View Full Version : To stuff or to fold, that is the question...
Double Wide
10-11-2012, 23:42
When packing up your tent on the trail, do you stuff it or fold it neatly? Of course if I'm storing it for more than a week or two, I try to fold it as compactly as possible, but setting it up and taking it down every day on the trail, does it really matter if the tent is folded or stuffed in the compression bag for the day? I imagine if it's pouring down rain, I'm gonna just get it put away as quickly as possible, no style points whatsoever... But, folded neatly takes up less space in the pack, right?
I remember being told years ago that if I keep folding the tent the same way, it'll develop a leak in the creases. Of course, material technology has advanced a long way since then, so I don't see a problem down the road for my REI tent, but it seems like I'm not taking care of my gear if I just stuff it like a sleeping bag.
Thoughts?
swjohnsey
10-11-2012, 23:47
Mostly I fold and then wrap package around tent poles and stakes. When it is really pourin' I just stuff it.
It's more efficient to stuff it. It makes better use of the space in your pack and takes less of your time as well. I've got a hiking partner who makes a point of folding everything back up laboriously in the exact same way it came from the factory and into the same stuff sacks it came from the factory. It takes him forever and when he is done he can't fit as much stuff into his pack as I can with my quick stuffing method (he ends up with lots of hard, rigid packages that don't fill all the spaces in his pack well). I've been "stuffing" my current tent for the last six years and it has held up fine.
Big Dawg
10-12-2012, 00:27
Stuff it!.........
Mountain Mike
10-12-2012, 00:28
Stuff. My tent often comes out at lunch to dry/air out.
Stuff it during the trip and bag it loosely in a cloth sack when it's stored at home.
Whack-a-mole
10-12-2012, 07:18
When you stuff it, leave out the little bag of tent poles. Then the tent can fit in a lot more places in your pack. It can even bend around harder items like your cookpot and stove and stuff. Slide the slender pole bag down into a little spot, as they don't take up too much room.
I roll mine (then into a garbage bag) unless wet - then it goes in mesh pocket folded until able to dry (ULA pack).
Either way it is on outside of pack.
This may change a bit in different circs.
yellowsirocco
10-12-2012, 07:59
Folding/rolling is for people in the Army who are interesting in making their stuff look good. Stuffing is for people who care about efficientcy.
once i wake and eat; i stuff all my gear. i like to move out fast from camp. tent poles and stakes get wrapped in my sleep pad.
once i wake and eat; i stuff all my gear. i like to move out fast from camp. tent poles and stakes get wrapped in my sleep pad.
... so the pad gets stuffed?
ha ha, yes, evertime i break camp you know its me from the crunching and snapping of the poles that are in my sleep pad that i just stuffed. noooo, the pad is the the only thing that gets rolled and slid down the side of the pack with my poles and stakes rolled inside. good catch tho.
Stuff and go never roll>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>....
RodentWhisperer
10-12-2012, 08:49
I'm with OzJacko on this, possibly due to my OCD packing tendencies: roll it rather quickly/loosely, and place it in the pack's external pocket. If wet, the tent gets rolled up as loose as possible, after I shake off the excess moisture; then, I tie it onto the pack's back side, and let it dry as much as possible.
I do live/hike in the Rockies, so typically, if/when your tent is wet in the morning, mountain sunshine usually takes care of it by the time you eat lunch. Of course, there's the whole torrential afternoon lightning+thunder+hail thing, but that's another matter entirely! :)
Way back when, I used to fold, then roll around stakes and poles, then slide the entire package into it's heavyweight bag to attach to the top of my frame pack. Manufacturers then started advising against folding because, as we are creatures of habit, we would always fold in the same way. The theory was that repeatedly folding in the same spot weakened the polyurethane coating, so caused delaminating. I switched to placing the poles and stakes into the bag, then stuffing, but it never made a very neat or as solid of package for strapping onto the outside of the pack.
Now with most of todays fabrics, I don't think delaminating is much of a problem, and stuffing seems to work quicker and faster for fitting today's small tents inside our small packs.
All that to say - "Stuff It".
HikerMom58
10-12-2012, 11:21
Stuff it.........the sleeping pad is thermarest zlite (i hate it) on the outside of the pack.
I roll mine. Takes about 1 minute, faster if it's raining. With a tarptent double rainbow, which has a spreader bar rolling appears more effecient because in order to stuff it the bar needs to be addressed.
88BlueGT
10-12-2012, 12:17
Wow, seems like I'm the only one who rolls my tent up. I have a TT Rainbow and I always fear of crushing the beak. I guess my OCD gets in the way of my efficiency sometimes.
Starchild
10-13-2012, 17:26
Quickly roll it around the tent poles, no style points here, just try to keep it short enough to fit in the bag even if it means folding over the extra. So it's sort of a stuff the roll :D
grateful 2
10-13-2012, 23:24
roll, roll, roll your tent, then gently in the pack.
If you're storing it for more than a week or two, please don't do so "compactly", rather, store it as loosely as possible. I try to store my fly and tent in separate stuff sacks, each large enough to store both, when storing them at home. There doesn't seem to be much point in stressing nylon at a folding or stuff point if you don't need to do so.
bamboo bob
10-14-2012, 10:53
I have rolled for ever but reading this my may convert to stuffing. Or not.
MuddyWaters
10-14-2012, 19:32
Hard to neatly fold anything as slippery as silnylon.
Just roll things up crudely, then stuff them in. If not using a stuffsack I roll up and put a couple of rubber bands around.
88BlueGT
10-14-2012, 20:26
So for the first time I went out for the weekend and didn't bring the stuff sack for the tent. I rolled it up and stuffed into my pack and I must say..... worked well!
shake your rain fly good and set it aside, stuff tent body and then stuff rain fly on top - squeeze out any air - -dry in sun if sun comes out - repeat, have fun
turtle fast
10-14-2012, 21:19
Stuffing things makes greater use of space....only roll if you want some assemblage of non wrinkled clothes.
Mr. Clean
10-15-2012, 07:55
I had always heard that you shouldn't fold your gear as it would create creases and eventually form tears. Does this still hold true with the new fabrics?
rusty bumper
10-15-2012, 18:45
I roll my Tarptent Moment and slip it into the "stuff sack" that came with the tent. I slip the collapsed pole and the little sack with the 2 tent pegs into the same tent stuff sack, and then load it into the longish outside mesh pocket on my Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus pack.
colorado_rob
10-15-2012, 19:07
Interesting difference (as always) in the responses. I find I get a tighter tent bundle when I roll it vs. stuff it.
I know I get a smaller package doing a crude roll because I can just barely get my entire tent in its supplied stuff sack if I just stuff it. When I roll it, it goes in very easily with some room to spare (two pieces, tent body and fly).
So that's definitely my method, I just make sure it's crude meaning I won't ever roll it the same way and possibly create these creases, even if this is not an issue with modern fabrics.
For longer term storage, after a thorough drying, I crudely and loosely fold it, don't put it in any stuff sack, just lay it all on its shelf.
Wise Old Owl
10-15-2012, 19:59
Uh how about reading the directions?
stuff it after shaking off the rain/dew...take it out at lunch break to dry...stuff it again!! or hammock with snakeskins, no worries!! :)