How Do You Pack Your Tent?

[EO.]

...roll it into a stuff sack?
...fold it?
...stuff it in any way you can?

:-?

[swjohnsey]

Roll it up in a nice package with poles and pegs unless it is really wet.

[johnnybgood]

Whatever you do don't fold it. Folding can cause creases which leads to material breakdown. I cram mine in it's stuff sack.

[Turk6177]

I stuff it in a stuff sack and put my poles outside my pack to prevent them from stabbing a hole in anything. I have heard folding is bad because the same places get creased every day and can get weak at those points. I would say the same for rolling the tent. The only way to get random creases every day is to stuff it.


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[hyperslug]

If it is stuffed it takes up more room and folding the same way again and again can weaken the coatings but probably not for silnylon which is impregnated. I do both depending on time, stuff if it is raining, fold if there is no hurry. Just do what you want.

[Franco]

Has anyone ever bought a new tent that was stuffed inside the original packaging?

[rocketsocks]

Shake, 1/2, 1/2, 1/2, roll, stuff.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Has anyone ever bought a new tent that was stuffed inside the original packaging?Nope. And regarding folding, unless you have some superhuman ability to perfectly fold the tent along an exact crease line every time, I don't think it's an issue. Now, if you're one of those people who can fold a fitted bed sheet perfectly the same every time, then maybe there's an issue - or perhaps I should say, issues. ;) :rolleyes: Normal variation in folding/rolling, and the fact that you aren't ironing it and intentionally creating a crease should prevent any repeated folding damage. I usually just fold the body of my 1 person tent in thirds and loosely roll it to fit inside my pack, and fold and loosely roll the fly and carry it in the mesh pocket on the outside of my pack. Poles go vertically inside the pack, stakes in a small stuff sack on the outside with the fly.

[hyperslug]

No but that's all about presentation.But I have had manufacturers tell me to stuff it instead of folding and rolling.

[Tipi Walter]

My tent is large with three poles and 36 sq feet of interior space and I usually have it flat on the ground and fold it twice and then roll it tight enough to fit inside its stuff sack. Occasionally I stuff the whole wad but generally when stuffing it cannot be cleaned off properly while putting into the sack and so rolling first helps.

All this is minutiae really cuz you'll do it however you feel like doing after the 1,000th morning striking camp.

The tough part is wadding up and packing a totally frozen and ice-encrusted tent and trying to get this wad inside its stuff sack. Hellish. And Odin help you if you're using a tent which comes with a comically small stuff sack. Best thing then is to replace the sac with a bigger . . . . sac.

After folding and rolling tents for the last 40 years I find no drawbacks to the technique. Actually, UV and worn floors and broken zippers will kill a tent way way before folding and rolling.

[lebackpack]

I stuff it in my back, on top of the sleeping bag (which is at the bottom).

[Engine]

Fold it into thirds (different direction every other day), then roll it around the stake bag and drop it (no need to stuff) into the stuff sack. If it's dry and there is room, it goes into the pack, otherwise it gets strapped to the top of the pack.

[jefals]

stuff sack with pegs goes into stuff sack containing poles.
fly is rolled around that
this goes in larger stuff sack
then cram the tent in, along with guy lines

[Leo L.]

Have learned about stuffing instead of folding&rolling decades ago and ever did so.
Just last year when I've go my new MSR I switched to folding&rolling, because the MSR comes with a nice bag with "side entrance" (duffel bag style), in which the tent snugs in much better when folded&rolled.
True, this is not real folding, the modern dome tents can hardly be folded exactly, like the old canvas tents could be.
Honestly I cannot imagine that daily folding and rolling could ruin a modern tent fabric within a hikers life.

[HooKooDooKu]

While on the trail, I just stuff it.

When I'm putting it away for storage between hikes, I neatly fold/roll it up.

[saltysack]

I've found a simple "Target" bag fills my packs volume way better than any long narrow common tent stuff sack...
1-compactor bag w all must be dry gear
2-food bag
3-shelter


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[atomicchicken]

On trail I stuff mine into it's sack and call it a day. Tent stakes are in their own bag and I put them into the bag with the tent poles. At home it's kept in a large storage bin uncompressed along with a silica gel packet for good measure.

