Follow these helpful Gear Care tips to keep your camping tent in shape and get years of service out of it.
The old adage, "Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you" is an important truth to live by for campers, hikers and backpackers, and one that is seldom more true than when it comes to your tent. At the end of a long day you'll want your tent to be clean, comfortable and able to adequately protect you from the elements. Follow the Gear Care suggestions below and you'll have a tent that will take care of you and give you years of service because you take care of it.
Initial Care - When you get a new tent, always open it and set it up before you take it out in the wild. This accomplishes two things; you get to practice setting up your tent at a leisurely pace, without the pressure of an approaching storm or darkness causing you to rush and possibly damage your tent or set it up improperly, and it gives you the opportunity to apply sealer to all the seams. Yes, manufacturers seal the seams but you'll appreciate the extra peace of mind you'll gain knowing you sealed them as well, and you'll appreciate not getting wet inside your tent during a storm. It's a small investment of time that will yield a large return for you.
Proper Storage - Let's face it, unless you're camping every weekend or hiking around the country, your tent will spend the majority of it's life in storage. Proper storage will help extend the life of your tent.
1. Make sure it's dry - nothing will start the downward trend of degradation in your tent like the mold and mildew caused by storing it when it's not completely dry. If circumstances force you to break camp in the rain or when the tent is still damp, take it out and set it up to dry and air out as soon as you can.
2. Fold or roll it differently - folding your tent, or even rolling it, the same way every time you store it will cause creases to develop. Over time, those creases can and will result in damages to the material.
3. Store the poles and stakes in their own bags - every tent I've ever seen has a separate storage bag for the poles and stakes. Use them. Otherwise you could poke a hole or cause a rip in your tent.
Always Practice Preventive Care - Remember what your grandmother told you, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Investing in some preventive care will mean a long life for your tent.
1. Check your campsite before pitching your tent - You're looking for two things; to make sure you're not placing your tent on top of rocks, roots or uneven ground that can cause damage to your tent and an uncomfortable night for you, and that the nice, flat, smooth area you find is not the lowest point on the campsite. Otherwise you could be flooded out in a storm when all the water runs downhill into your tent.
2. Use a groundcloth - this helps protect the exterior floor of the tent as well helping to prevent water from gathering under the floor. The best way to do that is to take a tarp or piece of 3 mil plastic sheeting and cut it just a little smaller than your tent's "footprint" so that the edges of the tent floor extend out slightly beyond the groundcloth's edges. If you don't make the groundcloth smaller, then water will gather on top of the groundcloth and then run in between the groundcloth and the exterior floor of the tent. Not a comfortable feeling in the middle of the night.
3. Keep it clean - Inside. Observe the Japanese custom of removing your footwear at the door to avoid tracking dirt and water inside the tent. If you can't or don't want to leave your shoes or boots outside the tent, use a plastic bag or the built-in pockets on most later model tents to store them inside. If you do get dirt or a stain inside, clean it up immediately to reduce the chance of further damage.
4. Keep it clean - Outside. There is almost no way to avoid getting dirt, stains, bird droppings, tree sap droppings and lots of other various things on the exterior of your tent. Always use clean water and a rag or sponge to clean up those stains or dirt as soon as possible.
5. Make repairs as soon as you see the problem - Science fiction author Carl Zwanzig wrote, "Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together." That may be a slight exaggeration, but duct tape is a tent's friend. You can use it to quickly patch a rip or tear and prevent it from getting worse, seal up split seams, fix broken support poles and many other repairs. The key is to make those repairs immediately, before they become unmanageable.
Your tent is your shelter in bad weather and your protection from the elements in the great outdoors. With proper care, a quality tent can last many years and provide you with many days and nights of clean, warm, comfortable shelter.
