I love weekends where I don’t have to train much. I can actually get some stuff done around the house. While doing one of those things around the house this morning, I saw the camping gear that I recently bought in my closet. It’s a sleeping bag and a tent. The sleeping bag I know is suppose to be hung up when not in use. I know that storing it rolled up or anything like that will shorten the life of it. Now, how about the tent? Right now, I have it hanging over a hanger in my closet. Is that the best way to store it? I’m worried about a crease forming where it’s touching the hanger. So, what’s the best way to store this tent? Oh, it’s a 2-person backpacking tent.
I have a $30 tent that I got in 6th grade that I’ve always packed and stored in the bag (for 25+ years) and my kids still take it out and enjoy it. I wouldn’t worry about keeping the tent in the bag… In fact it’s probably better to store it in the bag than on the hanger for the reasons you mentioned…
There is absolutely no problem storing the tent in its bag as long as it is dry. I think that is going to be true of all of the camping gear. Don’t put it away ever unless it is clean and dry. Then store it somewhere dark and dry. If you keep it in a crawl space or a wet basement you will find that it will ge musty which can break down the nylon.
Bernie
The sleeping bag doesn’t have to be hung. It can be rolled (or stuffed) loosely in a cotton sack and be just fine. You don’t want to put it in a compression sack or roll it too tightly for the long term, and the cotton let’s it breathe so it doesn’t pick up moisture and mildew. Hanging is fine too, but not neccessary. As for the tent, I agree that it has to be clean and dry before you pack it away, but after that, it’s probably best off in whatever pack it came in.
I store my tents loosely stuffed in an over sized nylon bag. Sleeping bags either hung or in large cotton laundry bags. do not roll your tent and store it, in fact never roll your tent. the repeated creases from doing this will weaken the fabric
That’s good advice about the silver Sharpie. Right now, I’m on one tent and one sleeping bag so if I get confused why my “sleeping bag” doesn’t keep me warm at night and has these mesh windows in it and why my “tent” has no windows and has no slots for the poles, I shouldn’t be camping.
I’m going camping in a couple of weeks for the first time with the baby in tow…she is 1 today and just beginning to walk and eat everything she can pick up off the ground…so it should be quite an adventure.
I just bought a 6 man tent…the thing is ENORMOUS…18x12 with an additional external mesh room. I’ve never had a tent before that didn’t fit in a backpack. I put it up on the front lawn last weekend and its about 8 feet high in the middle!
Ditto what everyone else said, make sure everythign is dry before you store it. If your sleeping bag is down it can take up to a week hanging indoors for the thing to be completely moisture free. Hollow tube fiber bags dry much quicker.
The important thinng when storing tents is to make sure that there are no sharp objects in contact with the material. Store the poles and pegs in a separate bag to be on the safe side. At the end of the season I like to give my tent a quick spray with a mildew killer before putting it away for winter.
If you are borrowing your girl friend’s tent, I highly suggest putting it in a plastic tub with a lid on it while it is dirty and wet. She will love you forever the next time she decides to go camping. I know this from personal experience.