Camping and the strong wind.

[spader]

Hi All

Soon when winter comes, there will be some strong winds / gales about for sure from past experience. If you were out in the field camping in the tents, you will feel the force of the wind around tent, thinking, is it going to withstand the wind, or should I do something in advance just in case.
I am wondering, how strong wind you have experienced while in the tent, and what have you done to prepare / cope with in such adverse weather occasion. Also any good advice for coping with strong wind while camping? cheers.

 

[Shewie]

Good anchors and a little prayer normally do it for me.

 

[JohnC]

I have one of the large screw in pegs that needs a cross piece to screw into the ground, has a shackle point on the top, gets attached to the tent apex so (hopefully) if the guys and pegs give way, the bulk of the tent doesn't fly away, worked well in the Lakes in a Storm with the yurt and at Comrie Croft.
I guess siting the tent giving consideration to the wind direction and the tent opening helps as well as checking the guys and pegs regularly..

 

[rik_uk3]

The right tent pitched correctly will take strong wind. I've camped in winds strong enough to stop me walking and the tent(s) stood their ground.

 

[leedsbrew]

I just got back from Galloway Park the other week and the winds were something else on a night! You could hear them coming like a freight train and then....boom... they hit. We were in hammocks and tarps but I still got woken up in the middle of the night by a flapping tarp corner by my head. We fashioned long pegs from branches about 2 feet long and attached the guys to them! worked a treat. I found the swaying of the hammock quite therapeutic actually!

For tents I'd go for strong guy lines and long pegs/anchors. I guess it would depend on the ground type as well. We were in pine plantation so the ground was pretty much just rotting pine needles so long long pegs were the answer.


cheers

Neil

 

[leedsbrew]

thinking back myself and the mrs camped outside of Edinburgh a fair few years ago and I woke up one night thinking the tent had collapsed as the apex was tickling my nose. When the gusts stopped the whole thing just popped back up again! A quick re-guy and a wizz and I was snorring again until morning!

 

[theoctagon]

As Shewie has said good anchors, that and site selection should see you through

Failing that, take a Trailstar ;-)

 

[Macaroon]

As rik_uk3 says, siting is all - spend a few minutes thinking it through, pays dividends................there are very few situations where you can't get to the lee of something and get at least some measure of wind shadow.
If you walk about a bit it's amazing what effect topography in the near and middle distance can have in terms of wind shadow. Air moves much like water, in waves and rarely just boring straight ahead on the same level.
A very good thing to do is notice how horses stand in high winds, especially in relation to local features; it's good practice to watch where they are wherever you see them and you soon get a feel for good positioning.

If you have access, go and stand by a group of horses sometime in windy conditions and it will invariably be the most sheltered spot around; they are there 24/7/365, and it's part of how they survive - they are the experts!

 

[ZEbbEDY]

delta pegs

 

[adestu]

Delta pegs are the mutts . made in Plymouth . pay the extra and get the stainless steel ones.

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[bilmo-p5]

These are very good too.

 

[Samon]

My buddies and I named our cheapo tent the 'jelly' as it wobbled, and flapped about in the weakest of winds! the fact it was mouldy inside and riddled with insects made it all the more unpleasant..

If you do decide for whatever reason to try another method of nesting, I would reccomened digging in! Use an entrenching tool/shovel and dig a shallow for your core and extrememties to fit in and use a very low tarp and simply have those winds flow over you. Embrace your inner mole and take advantage of this new life and go buy some new toys for the job!

This is my improvised mole hand..



This sort of setup is good for flat/ open and treeless places as it keeps you under the wind instead of directly in its way.

 

[Uilleachan]

Macaroon above, has pointed out the virtue of observing livestock and where they stand when the weathers up, there's a lot in that and horses in particular have a habit of finding the best place. My stalker pal John was telling me a while back that when he received a neighbouring estates highland ponies to pasture on his ground for a few weeks, the day of arrival the ponies headed straight for a spot on the hill known as Corrie Each (horse bowl, in context, it means "sheltered spot of the horses"), this surprised him as none of these ponies had pastured there before, they came through the gate and headed straight for it.

What do I do?

Make sure I'm in a proper tent. Make sure the proper tent's fly sheet touches the ground all the way round, otherwise it isn't a proper tent for the job. Take advantage of available shelter (although sometimes it's better to be out in the open if it's proper windy as available shelter has been known to uproot and fall).

Ensure my door is on the lee side of the weather. Make sure I have my sack or other heaviness inside if I have to go out and, provided the pegs are well placed and secure to start with, check for slackening of guys and loosening of pegs periodically, a little bit of maintenance goes a long way.

 

[mountainm]

Bungee things up to ensure things give a little instead of ripping outright. Get some delta pegs, they wont pull out. Pitch aerodynamically and use natural cover where available.

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[bigroomboy]

Most Things have been covered by the wise people above. All I can say on top of that is really get to know your tent. I thought I had it covered until I was caught in a very exposed spot near St Davids in a force 7. My pegs were solid and I was in the best possible spot.( which was still bad) but I found in the peg loops at the bottom of the poles were not used and tight the entire tent would rock violently. This was also allowed as all the guys are double point ones where you just loop a peg in there and it let's the tension even out. The movement of the tent wore through 2 dyneema guys but the tent was fine.

I leant that the pegs at the bottom of the poles are far more important than I thought. I also now clove hitch the guy loops making things much better in strong wind.

So get to know your tent!

 

[Dave]

I find wind and rain battering the tent a mesmerising experience. It helps me relax, settle down and sleep. Time seems to go faster in bad weather when youre in a tent.

 

[Samon]

I find wind and rain battering the tent a mesmerising experience. It helps me relax, settle down and sleep. Time seems to go faster in bad weather when youre in a tent.

And.. it's less likely the random stabber will be prawling for campers when it rains and blows! (badgers are impervious to Ms natures spells though.. so keep your silver at hand!)

 

[baggins]

Just remember that if you are camping near trees, keep an eye out for loose and dead branches. also, if you are in the lee of something, ie trees, small hils or buildings, you can get a rotor effect that can throw the wind direction all over the place.

Baggins

 

[Laurentius]

The right tent pitched correctly will take strong wind. I've camped in winds strong enough to stop me walking and the tent(s) stood their ground.

Maybe but last year I was camping in Wales and one gust of wind was strong enough to snap the alumium pole I had used to rig a tarp over my backpacking tent. The tent itself was fine, but then again it doesn't have much of a profile to catch the wind unlike the tarp which had effectively become a sail. Standard tent pegs and guys held but the pole didn't.

 

[mountainm]

Maybe but last year I was camping in Wales and one gust of wind was strong enough to snap the alumium pole I had used to rig a tarp over my backpacking tent. The tent itself was fine, but then again it doesn't have much of a profile to catch the wind unlike the tarp which had effectively become a sail. Standard tent pegs and guys held but the pole didn't.

Hence the need for bungees. A bit of flexibility works wonders. Especially on tarp rigs.