Camping In High Winds

Weather is always going to be a concern when camping, especially if you are tent camping. If you intend to camp in extreme weather, give some though to whether you should be doing so. Having said that, you might occasionally have to deal with high wind situations. If you are camping in an area where you might experience wind gusts of 30 or 40 miles per hour, here are some tips to help get you through.

1) Choose Your Camping Site Carefully

With high winds, you need to worry about more than just your tent blowing away, you also need to think about debris. If high winds are expected, you should avoid setting up under a tree or near any other area where dangerous debris could become airborne.

This does not mean that you can not use nature to your advantage however. Stable rock formations or even brush fields could be useful as a wind-block. Just make sure that you are not putting yourself in danger.

2) Keep An Eye On The Weather

This should really be a tip that you should follow with any camping trip. You need to be monitoring the weather on the days leading up to your trip and you need to continue to monitor the weather while on your trip. A good weather radio will help you stay aware of alerts without having to constantly check the forecast.

Remember, high winds often come at the beginning of a storm front so they may indicate that worse weather is to come. Pay attention.

3) Pack The Right Tent

You need to think about the weather when making your tent selection. For high winds in excess of 30 or 40 MPH, you want a rugged dome style tent which directs the airflow up and around. The last thing that you would want to do is bring along a cabin style tent. Big, upright walls would be a disaster waiting to happen.

4) Put Time On Your Side

Trying to set up a campsite that will handle hard winds is tough enough. If you are forced to set up during the actual high winds, it is another matter altogether.

When winds sneak up on you, there may be no other option but if you can, try to time your arrival to camp. With enough time in calm weather, you will be more likely to properly secure your tent and all of your gear.

5) Have Enough Help

It can be difficult securing a campsite in a hurry, especially when camping in high winds. Bring a friend or two to help you with camp set up. With wind, it often takes two people to get tasks done. One person holds while the other secures. In many situations, having two sets of hands may be the only way to get things accomplished. Besides, camping memories are better when you can share them.

6) Protect Yourself

High winds can do more than destroy a campsite, they can also do a lot of damage to you. If you are in an area where debris can be thrown, protect your skin and eyes. Even in warm weather, long sleeves, full pants and a pair of goggles would be advisable. If you are caught in the wind by surprise, do your best and improvise. Your camping, so there is nobody to see you. It would be better to look a little foolish than to put your eyes and body through a sandblasting treatment.

7) Have Ready To Eat Food

With high winds, especially those in the 30 to 40 MPH range, outdoor cooking will most likely be out of the question. Cooking inside a tent is never a good idea because of the dangerous gasses and the fact that you would be enticing wildlife into your tent. Instead, have some ready to eat food. Bread and peanut butter and even some crackers might do the trick.

8) Know Your Equipment

Before you head out, make sure that you know whether your equipment is wind rated. This is obviously most important with your tent. Nothing would be worse than taking the time to set up only to have your tent poles snap on you.

Assuming that your equipment has the proper ratings, practice setting up in advance. If you need to set up quickly for an approaching storm, or even worse set up in a storm, being prepared for a fast set up could make all the difference.

9) Buy Better Stakes

If you are an avid camper, you already know that the stakes provided in most tents are poor at best. If you are intending to go camping in high winds. now may be the time to upgrade. Purchase a set of sturdy wind resistant stakes. These will have groves that help the stakes resist being pulled out of the ground by high wind forces.

10) Be Prepared To Sit Tight

When camping in high winds, you might be stuck where you are for some time and there will be little if any outdoor activities to entertain you. Be prepared with some in tent activities to keep you occupied. In most cases, this will be a good book but, if you brought company, a deck of cards or some compact games might prove handy. Camping in and of itself is great but it can get quite boring if all you can do is stare at the roof of your tent.

Picking A High Wind Tent

If you have time to prepare for your high wind adventure, you may want to take the opportunity to buy a good tent in the first place. If, on the other hand, you got caught out in the wind, a tent upgrade will probably be high on your list. Here are some things to look for in a high wind capable tent.
Low Height

The lower your profile is the more resistant you will be to winds, so short dome tents will be the name of the game. Keep in mind that these sloping walls also limit the amount of usable space, so a 10×10 dome tent will have much less room than a 10×10 cabin tent.

Double Wall Construction

Having double walls will make your tent heavier and a bit harder to carry, but in winds, it is worth it. Double walls will be much more capable of standing up to wind and the inevitable debris that comes with it.

Fiberglass Poles

These will certainly be heavier than aluminum poles, but they will flex and stand up to wind much better. Look for fiberglass poles and tents that use sleeves to secure them. This will make setup more time consuming but the overall result will be a much more stable tent.