Tent Care Tips
Tent Care Instructions
General points.
1. Practise putting up your tent before your camping trip, so that you will not face difficulties on holiday.
2. Look for an even patch of ground preferably with a slight incline to aid water run off, remove large or sharp stones which could cause damage to your groundsheet.
3. Avoid trees! The sap will drip off and mark your tent.
4. Ensure that the tension on the pegging points and guy lines is not too tight to allow for any strain such as strong winds, peg as evenly as possible to make tension even over the tent
5. Always push tent poles through the tent sleeves carefully against the joints, never pull as this causes the elastic to over stretch and may cause damage to the sleeve when released.
6. All zips should be closed during assembly this ensures that when erect the zips are in the correct shape and not strained.
7. For greater stability, drive pegs into the ground at a slant, making sure that there is an even tension on the tent from all sides.
8. Dust and dirt should be removed with a soft brush and / or clear water only, avoid detergents they will affect the waterproofing.
9. Treat the zippers with care. If the zipper sticks slowly and carefully manipulate it do not use force. Occasionally treat the zipper with a silicon zip ease spray to retain suppleness.
10. When breaking down remember that tents should always be clean, dry, and stored in a cool dry place.
11. It is essential to keep the inner and outer tent well apart in wet weather. Contact between the two could cause leaking.
12. All tents particularly those made from synthetic materials are subject to some condensation. It is therefore essential that the ventilation provided is used especially during the night. Do Not confuse condensation with leaking. The average person will expel 1litre of water during sleep with no ventilation this will condense on the tent skin and give the appearance of leaks, bear in mind more people more water!, cooking also causes condensation. Built in groundsheets may help to reduce some of the condensation. Which cannot be totally avoided.
13. Use all supplied pegs and guyropes. You may leave the tent in calm conditions but return to high winds. Peg guylines close to the tent to avoid people tripping over them which can damage pegging points.
14. If the elastic through the poles should break, you will be able to purchase a replacement at Hitch-N-Pitch or any good camping shop
15. Replacement sections are available for most fibreglass poles, take the one you wish to replace to us and we will find a good match they can be shortened if necessary using a fine toothed saw. We can do this for a small fee!
16. Please note that tents are temporary structures and are not designed for overlong exposure to the elements. Too much sun will cause fading and eventually cause the fabric to break down, many manufacturers now treat the fabric with UV protection and many of the re-proofing products have this. Tents are designed to repel water, occasionally you may find some slight leakage through a seam this can be treated by applying a seam sealer which you will find readily available.
17. Tents are made with care, guarantees are for 12 months against faulty manufacture or fabric failure it does not guarantee that damage will not occur in difficult conditions.
| Buying your equipment
1. Buy the best quality tent you can afford it is your shelter from the elements and poor protection will spoil a holiday.
Beware of second hand, preferably see the tent or awning up and check that all the poles and fittings are there, and that the fly sheet is undamaged, generally they are not replaceable.
2.Analyse how you will use the space, family camping is very different from back packing or festival use. Plan who will sleep where, do you want to be all together or do you want personal space, kids one side, parents the other? How much space do you need. where will you cook, what will you do if it rains. Who will be putting up the tent, will they need help, who can help? How easy is it to put up, and will it fit in the car!
3. When choosing equipment decide what you need and note any dimensions which are crucial to make the item fit where you intend to put it. Identify what properties the item requires to make it a useful peice of kit.
4. Be prepared to spend more to get better equipment which will last longer and do exaclty what you want. The rule buy cheap, buy twice is often true. Try to have less equipment that works well, rather than lots of unsuitable items.
5.Generally the difference between a good and possibly more expensive piece of equipment and a poor performing one, at first glance may not be obvious, but when making a decision look out for these indicators.
In tents the thickness of poles, the hydrosatic head (HH) of the material, the standard of stiching, the taping of seams, the quality of zips, and the amount and size of ventilation points are all important factors and add to the difference in cost between similar designs.
6. Furniture the same principals apply steel fittings are heavier and generally cheaper,
Aluminium is lighter and more expensive the size and shape of the poles indicates how strong the item will be. A thicker pole/ frame will be stronger and an oval shape is generally stronger than a round. Adjustable fittings will add to the cost but make items more comfortable and versatile. Look out for materials which will not be damaged by moisture, is resilient to knocks and scrapes with good quality fixings. Unfortunately there is often a compromise to be made between strength, and weight. Lightweight and strong will always be the most expensive.
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