Welcome to the AppalachianTrailCafe.net!
Take a moment and register and then join the conversation

How to carry a tent ?

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • How to carry a tent ?

      Up until now I've always had packs that had straps across the bottom and I'd carry my tent there. Now I'm considering a pack, ULA Catalyst, which doesn't have that feature. I like having the tent outside the pack so in the rain I can get it set up before opening my pack. The only other option I can think of is to put the tent in the pack, but I'm not crazy about that idea as a wet tent could get other things wet. I'm wondering how you folks carry your shelter and what the pros and cons of the different options are. I don't know if it matters but we'll be using a Tarptent Double Rainbow. It's not a small package, about a 4 inch diameter and 16 inches long, weighing about 3 pounds with the ground cloth.

    • I have an outer pouch in the back of the pack. The tent goes in there, vertically. I dont worry about wet tents as I use a pack liner. Things that need to stay dry go in there. Other things don't. But packing in the back outer pouch works better as it is usually the last thing to be packed and the first out.

    • I use the Catalyst, but pack a hammock, not a tent.

      Since the hammock stays dry under my tarp, it goes inside the pack. The tarp goes in a 'snake skin' and then in the mesh pocket outside the pack.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • Inside pack

      If it wet....either outside pocket or inside

      Everything gets wet when it's wet.

      My clothes, insulation, sleeping pad.....go in dry plastic liner. Maps, electronic type stuff too.

      Most of my stuff is in ziplocks so that helps too. Med kit, headlight, spare glasses, etc. Everything else, can and will be wet If not from rain, from wetness and condensation . Resistance is futile.

    • LIhikers wrote:

      I e-mailed ULA and the reply I got says that our tent should fit in the outside, side pocket carried vertically.
      I too use a pack liner so I guess the idea of my tent getting things wet isn't really a concern.
      I have a ULA Circuit and Catalyst and usually carry my tent in one of the side pockets. Sometimes when my tent is dry in the summer and food is low, I put it inside the pack, but still outside my trash compactor bag liner.

      Only problem I have had is in in NH & ME where my tent bag has gotten a little snagged on the branches and rocks. Of course if you stay upright and don't get too close to the trees that may not be a problem. Definitely plan to have my tent inside my pack when I go through Mahoosuc Notch.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • LIhikers wrote:

      Thanks everybody.!

      Now I just have to decide what color to get my new pack.
      Right now I'm leaning toward orange.
      Might be helpful during hunting season.

      Fall and winter I wear an orange Astros hat and orange Marmot Precip jacket as my outer shell. Even have an orangish beanie when too cold for Astros hat. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General