Tips For Pitching a Tent

Modern tents come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to suit every camper, but the most commonly found are ‘geodesic’, or dome, tents. These use flexible poles to create a rounded shelter to fit anything from a single person to 16, depending on your needs (and budget). Whichever tent you use, there are a few key points that are relevant to all campers when it comes to making camp.

Selecting a Site

Although you will be allocated a ‘pitch’ to use when you arrive at the campsite, it’s worth taking a few minutes to choose the best ground for your tent within that pitch. Choose a spot on level, slightly soft ground, sheltered from the wind and with no hazards overhead such as trees or power lines. Pitch your tent with the back into the wind. Set up at least ten metres away from any open fires and barbecues in order to minimise the risk of sparks damaging the fabric.

Flexible Poles

glassfibrepole Most tent poles are made of aluminium or fibreglass sections, threaded with elastic. The sections clip together to make flexible poles. When putting them together, avoid swinging the poles in order to prevent damage to the elastic. The poles should be put together below knee height to avoid hitting anybody else in the face with an end.

Most tents have fabric sleeves to thread the poles through. The pole should be carefully pushed through the sleeve from one end; avoid using too much force or you may tear the pole sleeve. If you have somebody to help, they can pull gently on the sleeve in order to help the pole through. Avoid pulling the pole, as the sections will come apart inside the sleeve.

Next you will need to connect the poles on one side, either by putting the end into a brass eyelet or by inserting a metal pin into the hollow end of the pole. Once one end is connected, carefully bend the pole and insert the opposite end in the appropriate place. You may need to pull the tent fabric tight as you do so. If the pole seems to be under too much strain, stop and check that nothing is caught or tangled, otherwise you risk breaking a pole. If your tent has a separate porch pole, this is often the last to be inserted.

In or Out?

Some tents are pitched inner first; others work with the outer, or flysheet, going up first. If yours is the former, you’ll need to drape the flysheet over the inner, making sure the seams of both parts match up. Strings or clips will secure the flysheet in the correct place before it is pegged out.

If your tent is pitched flysheet first, then after you’ve pegged it out you’ll need to attach the inner. A system of clips or toggles and loops suspends the inner from the flysheet. Start at the back of the tent and work your way forwards.

Pegging Out

Once your tent is the correct shape, peg out the corners, and then any other peg loops. Zip up all of the doors before you start, or you may find that the fabric is too tight to close them afterwards.

Pegs should be driven in at roughly a 45 degree angle, pointing downwards towards the tent. Start with the back corners and then work your way forwards, ensuring the fabric is fairly tight, but not excessively stretched. Although thin tent pegs can be painful to press in to hard ground, don’t step on them, as they will bend out of shape. Instead, use a mallet or a small rock to tap them in.

The guy lines hanging from the side of the tent are pegged out last of all to add extra security in high winds. They come with a plastic runner for adjusting their length. Start with the runner roughly one third of the way up the rope from the ground. This ensures that you can tension the rope afterwards, but doesn’t leave a long rope that people are likely to trip over. You can mark the ropes with reflective tape in order to avoid tripping in the dark.

Extra Rooms

If you have a particularly large tent, it may have separate ‘rooms’ within it. These are connected to the inside of the flysheet in the same way as any other ‘flysheet first’ tent. There may be extra pegs to secure the rooms in place within the tent, as well as a separate groundsheet.

Know Before You Go

Every tent has its own special features and little quirks. Before you take your tent camping for the first time, make sure you practice pitching it in the back garden or a local park. When you’re finished, be careful to ensure that all of the pegs and poles go back into the bag so that you’re not caught out on your trip.

*Images provided courtesy of Outwell, discover more on Outwell here: www.outwell.com