Shelters are important when camping for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, when trying to find a good value on a tent many people overlook a basic tent design feature; whether it requires staking or is "free standing." A staked tent requires staking (and usually guy lines) as the primary support for the tent whereas a freestanding tent does not. Some tent models, such as the MSR Fling tent (picture at left), allow for both pitching options and will have different packed weights depending on the configuration. Overall, your choice of tent design should depend upon your terrain and weather more than anything else. If you remember to try to anticipate where and when you will be camping you will also give yourself the best chance of not waking up in a collapsed, flooded or destroyed shelter!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tent designs: Staked or freestanding?
Shelters are important when camping for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, when trying to find a good value on a tent many people overlook a basic tent design feature; whether it requires staking or is "free standing." A staked tent requires staking (and usually guy lines) as the primary support for the tent whereas a freestanding tent does not. Some tent models, such as the MSR Fling tent (picture at left), allow for both pitching options and will have different packed weights depending on the configuration. Overall, your choice of tent design should depend upon your terrain and weather more than anything else. If you remember to try to anticipate where and when you will be camping you will also give yourself the best chance of not waking up in a collapsed, flooded or destroyed shelter!