How long does it take you to put up your tent?
- Thread starter Rain
- Start date
briansnat
Platnium Member
Less than 3 minutes for my 2 person Sierra Deisgns tent if my wife helps. About 5 minutes for my 6 person Walrus, again if my wife helps. Add a 2-3 minutes if I have to do it alone.
CaliRockJumper
New Member
the tent is the first thing i put up when camping for a few reasons. i dont like being late with this, especially when there is other tents. it takes me about 10 minutes or less depending on the tent. sometimes i put some time into the ground below the tent to ensure the best (level) sleep possible.
Lamebeaver
New Member
Can't say I've ever timed it, but it doesn't take long.
What takes me a long time is finding the "perfect" spot to pitch it. I've been known to walk around quite a bit looking for the right spot...then there's picking up the little sticks, pine cones, rocks etc.
Pitching the tent is the easy part.
What takes me a long time is finding the "perfect" spot to pitch it. I've been known to walk around quite a bit looking for the right spot...then there's picking up the little sticks, pine cones, rocks etc.
Pitching the tent is the easy part.
I once had to do a team building exercise where one partner would be blindfolded and the other person had to give instructions on how to put together a tent without touching the other person. I was able to set up my whole tent, blindfolded and with almost no instructions. I guess all those years drunken midnight camping finally paid off.
catspa
New Member
I've always been more of a tarp wizard, so my time is hard to pin down - it depends on the site and the trees and the slope and the rope... Sometimes when I think I'm done, the wind shifts and I find out I'm not, have to go out in the rain and make adjustments.
11 minutes sounds pretty good to me.
Parker
11 minutes sounds pretty good to me.
Parker
CozInCowtown
Moderator
Set-up time is directly proportionate to the number of people helping.
More people helping the longer it takes.
DC
More people helping the longer it takes.
DC
catspa
New Member
Yeah Coz, but some of that is squinting-at-the-instructions time, and searching-all-over-for-the-missing-parts time, and scratching-your-head-and-"How did we do this last time" time, and arguing-over-that-end-is-supposed-to-go-on-this-side time. Very little of it is really putting up tent. Do it by yourself, cut out the middleman.
Parker
Parker
ChadTower
Active Member
These days most of of the time it's a 4 person Kelty and it takes me 10-15 mins alone or 10 mins if my older son helps.
Subaru Camper
New Member
My three person Mountain Hardwear tent goes up in about 5 minutes but I agree it takes much more time to find the "spot" that is perfect. Taking it down typically takes longer as I like to fold everything and shake the tent out of any debris that found its way in.
djmnnesota
djminnesota
about 30 seconds with my HAMMOCK... plus two minutes for the tarp
ppine
Forester
We seem to have a different approach to shelter.
A backpacking tarp takes about 2 minutes.
A canvas tent with 2 people takes about half an hour.
An 18 foot tipi with a liner set for winter takes about an hour and a half. It takes a little longer when my friends' adopted Lakota son says a prayer in his native language, we pause to watch 3 red-tailed hawks dance in the sky, get a fresh beer and follow the laws of the No. Plains for setting up tipis. Sometimes I like to draw on the canvas.
Tipis face east. The poles are wrapped four times to represent the four wind directions, the four seasons. A canvas liner is added to make the inside much warmer. A deadman is set in the ground with a rope to the top of the poles. The smoke flaps need to adjusted. I like to light the fire as the moon rise is visible thru the smoke hole from inside. We light some white sage and pray for peace and good cheer. All of these things take time and make life worth living.
Being in the outdoors is not a race. It is just the opposite, a time to slow down and live life deliberately and with purpose. To appreciate living things, the wind, the frost, the warm sun, and good people.
A backpacking tarp takes about 2 minutes.
A canvas tent with 2 people takes about half an hour.
An 18 foot tipi with a liner set for winter takes about an hour and a half. It takes a little longer when my friends' adopted Lakota son says a prayer in his native language, we pause to watch 3 red-tailed hawks dance in the sky, get a fresh beer and follow the laws of the No. Plains for setting up tipis. Sometimes I like to draw on the canvas.
Tipis face east. The poles are wrapped four times to represent the four wind directions, the four seasons. A canvas liner is added to make the inside much warmer. A deadman is set in the ground with a rope to the top of the poles. The smoke flaps need to adjusted. I like to light the fire as the moon rise is visible thru the smoke hole from inside. We light some white sage and pray for peace and good cheer. All of these things take time and make life worth living.
Being in the outdoors is not a race. It is just the opposite, a time to slow down and live life deliberately and with purpose. To appreciate living things, the wind, the frost, the warm sun, and good people.
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ghostdog
Valhalla, I am coming
I find the few moments it takes to stake out my home for the night a pleasurable time. My tent is all toggled together, the canopy to the inner tent body and all that to the footprint. All I have to do is insert three poles, stake out four points and it is up. Then just walk around setting 8 more stakes to the bracing lines and it is ready for 80 mph winds. That's it, no setting the canopy over the tent because it is already on. This makes setting up in the rain a good experience. It keeps the entire inner tent completely dry no matter how hard the rain. It is a very fast tent to set up or take down and stow.