Tents for hard surfaces? Pegless?

Whatever shelter. Change how you stake. Adapt.

Ditch Those Stakes

The tent in your sample photo used no pegs… looked as if it was in an area totally sheltered from wind. Works fine for a freestanding tent.

As per Ken, use your imagination and figure out a way to use things around you. If there's any kind of a crack available, usually there's a way to chock or jam something that will hold. Good link for Clelland there!

Good demo here for non-freestanding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydq4iHqadOQ

If I were carrying stakes to use on the occasions when camping on softer ground is possible, I'd take some Ti shepherd-hook skewers because they can be snaked into fairly small crevices.

>> I'd take some Ti shepherd-hook skewers because they can be snaked into fairly small crevices

Plus, of course, they can be pounded into some very hard ground (and decking too, though that probably wouldn't be appreciated). There are what I use, exclusively, in Grand Canyon. That, and guylines attached to deadmen, or directly to rocks.

On the Alaska Ferry that goes from Bellingham to Alaska, people camp out on the decks. Everyone uses duct tape for that purpose. I never saw a non-freestanding tent there, but theoretically, it would work. The same is true for the picture you showed.

There are advantages to free standing tents. One is they are less of a hassle, especially in those types of situations. Another is that you have redundancy. Have a stake come loose on a freestanding tent, and it no big deal (maybe some flapping line in the middle of the night). A loose stake on a non-freestanding tent and it tips over. You also have to pick your spot more carefully. With a free standing tent you can pick it up and set it down repeatedly (if you decide your original spot just wasn't right). Finally, many non-free standing tents are directional, which can make things tricky. The ground may slope one way, but the wind is blowing a different way.

All that being said, I use a tarp-tent and I wouldn't go back. The weight savings are worth it to me. My tent is roomier, lighter and can handle a storm better than the tents my friends use. Mainly that is because I use trekking poles for tent poles (which are way stronger than a typical pole configuration). Have you ever tried leaning on your tent and trying to support your body weight? I wouldn't recommend, but I do that many times a day with my tent poles. Meanwhile, I have the same bug protection as my neighbors, and the tent is hybrid double walled. Probably the most surprising thing is that I often can set up my tent quicker than my friends. It takes a surprising amount of time to deal with all the poles and clips. So while it takes me longer to pick out "the perfect spot" and make very sure every stake is well secured, I catch up and usually have the tent fully ready by the time they have half the clips secured.

It is all about trade-offs.

Hi Mo,
Freestanding is the easy way out but also (often) the heavy way out.
Keep in mind that in the US they call "tent" the part we call an inner , once you add the "rainfly" you need pegs with most of them to keep the fly from just hanging over the inner .
Given that I am with Tarptent, IF you use trekking poles (could be a good idea on a long trail like that…) the TT Rainbow can be set up "freestanding" with just the vestibule to be pegged/tensioned out.
(see the links above on how to do that without pegs)
This was my first outing with a TT (Overland Track) and the first time I set it up on a platform using trekking poles.

This particular Rainbow has been around Japan on a bike tour (on loan)

The reason I am suggesting this one is because it is still below 1kg and it's larger than most solo shelter so nice to have the extra floor space to spread things around.

To add…
Platforms are easy enough without any freestanding help.
This was my mate's Rainbow on a platform next to mine :

I was very pleased with my effort when I turned around and noticed that my mate was already making a hot drink for himself..
After that embarrassing moment I put a lot of effort in doing it right and now am the world fastest TT setter-upper (also the only one stupid enough to spend time practicing that…)
franco@tarptent

> Just wondering what tent you'd recommend for surfaces too hard to use pegs?
It's a good question. You have to be ingenious.
The duct tape on the boat deck sounds good. On tent platforms or the decking you were on you might be able to jam small sticks between the boards. A few breadbags full of sand/dirt/pebbles can substitute for large rocks. A few discretely-placed screws or cuphooks work well in OLD floors, but take them out after, etc.

Cheers

Thanks all.
Prior to this thread I'd pencilled in getting a Tarptent Double Rainbow. Well priced, and light (1.2kg). That's STILL my plan for general camping.

However, I'm now unsure about what shelter I'll take on my Japan pilgrimage.

Here's my estimate at my sleeping needs;
1) 30 nights indoors (free room for those on the pilgrimage)
2) 15 nights outdoors but under roof (ie bus stops, rudimentary huts) [these are the "hard surfaces" I posted about]
3) 5 nights outdoors, no roof

I'm concerned about rain, bugs, and snakes.

I am planning on buying a TAR NeoAir and a Katabatic quilt.

I agree about stakes – even when using a totally freestanding/self-supporting tent, you still need to anchor it down (somehow) to prevent it from blowing away.

For your particular case, I would suggest looking at the Big Sky Soul or Big Sky Soul X2. It's a simple dome tent that is totally self-supporting, even the vestibule. It's main weaknesses are a small vestibule, the inner may get wet when setting up in the rain, and entry/exit is not totally drip-free. But I think its ease of setup on hard surfaces would be nice

Seems better in your situation.

The bivy can be used for the indoors and outdoors with a roof nights. Just get one with a very breathable non-waterproof top fabric.

The tarp can also be handy for eating lunch under if it's raining :)