h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: How to erect a patrol tent - A1059112
Author: Crazy Mike - U228689

As far as I know, all the instructions are correct, but if anyone knows differently, I'm prepared to admit that I'm wrong!
This is my first guide entry, so I thought I'd submit it here, rather than peer review.
So... What do you think?

I can certainly follow your instructions, so that's a good start (but then, I know my guys and dollies to start off with). I think there's a teeny typo in Stormhaven near the start ...

I would class the flysheet and the groundsheet as optional - I have never unpacked a Stormhaven containing either, and would only expect to find canvas, poles, pegs, dollies and mallet. A flysheet really isn't essential, and the occupants of the tent often bring their own groundsheets to sleep on.

And I have to admit that I pitch a patrol tent completely differently to you! My method runs thus:

check everything is there

sort pegs by size: 4 huge ones for main guys, however many for corners and sides, and lots of small wooden brailings

put together the ridge pole and lie it on the ground where you want the tent to be (ie, about 6ft vertically below where the ridge pole will end up once the tend is erected)

put upright brailings into the ground at either end of the ridge pole (these will be your door brailings and the uprights will go next to them)

stand at one of the door brailings with the ridge pole on your right. Take 4 (I think it's 4, can never remember until I'm confronted with the actual tent) paces forward, then turn 90 degrees so you are walking parallel with the ridge pole and walk another 4 paces. Where you end up is where you bang in the main guy peg for the dolly which will go where you started (this is SO hard to explain without either a tent or pencil and paper handy).

Repeat this for the other 4 main guy pegs.

Put all poles into canvas (assembled, obviously), with the end uprights each next to a door brailing; knock up the air vent (cos you can't easily do this once the tent is up), stick on the dollies, raise the canvas and loop the main guys over their respective pegs. If you have done this properly, the tent will stay upright straight away.

You then peg everything out as you've said, although I'd add a bit about corners (two ropes at 90 degress or one rope bisecting an imaginary arc around the corner of the canvas) and that side guys should be in an exact line with the seams on the canvas.

The advantages of this method are

1. you don't have to get your tall friends to stand around for hours holding the canvas up while you run round banging in pegs
2. the tent is already "storm lashed" (my definition of this is completely different to yours, sorry) plus the main guys are at the side of the tent and less likely to get tripped over.

Whether or not this can or needs to be added in to what you've written is probably what's called a moot point ... I imagine that anybody who reads it who's ever pitched a patrol tent will do it at least slightly differently and possibly, like me, completely differently!

Not sure if I've actually helped here ...

Mol