This entry attempts to give you a quick guide on the logistics of erecting a 6-man ridge tent, commonly known (at least in the UK) as a patrol tent.

Most of my experience with such tents has been with the Stormahven variety, so that is what the entry focuses on, although most types of patrol tent follow the same basic principles, so you shouldn’t find too much difficulty with any other tents you might come across

Step 1: Before going to camp

The first and probably most important step is to check the contents of your tent thoroughly. You need to make sure you have the following:

• The main tent.This will be the largest piece of fabric in the bag and is usually green, although there are white albino tents out there. Without this your tent is useless.
• The flysheet (Also known simply as ‘the fly’.).This is another large piece of green (or white) fabric.
• The groundsheet.This will be a large piece of thick plastic. Without it your feet will get rather wet.
• The poles.Another vital piece of equipment. There should be at least 3 poles: 2 uprights (these will have spikes on the end) and 1 ridge pole (this has a hole at either end and rests on top of the uprights). Note that almost all tents will have more than this – typically 7 – 4 uprights (2 joined together at each end) and 3 ridge poles.
• Ropes.Without them your tent is going to blow away! In serious camping circles these are known as ‘guys’. They are most definitely not, however, known as ‘guides’. If anyone putting up a tent refers to them as such, they will instantly be laughed off the campsite.
• Dollies.No, not Barbie. Tent dollies are small pieces of wood that fit over the spikes on the uprights to allow ropes to be tied on.
• Pegs.Very important. You’ll need about 30 of the wooden type. Metal ‘kebab skewer’ types are simply not strong enough to hold the tent up, although some might come in handy just to make sure that the groundsheet doesn’t blow away.
• Mallet.Vital. Anyone who’s ever tried banging in pegs with a frying pan will know what I mean.
• Bag.The least important part. The mark of a very well loved tent is that its ‘bag’ is merely a rag, which is tied round the tent to give some semblance of being cared for.

Step 2: Transport

Assuming that you’re not camping next door to where the tent is stored, you’re going to need transport. A friendly van driver is best, but they’re hard to come by. The tent should just fit into a large estate car, but 2 would be best.

Step 3: At Camp

Ok, so you’ve arrived at camp. Now you need to get it up, so to speak. The first step is to get everything out and lay it on the floor (or, if it is or has been wet, on the groundsheet). This is where you realize you have forgotten the groundsheet. In which case, back to step 1…

Step 4: Finding a site

Next you will need to find a convenient place to put your tent. Choose somewhere that is as free from stones as possible, not under too many trees but at the same time, sheltered from the wind as much as possible. If you need to see what size the tent is, look at the groundsheet. It's about that big!

Step 5: Erection

First you need to grab your pole. Find an upright – one with a spike on the end. Then, assuming that you have poles that require assembling, find another one that looks like it will fit the end of it.
Normally, if your tent has been looked after by someone sensible, the poles will be colour coded, either by painting or with strips of electricians tape or similar. Match up 2 that go together and assemble. Then repeat for the other end of the tent. Now the only poles left over should be the ridge poles. Assemble these, then link the whole lot together by putting the spikes on the uprights through the holes on the ridge.

Now you’re ready to put the tent together. First find the main tent. There should be 2 holes along the top edge. The uprights go inside the tent with the spikes poking through the holes.

Now put the flysheet over the main tent in the same fashion.
Finally, put the dollies on top of the spikes and make sure there are ropes tied around them. These will come in handy later.

Step 6: Erections with friends

Now you will need to find one, two or preferably three friends to help with your erection. Find one end of one of the guys tied to the dollies. With two of you standing on the same side of the tent, and the other two, if you have them, standing next to the poles to prevent slipping, you can begin.
What you need to do is to pull on the guys until the tent is upright.

Once this is done, someone (preferably not one of the rope holders) needs to find a peg and a mallet. Hammer the peg into the ground with the mallet, about 2 metres away from the end of the tent and at an angle of about 45 degrees to the ridge. The peg should be angled slightly away from the tent. This gives it stability, allowing it to brace itself against the rope, much like someone leaning into the wind. The peg should be banged in until just the top part is visible (i.e., the whole peg is in the ground up to the bottom of the notch cut in it.).

Now the guy can be slipped over the rope. If the peg is too far away, do not fear. Guy ropes have a cunning device to alter their length! About half way up (depending on how well the previous user put it away) there should be a block of wood with 2 holes in. Pushing this towards the tent makes the rope shorter, pulling it away makes it longer. The guy should be longer than necessary before being put over the peg, then tightened as needed (though not too much yet, or the tent will fall over!).

Repeat this for the other guy on this side.

Then go round to the other side and perform the same operation there. Now, everyone can let go of the tent and hay presto! It stands up!

However, it doesn’t look much like a tent. This means it still needs work. Now you need to find every single guy you can and peg them out to the sides. Whilst you are doing this, you will undoubtedly find some small loops on the side of the tent, near the ground. These are known as brailings. A peg should be put through each of these, taking care that the hessian ‘sod’ sheet is inside the tent. This is what stops the inside of the tent getting wet.

Step 7: Admiring your erection

Now stand back and be proud of what you have done. Make sure that the fly sheet is clear of the main tent, because if it isn’t water can enter during rain. Similarly, when sleeping inside, take care not to touch the inside of the tent.

Step 8: Ok; I've done all that, now I'm bored! What else can I try?

Well, since you ask, there are a couple of advanced tricks you can try.

The first is something that you should do every morning at camp, and allows the tent to dry out, preventing it from rotting. This trick is known as Brailling. What you need to do is go round the edges of the tent, finding all the little pegs which are pushed through loops at the side of the tent. Take all of these out. If the tent starts falling down, push them back in again, quickly...

However, now you should find that the sides of the tent are not attached to the ground. This means that you can roll the sides up, and tie them with the pieces of string provided, hanging down from the side of the tent. Now your tent should look like it is flying - the poles are holding the roof up, but it seems not to be connected to the ground.
Make sure you put the sides back again before going to bed or it'll be a cold night!

The next trick is called 'Storm Lashing'. This is only necessary in high winds, although if you do find yourself camping in a patrol tent in high winds, the very first thing you should say is 'Why?'.

Basically, to storm lash a tent, you lean it into the wind to brace itself. Find out which way the wind is coming from, and, if the short end of the tent (the door) is not facing this way, you will need to find about 8 people to help turn it round. 2 people should hold the poles, 4 people should hold the main (dolly) guys, whilst the others go around taking guys off pegs and then putting them on again later.

Then, once the tent is facing the right way, you can storm lash it. Take one of the aforementioned dolly guys off its peg and place it over the peg of the dolly guy on the same side. Then, repeat for all four. The dolly guys should now cross over, as seen from the side of the tent. Then tighten the guys attached to the dolly at the front of the tent (where the wind is coming from) and loosen those at the back. Your tent should now be able to withstand higher winds, although camping anywhere in a gale is highly inadvisable and you'd be better off down the pub.