Rainfly and Guylines

When to use this

Before you go to sleep, every night. Not just when rain is forecast.

• Any trip where rain or wind is a possibility (read: most trips)
• First-time tent owners who never attached the guylines
• Setting up in exposed or high-wind sites

What you need

• Your tent's rainfly
• Guyline cord (usually included with the tent — 4–6 ft lengths)
• Extra tent stakes (bring 4 more than the tent came with)

Step by step

1. 1.Attach the rainfly before dark and while the weather is calm. All attachment points should be clipped or velcroed snugly.
2. 2.Stake the rainfly out away from the tent body at all four corners. The fly should not be touching the inner tent — contact between fly and inner body wicks condensation through.
3. 3.Locate the guyline attachment points on the fly (usually at the corners and the ridge). Clip or tie the guylines if they're not pre-attached.
4. 4.Stake each guyline at a 45° angle away from the tent, pulled taut. Use a taut-line hitch on each line so you can adjust tension without re-staking.
5. 5.Check that rain can drain off the fly without pooling anywhere. A low point or flat section will collect water and, in heavy rain, pull the fly inward.
6. 6.In windy conditions: stake down every guyline point, not just the main corners. A partially guyed tent in 30 mph wind is not a stable tent.

Pro tips

• Pre-tie all guylines at home. In the rain at dusk is not the time to figure out which attachment point goes where.
• A dab of reflective cord on each guyline prevents the classic "tripped on the tent line in the dark" camp injury.

Common mistakes

• Letting the fly sag against the inner tent. Any contact becomes a drip point.
• Only staking the four main corners and leaving the door and vestibule guylines unpulled. Wind enters the vestibule and lifts the fly.

Continue learning

• Shelter Setup

  Pitching a Tent

  A two-person, fifteen-minute job — done right.

• Shelter Setup

  Site Selection

  Where you pitch matters more than what you pitch.

• Knots

  Taut-Line Hitch

  An adjustable knot for tent guy lines and tarp tie-outs.