bcla
On our rugged Eastern foothills.....
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2012
I'd practice setting up the tent a few times, because some tents can be really tricky. I've camped with a fairly simple backpacking style tent with just two cross poles, although it's kind of small. However, it was enough to sleep in for myself and my wife. And I could set it up in less than a minute. Putting on the rainfly took longer. I did get a larger tent. They call it a 4 person tent, but the footprint is a lot larger than most called 4 person. These have aluminum tent poles, which are nicer but cost a lot more than fiberglass.
Some tents can't be set up freestanding, so you might need to find a piece of ground to pound stakes to practice setup. I've got one backpacking tent with just one main pole, and relies on the corners and the pole sleeves being staked to the ground in order to keep the pole from flopping over.
It might also be worth it to have extra stakes on hand in case they get lost or damaged. They don't have to match the style that came with the tent. Definitely get a mallet. I once tried pounding stakes with a rock and they looked they got pounded with a rock. It's also difficult to remove stakes without some sort of tool, and some mallets can be used for that. I've got a couple including a rubber head and a complete plastic one. The plastic one is light and has holes in the handle. I can use the end of the handle (almost like a hook) to pull out stakes. Mine is similar to this:
The rubber head mallet had a hook at the end, but it was horrible and I removed it. It would get caught and possibly damage things it was stored with, and when I tried to pull up a stake it bent.
Some tents can't be set up freestanding, so you might need to find a piece of ground to pound stakes to practice setup. I've got one backpacking tent with just one main pole, and relies on the corners and the pole sleeves being staked to the ground in order to keep the pole from flopping over.
It might also be worth it to have extra stakes on hand in case they get lost or damaged. They don't have to match the style that came with the tent. Definitely get a mallet. I once tried pounding stakes with a rock and they looked they got pounded with a rock. It's also difficult to remove stakes without some sort of tool, and some mallets can be used for that. I've got a couple including a rubber head and a complete plastic one. The plastic one is light and has holes in the handle. I can use the end of the handle (almost like a hook) to pull out stakes. Mine is similar to this:
The rubber head mallet had a hook at the end, but it was horrible and I removed it. It would get caught and possibly damage things it was stored with, and when I tried to pull up a stake it bent.