Pitch a Tent with No Poles | Bushcraft Skills 

Improvise, adapt and overcome.

This is great. As a novice tent camper I've had a difficult time getting the poles to work correctly. You just provided an excellent way to work around this problem if I encounter it again. Thank you. Cindy E

This gave me an idea. Often I see old tents for cheap at the flea market. If I get one, I can take it out with some cordage and try different configurations. Play around and see what works best. Could be a fun project without risking any damage to my regular tent

Thank you for the video. I had to laugh at myself. I have a great, 20 year old tent that I WANT to lose the poles for and keep the tent. The poles weigh in at ...... DUMBO weight. I couldn't figure out the "difficult" solution to this problem ..... FORGET THE POLES! LOL ...... You make simple look so simple ..... Thank you. You saved my great tent and doomed my poles. :-)

That's how set up one of my old tents, it's a Solar Minor. I didn't want to buy a new one as I have had this one for 15yrs, very good quality but the cover is bright red. So all I do is string the inner tent up on a line and use a tarp as cover. Same principle as a hammock set up. Works very well and I still get use out of my old tent. Looks like you had a fun weekend.

It was actually the first time in a few months, going on your Facebook page and the pic of your improvised tent, was front and center. At first I thought how bad that would have sucked to have been in your shoes. Then looking at what you had done...I was genuinely thinking how creative the solution was. Great job, and great video!

have to say i love this idea, you have really pulled it out the bag, a new way to packing light!!!!

Great video, gents. I always get better retention from lessons learned the hard way. :) I saw the picture, and enjoy IG and FB feeds. I'm glad the video followed. As for the tent with no poles...I think you could do very well with criss-crossing ridge lines to get all the room in the tent. Instead of just "bumping out" along one diagonal of the tent, now you can bump out along both diagonals. You could also just do a 3m x 3m tarp diagonally just using one (the bottom) ridgeline, and never really have to bring poles or a rain fly again. It's like a tent set up like a hammock. So, not only do you save weight from not carrying the poles and fly, but many parks don't allow hammocks (for the sake of the trees). This is a great solution for ultra-light guys. However, you have to spend a bit more time looking for some properly spaced trees...and, of course, much easier to do during the day. I was trying to figure out why the tent looked good, but the rain fly was all bunched up. The visual explanation was perfect, hilarious, and definitely something I would do. It makes total sense, and IT WORKED! Also, I mentioned it before, but I'll say it again. I'm really looking forward to the Adventure Archive collaboration, and any other collaborations you guys have in the works. That is very exciting. As always, I am enjoying the videos immensely. Thank you.

That helps Me so much Man! Nice trick to keep Dry; hah. I'll use all this Info. I have no Poles at all! You saved Me; literally. 🍻

Great video. I'm going to have to try that.

Freestyling is always fun :) Thanks for sharing - Martin

I thought it was a great simple solution to suspend the ridgeline of the tent and I did get a laugh out of the end with the rain fly toss lol, it is good to put up stuff like this online, keep it real always. lol.

Reminds me of the tents I'd build in the house or backyard as a kid.

awsome. thats how all tents should be set up for sure

Love this set up, nice! Thumbs up! :)

is great idea!!

If you get caught out like that in a real rain, turn the tent upside down (floor is waterproof normally) and use it as a sealed lean to. Old BSA trick for when you lose or break a pole on a trip. You can rig your fly off the ridgeline the other direction to serve as a vestibule.

The ability to improvise is the key:-) the care, Taro

Krik, if you don't like the comment about the addition of a stick to further pull out the tent, what more are you looking for? I'm a bit confused for what else you are asking. I guess maybe just go with more cordage and have your tent spread in a cluster of trees to tie out where ever you can for both tent and rain fly. This was an epic "fail". Good laugh!! I took an air mattress still in the box to a camp out, when setting up, I opened the air mattress box to find bottles of propane instead, UGH!! So much for comfort that glamping weekend! ATB-Shorty

great fix you could always stake out the fly and you have a really functional shelter, hell its three more walls than I usually have . lol

Some small saplings and some duct tape make great poles. they even fit inside the pole slots if done right. you will need to shave the protrusions off and tape sticks together but it does work. You will also want to do what you did hear and string her up.

Pretty cool. I would have done the tent a lot like you did, though I don't think I would have conceived the tossing of the rainfly.

Good way to adapt man, and I did chuckle at the Instagram photo because I have been there too! I was using a triangular Eureka tent though, so it was easy to throw up a ridge line. Honestly it felt a little more secure and stable than using the poles.

