From: <Rick.Sylvia_at_ferguson.com> > Okay, sounds reasonable, but begs the question from people with my > experience level.... what is the "proper" way to stake out a tent????? Interesting question. My TNF tent came with instructions for guying the tent both externally and internally (the internal lines help keep the tent shape in extreme winds at the expense of feeling like you're sleeping with a spider :-) My other tents had instructions, but I didn't keep them, so I can't refer to them to see if they included extensive guying instructions. Check your tent's instructions. Your approach to tent peg angle is correct. The other thing is to ensure they are deeply set and the guy rope is hooked on the peg right at ground level. If they are set high and the line attaches at the top, the peg will either bend or be pried out of the ground. If the soil type is wrong for your peg and they don't hold, use rocks, logs, or other deadmen to tie back to. Conveniently placed trees or picnic tables are useful too. If your tent doesn't have guy line attachment points near the top of the tent, you haven't got the ability to set the tent against extreme winds. Mountaineering tents, like TNF, SD, MH and others, come with high level tiedown points built-in. Most other tents don't, so Scott's comments are a little unfair for some campers. They have to rely on the fly's peg-out points (if they exist) to add stability (i.e. some tent flies are pegged out away from the tent body and can act as stabilizers; others are attached only to the ends of the poles and cannot). I once had to pitch my Eureka Timberline in a high-wind, stormy place. I was on a canoe trip, so I took my canoe barrel (60 liter, mostly full) as a deadman, and jury-rigged a tiedown to one end of the tent with the line tied to the point where the two upright poles connected to the ridge pole. My vestibule had to suffice as a tiedown at the other end. If you can't find enough things to tie to and jury-rig the extra stability, you're stuck. It is true that improper tent setup can seriously compromise strength and stability, but if you're following the tent's instructions, that's the best you can reasonably do. If you live in an area where high winds and/or extreme storms are expected, you should spring for a high end tent and get the features designed to survive in extreme conditions. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Mar 07 2002 - 15:31:27 PST
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