Poles first, or peg out the corners first – what’s the consensus?

Large 4 person Vango fwiw…

What do the instructions say?

Depending on the tent I will do either sequence: Vango Spirit is definitely poles first; Big Agnes Copper Spur can be either but usually we peg out the footprint and fit the poles into that.

Totally depends on the tent. My big Outwell Montana you had to peg out the back pegs, then all the roof poles (4-off) and then put the side poles on the back and front.

No, even before that you had to open the front and flap some air in otherwise it was like opening a vacuum bag.

THEN you get hold of the front guys, and with nonchalance lean back and the tent sort of stands up, to the amazement and envy of all the other campsite ladies wondering why their husbands are such amateurs.

And don’t even ask about the Weber chimney starter incident.

Totally depends on the tent.

+1

My old fashioned Vango Force 10 with A frame poles would be peg out first, whereas my Mountain Equipment Trango which is a geodesic dome (ish) it’s poles first then the whole thing can be moved to where you want it.

If yours has pole sleeves and the ends of the poles sit in tabs attached to the groundsheet you should be able to do poles first. Otherwise probably peg out first.

Also depends how windy it is….

I’ve had pole 1st tents but put a couple of pegs in to stop it vanishing into the north alantic

I’d opt for something thats poles first, then outer, then fiddle about inside hanging the inner.
Not keen on the idea of inner first, seems to me a bad move if its raining. which gives you poles first, then inner, and when thats totally soaked you throw the outer over the top to keep all that moisture inside.

Hmm ok i thought there may be some generic good practice. Id better open the box and read the instructions…

Also depends how windy it is….

Yup, fitting poles into an unpegged tent can sometimes just get you a kite.

I’d opt for something thats poles first, then outer, then fiddle about inside hanging the inner.

All-in-one if possible. I’ve got a couple of tents where neither has had the inner detached from the outer for years. My cheap and spacious car camping Eurohike doesn’t cooperate so that’s Outer first.

Well the instructions are to peg the four corners, put the two centre crossing poles up followed by the bedroom / poles then tension etc.

I couldn’t event remember remember the name correctly, I bought it roughly August 2019 after the last Pivot 24/12 and it hasn’t been out of the box.

Turns out its not even a Vango – its a Coleman Spruce Falls 4.

I’ve had something similar, Coleman version, similar sized, but the same set up of rooms either side and a space in the middle.
We(me and mate) found a better set up which was to only have one room(I had my vango F10 mk2) and the area we had without that bedroom did nicely for a large table, flat stove and storage space. It also meant we could both sit comfortably beside the table in the evenings, without being somewhat crushed in, especially with 2 large dogs.

Putting up was a pain initially, a few strong words back and forth 😆 but in the end we cracked it. Basically get all the poles in, bend and set them, then peg out. Needs to be able to move to get the poles fitted, even if that means it blows about a bit. Pegging even a corner limits it from moving and might put too much strain on one area, which we felt could lead to a rip.
Putting up we fitted all the poles, the middle cross and the straight ones for the rooms, then did the middle cross first, then the outsides. Its more or less up with the middle cross sorted, so you can peg that area with a couple of pegs to stop the wind snatching it away.