Just toss a tarp over the ridge line good to go with bug protection. :)

hehehe that was a great improvising moment! well done sir! one time I just wrapped myself in a tarp in the middle of a thunderstorm...kept me dry!

The poles make a specific shape of the tent. Usually there are 2 poles for each tent in a X pattern. Couldnt you hang 2 ridge lines (assuming you would tie 2 sticks to the nearby trees to tie off the ends of the ridge line) following the path where the poles would have fit and use small pebbles to make a button which you could use tie to the ridge line using cordage. It would be a lot of work but at least the shape would be maintained.

Drive four sticks in the ground, make two crossing ridge lines and hook up your tent to those. Toss rain guard over the top and you're good.

lol, cool.. I remember while motorcycle camping with a group some years back, one of the guys for got his poles too! Well being that I was pulling my small MC trailer I had a spool of para cord in it, so I gave it to him and said take what you need. We set it up, like you and it worked for him too! Agree with Brian from S.O.P.

One time on a camp out with the scout troop, my son and another boy didn't bring the poles to their tent and done something similar, it worked. The meeting before the trip while getting everything packed, instead of taking the tent out to make sure as instructed, they just assumed everything was there.

I just woke up. I’m pitching a tent, right now. so sorry....couldn’t resist 😏

Now that you know you can go camping poleless, I would bring enough cordage to put up the tent as you did and throw a small tarp with at least four corner gromets over the ridgeline enough to protect the roof of the tent, then cordage and stake in place. Your recipe for tent camping was almost complete, all you had to do was secure the top cover. :)

before you showed how you did it I was picturing a ridge line, but with paracord going through the sleeves with holes the tent poles go through, and being tied to the stakes. i now believe what i thought would be impossible lol

Kirk, half assed was my dad's favorite word when I grew up. I heard that phrase many times. yuk, yuk. You improvised well enough to get some sleep and stay dry, that's what counts. What part of PA do you live in. I lived in Akron Oh. much of my life and went through PA now and then. Really liked Cooks Forest. Ray.....Oklahoma

nice vid

Maybe you could have tried to grab a 3ft stick and tie some cordage around it, like the shape of a hanger, and hang that from your ridgeline so you could get two clips instead of the one, when you were making room for your head? Hard to explain via text! ALSO, totally envious of that soft ground. We have to resort to rocks most of the time out here to pound in the stakes.

you could have run a single piece of Paracord to the one side of the tent and attach it on the ridge line then going down to the other side of the tent. and then you can adjust the taught line hitch on the ridge line.

I lost my tent poles.and i didnt want to throw out the tent.so this is great idea especially if i cant order new ones

I'd call that mystery knot a modified Prusic knot. Also, instead of just guying up one of your pole loops, a stick in the loops with your guy line in the middle of the stick and guying that line up to your ridge would've pulled up both of your pole loops evenly.

My problem is i hate air matress.one went flat overnight too.what can you recommend because i hate sleeping on hard ground and im not sure hammock will work because it rounds your back and causes pain

I find repeated watching of the 'Spinning Around' video from Kylie Minogue ensures a well pitched tent every time

What microphone system do you use to make your videos?

If no trees, and you use trekking poles; use trek pole in center and guy out points on the sides.

Nice! Might be an option to save some weight, or at least some space in the old pack! It would be better than a basic tarp shelter in the buggier months.

That knot looks like a clove hitch to me.

its called a hammock and a tarp. 30 bucks and you'll never go back. in desert climates obviously a bivy cover is a better option but im going to play with the idea of using crampons in canyon fissures to effect a shelter.

could have found some nice willow saplings and turned them in to poles

What part of Pennsylvania

I am not laughing at you at all!!! Two years ago I started going pole less because one of my poles and internal cord disintegrated!?!? I basically used the ridge line set but hung an off set tarp over the top to help keep rain off my basic structure and fire set. What's funny is, I am still useing it that way and is was less work setting up and my backpack is a little lighter! Cool story Master Turtle, just the same!

Judging by the title, definitely not what I expected.

Ingenuity.

Macgyvers got nothing on you ~Peace~

You might want to check out Reallybigmonkey1's youtube videos. He is what I would call a minimalist bush crafter. Very good video and great way to make the best out of a bad situation.

that knot looks like two half hitches going in opposite directions

Spider-Man would be proud,

How'd you know I was a turtle

Using coarse language is a sign of ignorance and ruined the video for me.