Getting to know your Gear.

After buying or borrowing your first tent, the first thing you need to know is that it will require some assembly. I don’t know of one tent that comes with all the strings and other parts attached. You should take the tent home and put it up at least twice before you go camping for the first time with it. Don’t just pop the tent and leave all the strings off. This is your time to get everything right BEFORE the wind is blowing, sky is threatening rain, and it’s dark.

Stakes:
Most of the stakes that come with tents today are useless in high wind, sand or rocky soil (and I’ve never seen rock less soil!) Consider getting high impact nylon yellow stakes, especially for those high stress areas of the tent like the center post lines. You want a stake that you can literally drive over and still be able to use. The next best stakes are bent aluminum, as they are light, easy to drive, and can be straighten out after hitting the aforementioned rock!