Guying Out a tent is essential for assisting your tents wind integrity and overall ability to shun the elements. The term ‘guying out’ refers to attaching the tents guy-lines to static objects, this assist in making sure everything is evenly taught and the areas not supported by the tent poles and attachment points are now supported. There are many many ways to guy out a tent, the number growing daily. Here are a few of the most common, and one or two that might help in a pinch.
- Utilizing a tree or nearby plant – one can easily enough wrap the guy-line around the trunk of a tree or stalk of a sturdy plant, just secure it with a simple knot, making sure the line is snug but not too tight.
- Using rocks – Ideally one will have a larger river-type boulder lying around camp somewhere, to utilize a rock I normally just enlarge the loop on the end of the guy-line and secure it firmly around the boulder. Drag until taught and clear a nice spot for it to rest securely. If no larger rocks are around, you can also use a pile of smaller rocks in the same manner, covering it with whatever is available to make it more secure.
- Using gear – many times I have actually ended up utilizing pieces of gear I already have with me, ideally ones I don’t mind getting wet. Be it a close by drift boat trailer, backpack (fill it with rocks if not gear), hiking poles, boots, kayaks, beer coolers, (these actually work great) – literally anything you can find.
- Dirt / Terrain – often times you will be able to use the terrain to your advantage. You can easily bury guy-lines and cover them with sand, dirt, pebbles, wood, or anything else lying around camp with a fair bit of weight to it.
- Tent stakes – this is the ideal situation. Tent stakes almost always work the best for guying out a tent and making 100% sure everything is rock solid.
- P-Cord – While this isn’t exactly an attachment point, it works very well to help make sure you are able to reach solid and accurate attachment points with your guy-lines, without having to worry about your tent blowing in during the night or potentially damaging a guy-point by having a bad attachment point.