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Hi,  just remembering last year camping through storm. (first time) Looking back I wonder if I pitched tent the wrong way. It is a tunnel tent and the wind was blowing end on. Is it better to pitch side-on to the wind?  Learnt one thing though. I had to go out in night, in rain and wind to secure canopy ropes that came loose. They obviously werent gonna hold, so I used 3 or 4 tent pegs all going in different directions on each rope. They held through rest of storm.

Bum-end to the wind, never side on or face in. Of course the wind can turn, but you can only do the best you can when you arrive, after all

You were spot-on with what you did with your pegs. It's called double pegging and classically means two pegs driven in making an X-shape under the ground to give a better hold. Did you remember to put your intial pegs in at an angle of 90` to the guyline ie an angle of 45` to the ground, pointing in towards the tent?

Quote: Originally posted by bluenosewidow on 03/6/2008

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Val, I remember years ago in the girl guides we were taught to loosen the the guy ropes a little in the wind & rain to prevent them straining and snapping or puling the pegs out. Is this still the case or should the guys be tight?

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In the Dark Ages tents and guylines were both made of cotton and other natural fibres and stretched and shrunk in the rain. Also the poles were wood or metal, and construction of the tent was different. So what we had to do back then doesn't really apply to modern synthetic tents where the materials behave differently. In windy conditions the key is to keep your fibreglass poles supported...you must allow a little flex, but letting them overflex will allow the pole to break and/or pull out the pegs. So snug but not drum tight is the rule here, and you don't slacken them in storm weather no. Just keep to the snug bit, even if it does require you checking them a bit more often.

Could anyone tell me the best direction to set-up a tahoma 6 / diablo 600 style of tent please?  I thought the rear facing into the wind but would the sleeping pods create a funnel so the wind is all forced onto the back door?