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When packing for your trip, consider the conditions you’ll likely encounter
and what sort of anchors you’ll require. You can often leave several of
the supplied pegs at home and replace them with improvised anchors,
thereby saving weight and space in your pack.
Ventilating the Tent
Proper ventilation is the key to minimizing condensation in any tent. Keep
fabric doors open as widely as the prevailing weather permits. If bugs
or drafts aren’t a problem, leave mesh doors open too. Crack each door
open from the top down; warm, moist air rises and will escape through
high openings. If the design of your tent allows for it, have openings at
both ends or both sides of the tent to allow air to fl ow through for best
ventilation. On very hot nights, when you are confi dent there will be no
rain or dewfall, you can leave the fl ysheet off and use the inner tent alone
as a “bug tent.”
Disassembling the Tent
The most important consideration in taking down a tent is not to stress
the poles and fabrics. First, disconnect guylines and release the tension
from the tent. Next, release all the poles. If your tent has pole sleeves,
push the poles out of the sleeves instead of pulling them out. To minimize
the stress on the bungee cord in the poles and to speed disassembly,
fold each pole in half fi rst, and then fold down towards the outsides, two
sections at a time.
Packing the Tent
If possible, fold and roll the tent rather than stuffi ng it into its sack—rolling
makes a smaller package, and causes fewer creases in the polyurethane
coating. The tent and poles may be carried separately for easier packing
or load sharing. There are two drawcords on the tent sack. Use the lower
one when carrying the tent separately from the poles; this makes a
shorter package that fi ts sideways into a pack. If carrying the pole sack
on the outside of a pack, securely attach the drawcord to the pack to
avoid loss.
CARE AND MAINTENANCE
Protecting the Tent
Ultraviolet damage is the single largest hazard your tent faces in its
lifetime. Fabrics should not be exposed to sunlight for extended periods
of time; this will eventually result in colour fading and fabric failure. The
uncoated fabrics of the tent canopy are most susceptible to damage from
UV and should be covered by the more durable fl y. If extended exposure
is unavoidable, cover the tent with a tarp or a sheet of nylon.
Lightfield eng.indd 6
Lightfield eng.indd 6
3/1/05 2:32:26 PM
3/1/05 2:32:26 PM
