Protect Your Tent Investment

High-altitude UV rays can weaken and fade tent fabrics.

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Ted Rolls His Own

Roll it or stuff it? Reasonable people can disagree on what's the best way to put a tent back into its stuffsack.
Ted Ganio of Sierra Designs is squarely in the roll-it camp. Here's how he achieves ideal insertion:

"Get the width of your roll as close to the length of your stuff sack as possible. I use the folded poleset as my guide and find this usually works just right.

Step 1. First fold the body along it's length to a width similar to the stuffsack's length. Folding the tent body in thirds is often close.
Step 2. Fold the fly up so that it will lie on top of your folded body with out spilling over the edges.
Step 3. Place the folded poleset, along with your guy lines and stakes, across one end of your folded tent and fly and begin rolling the tent up tightly around these parts. Use this opportunity to wipe and pine needles or dirt off the floor of your tent as you roll.
Step 4. At this point, I hold the rolled up tent between my legs and fit the stuffsack over one end of the roll. My preference is to pull as much of the stuff sack onto the roll as possible before I pull the edge of the sack to the other end of the roll.

You might figure that someone who designs outdoor gear for a living would know a thing or two about making said gear last a long time. Well, you would be right.

Sierra Designs's Ted Ganio, equipment product manager at the renowned tentmaker, appeared as a GORP Guest not long ago, and imparted pearls of wisdom about the proper care and feeding of any tent, not just the innovative Sierra Designs model he's had a hand in creating. Some of his choicer recommendations:

• Never put your tent away wet. Set it up at home and air dry it before storing."Mildew loves to eat polyurethane!" says Ted. Our warranty department receives many tents each year whose coatings were deteriorated by mildew."
• Hose down a tent after every third or fourth trip."Dirt and grit can wear down zipper sliders and the coatings," warns Ted.
• "Never put a tent in a washing machine." That's a big no-no, says Ted:"If it needs a bath, do it in a bathtub with a mild detergent and a scrub brush."
• Slide — don't snap — poles together. Rough treatment can sever the internal shock cord or snap critical pole parts.
• "If you camp near the beach or any other salty environment, be sure to rinse your poles thoroughly when you get home," says Ted."While the aluminum is anodized to protect it from corrosion, a saline environment will accelerate a pole's demise."
• Leaky tent flies can be revitalized with Nikwax Tent & Gear Proof."It puts a DWR (durable-water-repellency) coat on the outside of your rainfly that helps shed rainwater," says Ted.
• Avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight. The UV radiation in sunlight — which is especially intense at high altitudes favored by backpackers — degrades nylon, fading and eventually weakening the fabric. Don't leave your tent set up in the backyard for days on end, and take Ted's tip and treat your rainfly with SnoSeal's UV Block.
• Pitch a tent tight enough"to play drum solos on," recommends Ted. Taut tents shed weather and wind best. You don't want to overstress seams and stitching, but "don't be afraid of making it snug." Tension the tent body correctly and the rest will follow. You've achieved perfect pitch when you've staked the tent such that the floor is smooth and all ridges or wrinkles have disappeared.