How long does it take you to put up your tent?

[Rain]

Sounds like we really need to work on our times then. We started timing ourselves because we just plain don't like doing it so getting it out of the way as fast as possible. Good to see that we can get it down to 5 minutes.

[CozInCowtown]

Set-up time is directly proportionate to the number of people helping.
More people helping the longer it takes.
DC

[catspa]

Yeah Coz, but some of that is squinting-at-the-instructions time, and searching-all-over-for-the-missing-parts time, and scratching-your-head-and-"How did we do this last time" time, and arguing-over-that-end-is-supposed-to-go-on-this-side time. Very little of it is really putting up tent. Do it by yourself, cut out the middleman.

Parker

[LinuxRacr]

It takes me about 10 minutes to put up our REI Quarter Dome T3 after clearing a good spot.

[UAE_Camp]

take me 5 minutes for my Coleman 5 persons, and take 15 minutes when my children are trying to help, hahaha...

[ChadTower]

These days most of of the time it's a 4 person Kelty and it takes me 10-15 mins alone or 10 mins if my older son helps.

[Subaru Camper]

My three person Mountain Hardwear tent goes up in about 5 minutes but I agree it takes much more time to find the "spot" that is perfect. Taking it down typically takes longer as I like to fold everything and shake the tent out of any debris that found its way in.

[djmnnesota]

about 30 seconds with my HAMMOCK... plus two minutes for the tarp

[ppine]

We seem to have a different approach to shelter.

A backpacking tarp takes about 2 minutes.

A canvas tent with 2 people takes about half an hour.

An 18 foot tipi with a liner set for winter takes about an hour and a half. It takes a little longer when my friends' adopted Lakota son says a prayer in his native language, we pause to watch 3 red-tailed hawks dance in the sky, get a fresh beer and follow the laws of the No. Plains for setting up tipis. Sometimes I like to draw on the canvas.

Tipis face east. The poles are wrapped four times to represent the four wind directions, the four seasons. A canvas liner is added to make the inside much warmer. A deadman is set in the ground with a rope to the top of the poles. The smoke flaps need to adjusted. I like to light the fire as the moon rise is visible thru the smoke hole from inside. We light some white sage and pray for peace and good cheer. All of these things take time and make life worth living.

Being in the outdoors is not a race. It is just the opposite, a time to slow down and live life deliberately and with purpose. To appreciate living things, the wind, the frost, the warm sun, and good people.

[ghostdog]

I find the few moments it takes to stake out my home for the night a pleasurable time. My tent is all toggled together, the canopy to the inner tent body and all that to the footprint. All I have to do is insert three poles, stake out four points and it is up. Then just walk around setting 8 more stakes to the bracing lines and it is ready for 80 mph winds. That's it, no setting the canopy over the tent because it is already on. This makes setting up in the rain a good experience. It keeps the entire inner tent completely dry no matter how hard the rain. It is a very fast tent to set up or take down and stow.