How to Pitch a Tent In the Rain
There is no doubt about the fact that pitching a tent in the rain requires a lot of effort and practice. There are very less chances of success if you’re trying to pitch a tent in the rain for the first time and you’re thinking that everything will go according to your plan.
There is a great need of trying out your gear before leaving your place and a practical rehearsal of everything at home would be perfect. When the rain comes, it doesn’t have any favorites and it won’t mind tearing apart your tent if you haven’t done it the right way.
There is no choice of wasting time when it is pouring down. Also, you need to act swiftly and move rapidly in order to complete your task of pitching a tent in the rain. Practicing is extremely important as far as all of your equipment is concerned.
Without proper practice, there are high chances of making mistakes that will cause frustration. A lot of practice will also help you do things quickly when the time arrives and you should always concentrate on accuracy and pace. Here in this article, we take a look at some of the finest steps that will answer your question of How to Pitch a Tent In the Rain?
7 Ways to pitch tent in the rain
1- Choosing the correct spot:
There is a huge strategic importance of choosing the correct spot for camping. This is one of the starting phases that determine the future of your camp in the rain. Therefore, we highly recommend choosing your camping spot after a bit of research and location scouting.
If you’ve set up your tent in a dry riverbed, there are high chances of your tent flowing on a river including you, if the rain arrives.
After finalizing your spot, the next step is to protect your tent from getting wet any further. A place on the lee side of a natural windbreak would be extremely perfect. If the location is one a higher ground, you’d definitely enjoy camping over there.
Places that need to be ignored are depression plots, gullies, hollows and low-lying areas. The bottom of the slop, where most of the water gathers, is not an ideal place to pitch your tent either.
2- Pack equipment separately:
Everything related to your tent should always be packed separately. Instead of putting them all together in a single bag, put your poles, inner tent, fly and everything else in another bag. With the help of this trick, you’d be able to keep all other parts of the tent safe and bringing them out one by one will also safe them from getting exposed to severe rain.
3- Rolling the fly:
When you’re packing your tent, roll the fly outwards because there is no harm in letting the outer part of the fly getting wet. However, things can go haywire if the inner part gets wet and it can drip inside the tent as well. In this way, you’d pitch the fly outwards without letting the inside part of the tent wet.
4- Keeping the zipper closed:
One of the most important habits to develop for a camper is to make sure he keeps the zipper of the tent closed all the time. Make it a permanent habit to shut down the zippers of every opening in the tent including doors, vents and windows.
When you try to set up a tent, this method will help you achieve effective results. It also saves you quite a lot of time and you can continue your journey further. If you don’t make this a habit, be ready for water entering your tent while pitching.
5- Tarp first always:
Setting the tarp first is one of the handiest tips while pitching a tent in the rain. This method is particularly useful at a place with a lot of greenery and trees in particular. If you set up the tarp first, it will give you a reasonably dry surface to work with.
Rainfly can also be used instead of a tarp. This is suitable for one or two people maximum. If you’re camping alone, make sure you have enough practice to set it up nicely without any help.
6- Prefer single wall tent:
Most of the campers around the globe prefer a single-wall tent instead of a double-wall tent. The reason behind this compulsion is that a single-wall tent is always faster and easier to set up compared to the other one.
You can differentiate between the two by seeing if it has a Rainfly and a separate tent then it is a double-wall. These tents are the most difficult ones to set up because there are many complications involved. You have to set up the most vulnerable part at the start.
On the other hand, if we talk about single-wall hands, they come with just one waterproof layer and it can be erected in one go. If the doors and vents are shut, you can simply pitch it without the rain getting inside your tent.
However, you must note down that single-wall tents have a few condensation issues. Similarly, the latest ones in the market are coming with better ventilation and therefore; condensation shouldn’t become a problem.
7- Waterproof bivvy:
Sometimes, the situation can get out of control if the rain struck heavily. Having a waterproof bivvy is very precious in these kinds of situations. If you look at the campers that mostly explore the backcountry side, they will take a bivvy as an important item to carry all the time.
Chances of your tent getting wet from inside are quite high in any case. Therefore, having a waterproof bivvy will help you take a comfortable night’s sleep, even if it is pouring down.
Conclusion:
Alright guys, this was another one of our informative guides for all the regular campers and travel junkies. In order to pitch your tent in the rain, these above-mentioned methods can be tried without any hesitance.
We truly hope that this piece will help you pitch your tent better when heavy rain comes around. We shall see you soon in our next analytical piece, until then goodbye and good luck with your tours.