Pitching a Tent

When to use this

Always before sundown. Tents are twice as hard in the dark.

• First night at a new site
• Setting up before dark
• Teaching kids the order

What you need

• Tent body and rainfly
• Poles
• Stakes (and a backup set)
• Footprint or ground cloth

Step by step

1. 1.Pick a flat, well-drained spot. Walk it; lie down on it. If it’s lumpy now, it will be lumpy at 3 a.m.
2. 2.Lay the footprint or ground cloth where the tent goes. Tuck any edges of the ground cloth that stick past the tent floor — exposed edges funnel rain under you.
3. 3.Spread the tent body on the footprint. Identify door direction; door faces away from prevailing wind.
4. 4.Assemble poles. Most tents have shock-corded poles that snap together — let them, don’t force them.
5. 5.Slide poles through their sleeves or clip them to the tent. Raise the tent by inserting pole ends into the corner grommets one at a time.
6. 6.Stake out the four corners with stakes driven at a 45° angle, leaning away from the tent. Pull the tent floor taut as you go.
7. 7.Drape the rainfly over the tent. Match its corners to the tent corners and clip in. Stake out the fly’s vestibule guy lines.

Pro tips

• Practice in the yard once before the trip. The first setup of any new tent always takes twice as long as the second.
• Mark "this end front" on the inside of the rainfly with a Sharpie after first setup. Saves a minute every trip.

Common mistakes

• Pitching on a slope and hoping. Sleep with your head uphill or relocate.
• Skipping the rainfly because the sky is clear. Dew is wetter than people think.