How do I put up a tent?
Choosing the pitch, getting the shape right before pegging, and the small things that decide whether you stay dry.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 45 min
- Read
- 3 min
- Safety
- warning
Short answer
Pick the flattest ground you can, lay the tent out with the door where you want it, peg the base square before adding poles, and only then tension the guy lines. Pegging a base that is not square is what makes a tent look and perform badly.
Most tent problems are decided in the first two minutes — where you put it and whether the base went down square. Both are far easier to get right than to correct once poles are in.
Safety
Step by step
- Choose the ground carefully.Flat, slightly raised, and out of the wind if possible. Avoid hollows where water collects and the ground directly under trees, which drips long after rain stops and drops branches.
- Check what is underneath.Clear stones, sticks and anything sharp. Ten seconds here saves a punctured groundsheet and a night on a lump.
- Point the smallest end into the wind.The door should generally face away from the prevailing wind, and the low end towards it. A tent broadside to strong wind takes far more punishment.
- Lay the tent out before assembling anything.Unroll it flat with the door facing where you want it. Rotating a partly built tent is much harder than rotating a flat one.
- Peg the base square first.Peg the corners so the base is taut and rectangular before poles go in. This one step accounts for most of the difference between a tent that pitches well and one that never sits right.
- Angle the pegs correctly.About 45 degrees, sloping away from the tent, with the hook pointing down. Pegs pushed in vertically pull out under load.
- Feed poles rather than pushing them.Push the pole through a sleeve from one end and pull it out the other — pushing makes the sections separate inside the sleeve, which is awkward to correct.
- Fit the flysheet without touching the inner.The two layers must not be in contact. Where they touch, water tracks through. Most damp-inside-a-good-tent problems are this.
- Tension the guy lines evenly.Take the slack out all round so the fabric is taut with no flapping. Flapping fabric is what tears in wind and what keeps people awake.
- Re-tension after a few hours and after rain.Fabric stretches when wet and slackens as it dries. A tent that was drum-tight at six will be loose by midnight.
- Ventilate it.Open the vents even in cold weather. Condensation from breathing is the usual cause of a wet inside, and closing everything up makes it considerably worse.
- Pack it dry, or dry it at home.A tent packed wet develops mould and a smell within days and the coating degrades. If it has to go away damp, get it out and dried within twenty-four hours.
Tips
- Practise once in a garden or a park before the trip. Doing it for the first time in the dark and rain is a genuinely miserable experience.
- Count the pegs back into the bag every time. Losing them one campsite at a time is how a tent becomes unpitchable.
- A footprint or a groundsheet cut slightly smaller than the base protects the floor. Larger, and it collects rain underneath.
Questions people ask
Which way should a tent door face?
Generally away from the prevailing wind, with the smallest or lowest end pointing into it. Facing east also means morning sun, which helps dry off overnight condensation.
Why is the inside of my tent wet when it has not rained?
Condensation. Breathing overnight puts a lot of moisture into the air, and it settles on the cold flysheet. Open the vents, and check the inner is not touching the flysheet anywhere.