Nice review - thanks for taking the time! I don't like Justin's "hack" - it pulls the DCF at the wrong angle and, certainly if you crank too hard, risks deformation of the DCF panels over time. Personally, I find the way to think about it is this: you only need 6 stakes for structure, the remaining 4 tie-outs are simply for space. In other words you only need to carry 6 stakes (plus a 7th for insurance!). The space tie-outs can be the secured with the "big rock/little rock" method - you can always find rocks or small logs - so I never need to carry 10-11 stakes any more for my smaller Plex tent. I realised this having hiked in several areas where I had to use the "big rock/little rock" method for ALL of the tie-outs and, having got comfortable with that, I don't bother bringing extra stakes any more for extended hikes. For shorter hikes I'll for sure indulge the "luxury" of bringing 10-11 stakes still!
That makes a lot of sense to me. I certainly have used the rock method many times in the past. I also agree the "hack" is no longer something I use. Thank you for the great insight!
Nice review - thanks for taking the time!
I don't like Justin's "hack" - it pulls the DCF at the wrong angle and, certainly if you crank too hard, risks deformation of the DCF panels over time.
Personally, I find the way to think about it is this: you only need 6 stakes for structure, the remaining 4 tie-outs are simply for space. In other words you only need to carry 6 stakes (plus a 7th for insurance!). The space tie-outs can be the secured with the "big rock/little rock" method - you can always find rocks or small logs - so I never need to carry 10-11 stakes any more for my smaller Plex tent. I realised this having hiked in several areas where I had to use the "big rock/little rock" method for ALL of the tie-outs and, having got comfortable with that, I don't bother bringing extra stakes any more for extended hikes. For shorter hikes I'll for sure indulge the "luxury" of bringing 10-11 stakes still!
That makes a lot of sense to me. I certainly have used the rock method many times in the past. I also agree the "hack" is no longer something I use. Thank you for the great insight!
Hi. How tall are you?
Sorry for the delayed response, I was not receiving these messages for some reason, but it is working now. I am 6 foot tall, but have a longish torso.
I heard the altaplex and the plex solo are the same length 7.5 feet ,the altaplex is taller and wider.