Just realized I was setting up my tent wrong for years

I was camping near Lake Tahoe last fall and a strong wind came up overnight. My tent was flapping and pulling at the stakes like crazy. In the morning, a ranger walked by and pointed out that I had staked out the rain fly first, before the tent body itself. He said, 'You're letting the fly take all the tension.' I switched my order, putting the inner tent up tight first, then attaching the fly loosely over it. The difference in stability was huge. Has anyone else had a basic setup step they were getting backwards?

3 comments

3 Comments

allen.amy8d ago

Seems like a minor detail to me. My tent has held up fine through storms using either order. Maybe some tent designs are just more picky than others.

hannahs718d ago

Ever think it didn't matter? My old tent collapsed once and I learned the hard way.

rowanf648d ago

Oh man, that's the camping version of putting your shoes on before your socks. No wonder it was fighting you all night!