I could not detect light either by looking at my hand or when passing my hand between my eyes and any part of the tent. I've seen the same light levels in caves or when "ensuring the safety of the free world" in the desert with no moon - dark as a whale's ass.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I have a Gorilla grow tent that's in a garage in SoCal. I sat inside the tent for a few minutes to check things out. I could see no light. I could not detect light either by looking at my hand or when passing my hand between my eyes and any part of the tent. I've seen the same light levels in caves or when "ensuring the safety of the free world" in the desert with no moon - dark as a whale's ass.

Thank you for the Gorilla Tent info. I've been wanting to buy one; but just wasn't sure if it would be any different after buying so many crappy tents. Manufacturers tend to hype up their products with lies so you don't know who to trust without talking to people who actually have bought the product. I think most reviews are done by the companies & not by purchasers so I don't trust reviews.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I dont worry about light leaks. I grow outdoors and indoors. Man the moon when its getting full and after its REAL bright for a week or longer. Some nights I dont need a flashlight.

If your plants are reacting poorly to a little bit of light leak with all the doors closed, I'd be looking for better seeds/genetics.

I have an LA tent too its a 5x10. I dont even shut the doors in flower just turn lights off and weed good.

Yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. How can plants be in moonlight all night & not Hermie; yet a pin hole light leak can cause one ? My tent is really bad though. It's only 6 months old & I swear the mylar is chipping off the inside more & more daily. There must be 100 or more pin holes in just the door of the tent. I got 2 Hermie plants this grow out of 25 plants. But they were the plants from bag seed so I chalk it up to that.
I wish I could leave my tent open; but it's in my bedroom & I'm in here watching TV most the time so it's really never dark in here.

 

[Buds Buddy]

The BudBox Pro XL might be a good one to look at. Got the openings you want. 5x5 in two different heights. White interior that beats silver mylar.

I checked out those video's. Pretty cool stuff. I like the tent except that it doesn't have flaps that cover the zippers on the front door. That's one of the worst places for light leaks. That one thing turned me away from that tent.
Square / rectangle doors with Flaps covering the zippers are one of the main things I'm looking for in a tent. If it weren't for the D - doors on most tents this would be a much easier search for a good tent. The D-door design is a bad design & should be replaced with the square doors with flaps if tent companies truly give a shit.

 

[Delps8]

Yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. How can plants be in moonlight all night & not Hermie; yet a pin hole light leak can cause one ?

I suspect/believe it's because of the color of the light. The moon light is sunset bounced off the moon and then filtered through night time conditions. The lux might seem significant but the PAR is low (IIRC fro Dr. Bugbee's videos).

"There must be 100 or more pin holes in just the door of the tent."
20 gauge or 12?

Sorry to hear about that. I lost my first (and only other grow) to revegging to I get that "WTF?" feeling.

 

[VetSmoke85]

My current tent has a flap along the top and down the central zipper but nothing across the bottom zipper. That's a cheapy SwiftAir one. Must be someone out there making them. To be honest I've never noticed any light from the zips on my tents. Just a few pin pricks along the edge seams.

 

[VetSmoke85]

I checked out those video's. Pretty cool stuff. I like the tent except that it doesn't have flaps that cover the zippers on the front door. That's one of the worst places for light leaks. That one thing turned me away from that tent.
Square / rectangle doors with Flaps covering the zippers are one of the main things I'm looking for in a tent. If it weren't for the D - doors on most tents this would be a much easier search for a good tent. The D-door design is a bad design & should be replaced with the square doors with flaps if tent companies truly give a shit.

Perhaps material flaps on the inner side of the zip? They claim it's completely light proof on their website.

Yeah I agree with the D design. Can make getting plants in and out more difficult.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I like the older style tents better. They didn't use to have zippered access doors on the sides of the tents. Sure that's great if you SCROG. But if you don't .... it's just more possible light leaks. I usually don't get a lot of leaks through zippers; but I always get at least 1 somewhere. I should just build my own Shed / Grow Room with multiple rooms in it & forget about tents completely. I was already planning to buy a new & bigger shed. Just put the rooms in it. I'll probably buy the Shed this Fall & get it ready over the winter. But for now I have to replace the 5 x 5. I'm still leaning toward Gorilla or AC Infinity at the moment.

 

[Anologguy]

Just assembled a new gorilla original 4x2x6.3 and a noticeable amount of light leaks. Very disappointed as they assured "no leaks" well waiting for responce from service personnel. As the "HOOPS" I have to jump through to file warranty claim is a bit cumbersome and though not unreasonable from their point of view it a pain in the arse. To be fair the light intrusion isnt as bad as my old vivosun I expected no leaks at the price level of the gorilla. From listening to their personal, if I make a big enough stink and send all kind of picts and what not they probably would replace it. But I have a fix in mind that I thi k will cure the issue (a fair amount of work) should not have to FIX the most expensive tent out there. I will give them kudos for the materials and zippers as better than the vivosun but manufacturing quality is no better is no better than the 100.00 knockoffs. Probably won't buy from them again if they dont do something reasonable.