Why does it take three hours to set up a tent that claims to be "10 minute setup"?

I bought one of those instant pop up tents last spring from a big box store. The box said 10 minutes, maybe 15 if you were slow. After 45 minutes of fighting with bent poles and a rainfly that didn't match the instructions, I was ready to toss the whole thing in the dumpster. Finally got it standing after an hour and a half. Then the next morning it took another hour to get it back in the bag. Has anyone else dealt with this gap between what the company advertises and what happens in real life?

3 comments

3 Comments

marywilson18d ago

My personal tent record is 90 minutes for a "5 minute" setup, so I feel your pain. I actually brought the wrong poles from a different tent once and spent an hour trying to make them fit before realizing my mistake. At this point I just budget three hours for setup and hope I come out ahead.

lewis.finley18d ago

What finally worked for me was laying everything out and sorting poles by color before I even touched the tent.

jason_lewis318d ago

I mean, I remember reading somewhere that those "10 minute setup" claims are based on like perfect conditions with two people who've done it a hundred times. My buddy got one of those pop ups and we spent a solid 40 minutes just figuring out which pole went where in the dark with a dying headlamp. The rainfly part got me too - the clips never seemed to match up with the tent body properly. It's almost like they test these things in a warehouse and not on a windy campsite with bugs flying in your face.