Stinkwheel? tent thoughts?

[Itchy]

You're not a fan of freestanding tents.

I have a non freestanding mountain tent left over from Siberia. Anyway is there any way in which you can make a non free standing tent into a free standing tent?

My thoughts are blocks of wood with blind holes drilled into them and held together using thick nylon cord. So when the tent poles try pull themselves apart from the tension the wooden blocks tied prevent them from straightening up thus holding the tent together.

If you remember I encounter camping on slabs of concrete where you are NOT going to get pegs in, carparks, and general places where there wasn't material to put weight on the poles and corners.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[stinkwheel]

In fairness, I'm now converted to the quechua pop-up tents. The advantages of simplicity now outweigh the advantages of smallness and lightness from a one or two hoop-er.

That said. All my unsupported tents rely on the pole arch(es) being stretched out between two fixed points for their main structure. The poles forming the hoops are all self-supporting, arch-structures with a nylon webbing strip built into them forming the bottom of the arch in tension.

One of the afore-mentioned fixed points can be a parked motorcycle. So you need to find a single fixed point to put one up.

That notwithstanding, Any decent tent made int he last 10 years is sufficiently waterproof that you could simply roll yourself up in it and stay dry. Structure is a bonus. Even my £45 quechua one man popup is utterly waterproof even if you're leaning against the side.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[map]

[stinkwheel]

The one man one is 61cm (so narrower than the handlebars on my VFR, although not by much).

The 2014 model has a small "peak" over the top of the door to stop rain coming in when you open it which was a real flaw with the original ones.

They have a negligiable porch, just enough room for my boots so no good for cooking in etc. but as a one man tent, they actually have enough room for both me AND my gear. Most companies would probably call it a 2-man.

I'd use something different for a prolonged stay but as a weekend/rally tent, the speed and ease of use makes it a winner. Inner is midge proof, fly is water proof. I'm well down my second beer watching everyone else threading poles through when we arrive at a campsite. You do need to watch the youtube video for how to put it back in the bag BEFORE you go out camping with it. It's quick and easy but not intuative.

I just dump it on top of my luggage and cross a couple of bungees over it.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Itchy]

Blimey, next you'll be saying Honda makes good reg/recs, cam chain tensioners and the design of the VFR exhaust/rear wheel is brilliant.
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.