The LHG Solo is also using fisheye hooks in the platform. This is what NOT TO DO!Originally Posted by eblanche
I just put my stakes in between the boards on the platform and tighten up the guy lines. It holds fine. No need to screw into the boards.
I was pretty worried about it before I actually did it. You can put your stakes in between the boards. Many of the platforms also have screw-eyes located around the edges of the platform. When I couldn't put the stake between the boards I put a rock on the platform and either tied the line to it or put it on top of a stake attached to the line. You may have to add a few rocks on top of that to keep it stable. A couple times I also attached lines to my friend's lines when their tent was next to mine on a double platform. Long story short, we never had a problem pitching our tents on platforms and it didn't take much longer to do than normal. BTW, I used a zpacks duplex on my hike.
When canoe camping I'm usually setting up my tent on sand or gravel that isn't going to hold a stake. If using a freestanding tent I usually don't worry about it, but on a windy day putting rocks in the corners works. I had never camped on one of these platforms before a few weeks ago and I think I've decided I really like them. We base camped at a state park for a week while we did day hikes in the area. It was nice not carrying a pack and when you were done for the day you came back and your camp was already set up. It was like camping only you had a giant deck and a picnic table. I don't know if there is a standard size to this setup but the one I stayed at was about 16x20. Plenty of room for two tents and room to sit and move around. It was built on a hillside so it also had a wrought iron rail to it where I could chain my dog and you could have tied your tent or guy lines to it. There were also metal rings bolted to the sides for this same purpose.
The other thing I noticed about hiking without a pack doing 10 to 12 mile days for a week is that we were tired at the end of the day, but after getting a good night's sleep we weren't sore when we woke up in the morning. It made the experience so much more enjoyable that I think I may just adopt this method in the future...base camp and do day hikes.
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