Pitch Perfect: 10 tent pitching tips every camper should know
Ever found yourself tripping over the tent pegs or woken up in a sopping wet sleeping bag? Then check out our top tent pitching tips
- Reflective guy lines make going to the loo in the night less triptastic.
- Do a last round of tensioning the guylines before going to bed if it’s windy. Line Loks are useful tensioning devices. I recommend the glow in the dark ones.
- Take a camping mallet as you can’t always rely on finding a stone to bash pegs in with and summer ground can be hard.
- When pitching your tent, select an area that’s as flat as possible, and sheltered from the prevailing wind by a hedge or similar (face the door away from the wind, too).
- Don’t pitch your tent in a low-lying area or on a river bank if rain is a possibility. Otherwise your tent’s ‘bath tub floor’ may become just that.
- Don’t pitch under a tree if it is likely to rain. The tree will continue dripping long after the rain passes – Chinese torture!
- Consider lying down to check there are no bumps or hollows. Clear away all the sheep poo, stones and sticks that may damage your tent.
- Think before unpacking your tent if it’s windy. Put something heavy on pole/peg bags and flysheet. Get at least two upwind pegs in as soon as possible.
- Pitch it taut enough so the fly isn’t touching the inner: air circulation between the two will keep your inner dry and lessen the risk of condensation forming.
- To further minimise condensation, cover any exposed ground in the porch with a plastic- based sheet or spread out waterproofs and/or rucksacks.
Words: Sarah Stirling
