Setting up our rental tents is pretty easy to figure out, but we know it's stressful if you haven't seen it before. To reduce some stress, we made instructional videos to help you set up our 1,2,3-Person tents and 4,6-Person tents. But there's a bit more to setup than just the poles and stakes. Below we'll walk you through everything you need to know about pitching a tent.
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Quick tips and notes for setting up our rental tents
Color-coded corners align footprint and rainfly with tent body.
A rainfly is essential in rainy weather, but it also provides extra insulation against the cold. You can leave it off in rainless hot summer nights.
Free-standing tents still need to be tied down or staked to the ground to prevent movement and condensation.
If the ground is too hard, use cord and heavy rocks instead of stakes.
Tent poles in our 4-person and 6-person tents come pre-bent for stronger wind resistance.
Setting up our rental tents in five easy steps
Step 1: Footprint/ground tarp goes on the ground first. Lay the tent body on top.
Step 2 for 1,2,3-Person Tents: Connect the long poles and attach to diagonally opposite grommets, forming an X. Then use clips to attach to tent body.
Step 2 for 4,6-Person Tents: Connect long poles and slide through diagonal sleeves in the top of the tent body. Then insert into corresponding grommets at each corner and attach clips.
Step 3: Throw rain fly over the tent and align corners. Pull vestibule doors and stake down.
Step 4: Stake down the 4 corners of the tent.
Step 5: Use guy lines to pull rainfly taut.
Video for 1-Person / 2-Person / 3-Person Tents
The video uses our 2P Tent as example, but all these tents set up the same way
Video for 4-Person and 6-Person Tents
Footprints and ground tarps
A ground tarp prolongs the life of a tent by preventing holes and scratches from forming on the tent floor. If used correctly, it also prevents overnight condensation. This video below illustrates how to fold a ground tarp to the correct size to keep your tent floor dry.
IMPORTANT: In order to prevent condensation and help waterproof your tent, a tarp has to be size of the tent floor or smaller. If it sticks out, water can seep in and create puddles.
A footprint is a ground tarp that has been cut to the exact shape and dimensions of the tent floor, so you do not have to fold any parts of it. If your tent comes with a footprint, you can disregard this video.
Most of our rental tents come with footprints. However, in some cases where a footprint is not available, we provide plastic ground tarps in its place. Hence, this video becomes useful.
The rainfly
A rainfly serves two purposes:
It keeps in the warmth on cold nights
If attached correctly, it keeps the tent dry.
A rainfly is essential in rainy weather, but it won't waterproof your tent if it isn't attached correctly.
The most common mistake when setting up a rainfly is keeping it too loose. First of all, in windy conditions, it will create a lot of noise. But more importantly, when too loose, a rainfly will fail to waterproof your tent. Even in dry conditions, a loose rainfly that touches the tent body will create condensation. This happens when warm air in your tent comes into contact with the cold air outside. A well-ventilated tent will have a space between the roof of the tent and the rainfly, so air can flow through and dry the condensation before it has a chance to drip inside. Lastly, during a rainstorm, a loose rainfly will allow water to puddle, which will eventually seep in through the water-resistant fabric and into the tent.
How to attach a rainfly correctly
First align the rainfly with the tent and stake out the corners and vestibule edges. Then use provided cord to pull the rain fly tight in all directions, thus keeping it taut and away from the tent body. Only pull until finger tight. Too tight and the fabric will tear.
We'll upload a video soon to show how to correctly attach a rainfly, use guy lines, and a few helpful knots in case your tent only comes with simple cord.
Cords and guy lines
A guy line is a cord that is tied to your rainfly and comes with a tiedown anchor. Watch this video 4:12 to 5:58 to learn how to use the guyline tensioner aka tiedown anchor.
If your cord does not come with a guyline tensioner, then you'll need to use some common knots to create your own tension on the cord.
Common Knots
Knot 1: Bowline. Your tent comes with 4 cords already attached to each side of the rain fly. The cords are attached using the bowline knot. If for some reason your cord comes separate from the rainfly, then here's how to make a bowline: Same video 0:42 to 1:45
Knot 2: Slippery half hitch. Quick knot to attach around a stake, rock, tree, or whatever other anchor you fine. Same video 8:05 to 8:58
Knot 3: Trucker's hitch + slippery half hitch. Quick knot that allows you to manipulate the amount of tension you apply on the cord. Same video 9:37 to 10:55
Knot 4: Taut-line hitch. An alternative to the trucker's-half hitch combo, this is another quick knot that allows you to manipulate the amount of tension you apply on the cord. Different video
Helpful tips for using cords and guylines:
Use reflective guylines or hang bright ribbons on the guylines so you don't walk into them at night.
Only pull the guylines until finger tight - too tight and it will rip the material; too loose and it will flap around and touch the tent.
Rental tents specs and features
Kelty Ashcroft and Marmot Tungsten 1-Person Tents:
1 large door and vestibule, 2 inside pockets, top center loop to hang lantern
1-Person Tent Dimensions: 87" long, 31" wide, 40" tall, 3lbs 5oz
Marmot Catalyst and Sierra Designs Full Moon 2-Person and 3-Person Tents:
2 doors, 2 vestibules, inside pockets, top center loop to hang lantern
2-Person Tent Dimensions: 90" long, 55" wide, 44" tall, 5 lbs 5oz
3-Person Tent Dimensions: 90" long, 67" wide, 48" tall, 6 lbs 5 oz
Marmot Limestone 4-Person and 6-Person Tent Features:
Freestanding tent with full coverage fly with vents
Two super-sized double doors and two vestibules
Inside pockets, top center loop to hang lantern
4-Person Tent Dimensions: 63" tall, 100" long, 86" wide, 11 lbs
6-Person Tent Dimensions: 76" tall, 100" long, 120" wide, 17.5 lbs
Choosing the best location to pitch a tent
Before putting up your tent, you need to choose a place to pitch your tent. In some campgrounds, there will be very obvious cleared areas for tents. But what if you're practicing dispersed camping? Or maybe you're at an organized campground that allows you to pitch a tent wherever you want? Here are a few things to consider before beginning the tent pitching process:
Choose a flat surface. Sleeping pads and bags tend to slowly roll downslope, and you'll end up smooshed against your tent mate in the middle of the night. If there's no choice, pitch your tent in a way that your head will be uphill.
Clear the surface before setting up the tent. Remove rocks and twigs that will otherwise make for an uncomfortable sleep. Also, remove small sharp rocks and twigs that can poke through and create holes in the tent material.
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