Packing away your tent is the most arduous part of any camper’s experience. Therefore, learning how to effectively fold your tent, can greatly ease the pain of packing down. There’s nothing worse than not being able to fold your tent down into a small pack size to get it into the bag.

There are many different styles of tents, and folding them depends on the style. This blog is mainly focussed on family tents, as the bigger the tent, the more hassle it is to get it back into the bag.

The key to folding a tent though, is to use the groundsheet to fold it, as this is easier to roll, and mould into a shape, where as the flysheet will be harder to fold away. So the real key is to try to get your tent into a rectangular shape, where you can then fold it using the groundsheet. Furthermore, measure the width of the bag to make sure you have it correct before rolling the tent away.

Basic Mistakes to Avoid!

We've all made these type of mistakes before.

1. Loss of tent bag or pole and peg bags - keep the bags safe at the start, and the straps too as they are handy for packing away. Once I have unrolled a tent, I immediately collect all the bags, straps or accessories and put them inside the main tent bag, and then put this in a place of safe keeping.
2. Closing all the doors - people zip closed all their tent doors, which traps air inside the tent, making it harder to fold the tent with air trapped inside. Leave the doors half open to solve this issue.
3. Folding the tent away wet - bad idea as it will need to dry out.
4. Not measuring the width of the bag, then people fold their tent too wide or too shallow, and it won’t go into the tent bag.
5. Air tents - people close the air valves, and the air cannot escape the tubes - ensure all the tent valves are set to open when packing the tent so any excess air can escape.

Top Tips for Folding your Tent Away

1. Read the instructions to get some idea. Though often I do find tent instructions to be very basic, and frankly awful!
2. Check Youtube for videos on how to pack away your specific style of tent.
3. Do a test pitch and pack before going away, so you know what you are doing on pack down day.
4. Keep an eye on the forecasts, as if rain is due, it is a good idea to plan around this to allow you to pack the tent away dry!

Folding a Poled Tent Away

1. When taking the tent down, leave all inner doors / flysheet doors zipped half open, this will allow the air inside the tent to escape, making it easier to pack the tent. This is especially important if you have a sewn-in groundsheet.
2. Remove all poles / pegs, and pack these cleanly into the provided bags.
3. If your tent is a three zone tent, or has a porch, fold the porch area of the tent back onto the main area of the tent.
4. Try to make a rectangular shape, this will help us when folding the tent to the size of the bag.
5. Get the tent bag, and work out the width to fold the tent too for when you roll the tent.
6. From the rear of the tent, fold the tent into quadrants. Fold from the rear so any air trapped inside, is allowed to escape from an open door way. If you were to fold from the front, it may trap air inside the tent's groundsheet.
7. Once folded into quadrants, roll the tent with the poles / pegs in the middle.
8. Use the tent straps to secure tent folded tent.
9. Put tent into the provided bag.

Folding an Air Tent Away

See our full blog on how to effectively pack away your Airbeam tent. Essentially air tents are a little different, you want to fold your tent towards the open valve of the Airbeam, so the air inside the tubes can escape.

1. Leave all doors half open.
2. Push the valve to open, on all beams.
3. If you have a single inflation point tent - make sure all the internal valves connecting the beams are open, as if you have closed a valve off internally, re-inflating the tent will be a nightmare.
4. Remove all pegs and place safely inside a tent bag.
5. Fold back the porch on to the main tent.
6. Fold the tent into quadrants towards the open valves - this allows any air to escape towards the open valves.
7. Roll the tent from the rear of the tent, to the front so any excess air can escape out of the front or side doors.
8. Use straps to tighten the rolled tent.
9. Secure inside the tent bag.