Twenty minutes for one person, fifteen for two. It`s a dead easy tent to erect....I bought one so I could put it up solo when I went camping without hubby. (I`m middle aged, female, 5`4".)
Couple of small tips...
When you`ve threaded the poles and pinned them in, peg down the windward end of the tunnel first, and then lift the hoops and walk back. That way the wind helps push the tent upright, rather than working against it.
There`s a central guyline at the top of each end pole hoop...if you`re working solo, have a peg and mallet at the far end ready so you can get that guyline pegged in asap, while you straighten the sides.
The end with the pole out door needs to be really, really smooth and taut, otherwise it will droop against the inner. It took me a couple of goes to get this right...you need to pull the corner pegging points well out to the sides. Watch out when you put the groundsheet down here as well...the groundsheet runs right up to the edge and there`s no stormflap here so it`s easy to poke a corner out from under the flysheet. I fold the edge under a few inches before putting up the inner.
When snugging the ring `n pin tension straps down, don`t pull them too tight, especially the ones for the pole that has the toggle points for the big pod. The pod is a tight fit and you`ll never get it toggled or zipped up if the pole is tight...it spreads into a barrel shape. Half way is fine.
It`s a lovely tent and very roomy inside for its size, even for a family of four in the peeing rain. I also took it for a weekend I was camping with a female friend and we just used the big pod, so the living area was huge. It rained one day so we had ten friends (who were camping in pup tents) piled in with us...twelve women in one tent, very cosy! Another day it was very hot so we poled out the end door for a canopy...also very useful.
I`ve got a couple of tiny moans about it...I`d have liked a storm flap on the end door, a pegging point in the centre of the end door and slightly longer elastic loops at the toggles. But these are very small criticisms. I`d also have liked full side gussets on the end door so you could pole it out in the rain....but that would be a big design input, and expensive. Overall it`s a lot of tent for the money, very versatile and very solid. I don`t remember when I was last so pleased with a new tent.
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