MSR Hubba Hubba NX

[saltysack]

Stakes and ground sheet in mesh outer pocket....diy tyvek tent stake envelope


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[Bronk]

Collapse tent poles...fold tent to width of tent poles...place polls on tent and roll them up in the middle. Strap to outside of pack on the bottom or put inside pack. No stuff sack needed.

[ggreaves]

stuff tent into garbage bag... bring hammock instead.

[Ender]

Depends on if it's wet or not. If it's dry, I stuff. If it's wet, I fold in half to keep the floor separated from the rest of the tent, and then roll, and then stuff.

[russb]

For those who continue the "do not fold it creases" mantra from the 1970's, I ask if anyone has compared the number of creases in a tarp/tent from folding vs stuffing. I have, and there are zero creases in the folded, and thousands in the stuffed. The history of the do not fold is from when tarps were urethane coated. So unless you are using my old tent from 1974, it probably isn't and folding/rolling is perfectly fine, and likely better.

[Ktaadn]

Stakes and poles go in the pole bag. Tent body and fly are stuffed into my pack.

[G-FOURce]

Whatever you do don't fold it. Folding can cause creases which leads to material breakdown. I cram mine in it's stuff sack.

Yeah, what he said. I have been doing that for decades. I make my own UL stuffsacks from Tyvek 1443R and dyneema w/micro toggles.

[G-FOURce]

For those who continue the "do not fold it creases" mantra from the 1970's, I ask if anyone has compared the number of creases in a tarp/tent from folding vs stuffing. I have, and there are zero creases in the folded, and thousands in the stuffed. The history of the do not fold is from when tarps were urethane coated. So unless you are using my old tent from 1974, it probably isn't and folding/rolling is perfectly fine, and likely better.

Old habits.... Its also easier for me to pack a tent cleanly by stuffing it than it is for me to lay it out and fold it up.

[Deadeye]

. Best thing then is to replace the sac with a bigger sac.

After folding and rolling tents for the last 40 years I find no drawbacks to the technique. Actually, UV and worn floors and broken zippers will kill a tent way way before folding and rolling.

Ditto - for sleeping bags, quilts and tents, I get a bigger-than-OEM stuff sack, much easier to deal with a soft package than a firm cylinder. I'll add one more item to the list of things that make you get a new tent: new tents!

[ScareBear]

Depends...if it is wet, the tent and fly don't get bagged, but get wadded up and placed on the top of the pack on the outside but under the "brain" lid, or wad the body up and put it in one mesh side pocket and do the same with the fly on the other. If everything is dry, I revert back to old habits and fold in both "ends" 1/2 so they meet in the middle, fold them onto each other where they meet in the middle as a "crease, fold in half, half again if needed, roll up...place in sack. Tent is the 2nd to last thing in the pack. The bear bag goes on top and the bladder on top of the bear bag. The poles and stakes are always on the outside of the pack, usually in a side pocket underneath the compression straps...

[Tipi Walter]

I define backpacking as Managing Discomfort and part of the "managing" comes from the habitual blessing of near-perfect organization. Mouthful, but it means getting very efficient with your gear in all conditions. ScareBear reminds me of this efficiency in his post.

The simple act of packing a tent is one example. Very often a loose tent picks up sticks and ground debris while it's being packed or rolled. Stuffing tends to pick up unseen sticks into the wad and so you pack these in with your tent. Unseen sticks can poke holes in your tent fly.

Shaking, folding and then careful rolling can also pick up sticks but not as much, obviously.

And on a cold morning at 0F there's another fact of tent living: You want to get the blasted thing into its sack as fast as possible which means efficiently---with minimal hand-death. The biggest accomplishment for me every morning on a winter trip is standing up and smiling after my tent is in its stuff sack and strapped onto the back of my pack . . . and still having hands that still function.

[Tipi Walter]

Ditto - for sleeping bags, quilts and tents, I get a bigger-than-OEM stuff sack, much easier to deal with a soft package than a firm cylinder. I'll add one more item to the list of things that make you get a new tent: new tents!

And it's hard to believe that some high quality sleeping bag makers will sell you a $700 down bag and include a too-small after-thought $2 stuff sack. My bag is rated to -15F and its stuff sack is a joke so I use a silnylon sea to summit 35 liter roll-top sack.

