I have a khyam quick erect tent and am going to Cornwall in August, as this is part of Britain I want to be prepared for any weather, has anyone used storm straps, do I really need them? Single female with dog would like any advice.
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Storm straps are for canvas tents, not synthetic tents. They would buff through your flysheet in an hour.
Just take the usual precautions...tent pitched bum end into the prevailing wind, good guyling with appropriate pegs knocked in correctly. Take any canopy or gazebo (!) down if it gets windy. Take camping furniture into the tent. Take extra guylines, pegs and runners...sometimes double guying a vunerable pole can really help. Use any natural shelter when pitching, or use your car as a windbreak.
Our Khyam QE tent was one of only two tents left standing on the campsite after a gale in Devon last summer.
HOWEVER, another QE tent was flattened purely because the owners had only used a few of the guy ropes, and those they had used were used more as washing lines rather than pegged down properly.
For the main corner guys use two of the black storm pegs supplied, but put them in at right angles to each other, or else get some slightly more robust large plastic pegs. Use every available guying point, and if you go out for the day, don't forget to peg down the bottoms of doors that you would normally open. The first time we took our Khyam to Wales we were the second tent in from the Irish sea on a hill in a gale, and although the tent stayed put, the front and back doors blew open so there was a gale blowing stright through the middle of the tent!
I bought 2 packs of the storm guys for my Freelander and Excelsior XL, and had put 2 on each main pole on my Freelander once, and the tent stayed up in really windy conditions.
So yes, my advice is get the storm guys and use them for a peace of mind.
DK
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Quote: Originally posted by Crazy Clive on 05/6/2010
There shouldn't be strong enough gales down here in August, so you will be OK
Where you for the last two summers ? Visited both times in August & got hit by major storms both times. Glad to say the Vango Diablo stood up well but that can't be said for many of the tents around us.