At the end of a camping trip, packing up gear can sometimes be frustrating, especially when it comes to returning your tent from whence it came. However, with a little patience, determination and the following tips, repacking your tent for your exit can be made less stressful and aggravating and maybe even a little fun.
Check out how the tent is packed before you get your campsite ready. Chances are, when you arrive at your camping destination, your tent is in a bag with its poles (if it has them) and everything is organized. Instead of dumping the contents of your tent bag on the ground in haste, have a look to see how things have been packed. When it comes time to leave your campsite, a memory of how the tent fabric and accompanying poles were situated in their bag can come in handy, especially if you want to avoid inventing a newer, untested method.
Follow the instructions. Some tents will include documentation on how to best repack your tent after use. Like many instruction booklets, this can suffer irreparable water damage or rip apart and be lost to posterity. Nonetheless, if you've just purchased your tent--peruse the instruction manual if one is included and commit the section on repacking to memory. You'll thank yourself later.
Patience, patience, patience. Rule number one of packing up a campsite is don't hurry. If you rush the job you're liable to leave important items behind, like tent poles, stakes or the family dog. Take a deep breath and do the job right. As you disassemble your tent, keep things organized and keep a count of how many stakes and poles your tent uses if you don't already know. It makes sense to put these items in the tent bag first, before the body of the tent. Although some would argue it's best to fold or roll your tent then fit it into the bag, a lesser known technique is to cram. That's right. Slowly fitting the tent into the tent bag can allow for the entire space of the bag to be used while snugly fitting the bag's contours. An awkwardly folded or rolled tent will likely not fit well in its former home.
Buy a bigger bag. Although few will admit it, there's no harm in purchasing a sturdy canvas bag for your tent--or borrowing one from your neighbor before you go. This is perhaps the best way to avoid what can sometimes be an aggravating and unnerving experience at the end of a relaxing camping trip. Canvas is durable and tough and will protect the plastic sheeting of your tent from sharp objects like that firewood axe or those barbecue skewers. And those campers who chose to bring a bigger bag take heart. You're likely not among the last members of your group to be ready to hit the road after breaking camp--like those purists struggling to fit their tents back into that small bag it came with.