[ScareBear]

It takes a while to get your own personal packing "system" down pat. We've got our gear so sorted these days, that our go-to packs(4) are in one single bin, our go-to tents, sleeping pads, stove, purifier, kettles, bladders, gas cans, food, batteries, headlamps, rain gear, SOL gear, campcraft gear and key clothing, along with all dry bags are in another huge bin. All the down bags hang from a line run along the ceiling of a 7 foot long closet. It's just a matter of grab two bins and your bag, pick the gear for the trail and weather from the bin and go. But, there is a "system". From the bottom of the pack to the top and every pocket and every pouch. And, for good measure, we then throw the big bin in the vehicle, just in case something changes, like the weather or the trip duration...things happen....just sayin!

The thing about the "system" is that you instinctively know, no matter what the gear, how it goes...dry bag liner-bottom to top:sleep bag/air mat then clothing/cook kit then campcraft then tent bag then bear bag then bladder. Outside is always poles/stakes, rain gear/purifier in zippered back pocket, electrolyte bottle in side pocket, camera in hip pouch right, energy bars/caffeine pills left hip pouch, anything left goes in top lid. Only thing hanging is usually a 3L nalgene canteen for dirty and a 3L nalgene canteen for clean. I know, why this with the 3L bladder? Dry campsites...it's nice to have a comfy dinner with a half-litre of drink mix, comfy brekkie with coffee or tea(all my food is freeze-dried or FBC), nice wash-up, and a couple of litres left for the trail before the next water supply. Aint gonna get that done with 3L. Just sayin...

Once you get your "system" down pat, then you can spend the years and years refining it to "perfection"...yeah...right....lol

[Tipi Walter]

It takes a while to get your own personal packing "system" down pat. We've got our gear so sorted these days, that our go-to packs(4) are in one single bin, our go-to tents, sleeping pads, stove, purifier, kettles, bladders, gas cans, food, batteries, headlamps, rain gear, SOL gear, campcraft gear and key clothing, along with all dry bags are in another huge bin. All the down bags hang from a line run along the ceiling of a 7 foot long closet. It's just a matter of grab two bins and your bag, pick the gear for the trail and weather from the bin and go. But, there is a "system". From the bottom of the pack to the top and every pocket and every pouch. And, for good measure, we then throw the big bin in the vehicle, just in case something changes, like the weather or the trip duration...things happen....just sayin!

The thing about the "system" is that you instinctively know, no matter what the gear, how it goes...dry bag liner-bottom to top:sleep bag/air mat then clothing/cook kit then campcraft then tent bag then bear bag then bladder. Outside is always poles/stakes, rain gear/purifier in zippered back pocket, electrolyte bottle in side pocket, camera in hip pouch right, energy bars/caffeine pills left hip pouch, anything left goes in top lid. Only thing hanging is usually a 3L nalgene canteen for dirty and a 3L nalgene canteen for clean. I know, why this with the 3L bladder? Dry campsites...it's nice to have a comfy dinner with a half-litre of drink mix, comfy brekkie with coffee or tea(all my food is freeze-dried or FBC), nice wash-up, and a couple of litres left for the trail before the next water supply. Aint gonna get that done with 3L. Just sayin...

Once you get your "system" down pat, then you can spend the years and years refining it to "perfection"...yeah...right....lol

Great post. It reminds me of repeated actions combined with concentration combined with muscle memory equals efficient performance and gear management. I'm starting to sound like those professor types over at BPL.com.

There's no substitute for experience in any endeavor except perhaps for genius. While it takes a normal person years to learn their skill (with tremendous mistakes along the way), a genius gets a clearer picture and often figures stuff out from the beginning.

[cmoulder]

Or as the old saying goes, A place for every thing and every thing in its place.

I don't use a checklist but I now pack so many fewer things than I did even 5-6 years ago that it is a lot easier.

The last thing I forgot, which was a few months ago, was a little 3ml dropper bottle that I use to contain my daily AquaMira pre-mix. But not to worry, that's one of the few things for which I carry a backup in my toiletry/FAK/repair ditty, so it was no problem... just a minor annoyance.

As far as rolling or stuffing the tent, I use a Duplex that I fold roughly into thirds lengthwise and then roll it and stuff it into its sack. So it is both rolled and stuffed because it's somewhat difficult to get Cuben to co-operate with the process. For silnylon tents — MLD Duomid and Lightheart Solo (last night was my first time using it! :)) — I just stuff 'em.

[poolskaterx]

Depends on what tent; my cuben tent I kinda roll it into thirds and stuff it into the sack but my car camping tent(s) I fold neatly to minimize bulk.