Look after your tent and it will look after you
Treat your tent well and it will look after you for years. For ever. I’ve had my canvas bell tent for 20 years and apart from a couple of peg loops missing (must fix those) it’s as nice as ever.
My main 2 tips:
Put it up properly.
Spend a bit of time getting it exactly right. Deal with any twists and get a good tension on your guy lines. Use every guy line even if the weather is nice, it’s a good habit to get into. A badly put up tent is more susceptible to rain and tearing in a strong wind. Ours has been the last tent standing in a field on more than one occasion.
Put it away with a bit of care.
It’s the end of a holiday and you just want to get off, it’s easy to just want to scrunch the tent into bags that won’t zip and chuck them in the car. No no no. Give yourself time to do it well. Put the kettle on, make a cup of tea and enjoy the task. Think about the next time you will put it up. It’s not the end of a holiday but the beginning of your next.
Take some care over folding it as well as you can, and make sure the ground sheet bottom if free of mud and grass. I take a couple of old towels for the purpose, one gets wet and muddy and the other for drying off. Otherwise, even if it’s not touching the canvas you are still sealing in moisture in with the tent. Not a good thing.
Most importantly, especially canvas, it must be bone dry. Not always easy in the UK but if it stays wet it will go black, and eventually rot. If you have to pack it wet then you really must find a place to put it up and let it dry when you get home. In yours a garden, or if needs be spread it out indoors. Give it more time than you think it needs.
A good tent can cost several hundred pounds and become a respected friend. Show it some respect in return.
Happy camping