Pitching Akto - am I doing something wrong?

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 13:52:47 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hopefully people will be
able to picture what I mean from the description above. If so, can
anyone shed any light on this?

45 degrees in which direction? Towards the centre of the tent?
Outwards?

It took me a few goes to get used to pitching the Akto. I found the
guys confusing because each one is fixed to two places on the tent.

Instead of trying to answer your question (in true Usenet fashion)
here are my Akto pitching experiences. I have an original mark 1
Akto, so I don't know whether yours is different.

- Get the base as square (ie rectangular) as possible.
- Tighten the strap connected to the pole holder (ie the black plastic
thing near the door)
- Try to position the pegs for the end guys towards the front/back of
the tent rather than at the ends. I find that this keeps the ends
tauter. (This is so hard to describe in words!) You have two
V-shaped guys. You want the outer piece of the guy to be pulled away
from the centre of the end of the tent.

I have tried to draw the end of the tent below. You may need a fixed
pitch font to see this work of art. p1 and p2 are pegs. If anything,
I would put p1 further to the left and p2 further to the right to
ensure that the end of the tent is kept as tight as possible.

Tent
------------
! /\ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
!/ \!
p1 p2

- The two guys attached to the pole sleeve seem to do most towards
tightening the fly.
- Always pitch the tent with the inner and outer fully zipped up.
(Although the vents can be open.)
- Do not fully tighten any guy until the tent is fully pitched then
work your way round all the guys twice adjusting them.

Blimey, that was complex. It's really much easier for real!

Judith

Peewiglet said:

Those familiar with the Akto will know that it has two mini poles at
each end incorporated into the flysheet. When the tent is pitched, the
little poles stand almost vertical in order to lift the ends of the
tent.

On my recent long walk I noticed that on some occasions the poles at
one end of the tent stood at an angle much closer to 45 degrees than
to vertical. I tried fiddling with the guy lines, but I wasn't able to
work out why it was happening. I thought perhaps it was something to
do with the ground beneath the tent, but it seemed as flat as anywhere
else.

I don't think the carbon poles are meant to stand vertical, but nearer 45
degrees anyway. I used to pitch mine so that the carbon poles at the head
end were nearer vertical for more headroom when laying down and let the ones
at other end slope quite a bit. This makes it a bit more aerodynamic if you
point the feet end to the wind (thats assuming you sleep with you head near
the door ;-).

Quoted message said:

I also noticed that my flysheet was never as taut as flysheets appear
to be in the Akto pictures I've drooled at over the years. It seemed
floppier on one side than another.

I made sure the guys ran parallel with the slope of the tent - if you peg
out further from the tent, theres a tendency for the ends of the carbon
poles to lift off the ground. I also tried to have the guys at 45 degrees
so altogether they are form an X shape. Another thing might be worth
playing with is the ground tape that runs across the tent (in line with the
pole). I shortened it to try and get a bit more head room but it didn't
pitch as taught as before.

Quoted message said:

I'm not aware of either of these things having caused any problem with
my use of the tent - I was very happy with it - but I did wonder
whether perhaps I was doing something wrong. Hopefully people will be
able to picture what I mean from the description above. If so, can
anyone shed any light on this?

I think its one of those tent designs that just goes up pretty much the same
each time and there isn't much to fiddle with really.

Judith said:

I have tried to draw the end of the tent below. You may need a fixed
pitch font to see this work of art. p1 and p2 are pegs. If anything,
I would put p1 further to the left and p2 further to the right to
ensure that the end of the tent is kept as tight as possible.

Tent
------------
! /\ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
!/ \!
p1 p2

I find if you pitch these 2 pegs about twice as far apart, that tensions the
fly much better. You then rarely need the 2 side guys.

Quoted message said:

- The two guys attached to the pole sleeve seem to do most towards
tightening the fly.
- Always pitch the tent with the inner and outer fully zipped up.
(Although the vents can be open.)
- Do not fully tighten any guy until the tent is fully pitched then
work your way round all the guys twice adjusting them.

Blimey, that was complex. It's really much easier for real!

I was going to try some ascii art as well but gave up :-(

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Those familiar with the Akto will know that it has two mini poles at
each end incorporated into the flysheet. When the tent is pitched,

the

Quoted message said:

little poles stand almost vertical in order to lift the ends of the
tent.

On my recent long walk I noticed that on some occasions the poles at
one end of the tent stood at an angle much closer to 45 degrees than
to vertical....

We have one of these available for Gold D of E kids and I pitched it
the other day. I think 45 degrees is about what I acheived.

Graham

spongebob said:

We have one of these available for Gold D of E kids and I pitched it
the other day. I think 45 degrees is about what I acheived.

You've all got me puzzled. I'm sure I get them upright-ish, but
perhaps I've never checked.

Looks like I'll need to do some back garden camping tomorrow!

Judith

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 14:36:32 +0100, Judith
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

45 degrees in which direction? Towards the centre of the tent?
Outwards?

Outwards - I should probably have said 315, not 45. I've managed to
dig out a piccy, and now that I look more closely I see that the poles
aren't normally absolutely upright for me, but they're generally
pretty close to it.

[...]

Quoted message said:

Instead of trying to answer your question (in true Usenet fashion)
here are my Akto pitching experiences. I have an original mark 1
Akto, so I don't know whether yours is different.

I think mine must also be that one, since I've had it for a long time
now. How's it possible to tell?

Quoted message said:

- Get the base as square (ie rectangular) as possible.
- Tighten the strap connected to the pole holder (ie the black plastic
thing near the door)

Hmmm... I've not been doing that.

Do you put all 4 base pegs in before the pole? I've just been putting
2 in, and the rest after getting the pole up.

Quoted message said:

- Try to position the pegs for the end guys towards the front/back of
the tent rather than at the ends. I find that this keeps the ends
tauter. (This is so hard to describe in words!) You have two
V-shaped guys. You want the outer piece of the guy to be pulled away
from the centre of the end of the tent.

I *think* I must be doing that right. I know that I've experimented
with the angle just by pulling the guy, to see what sort of angle
appeared to make the setup most taut.

Quoted message said:

I have tried to draw the end of the tent below. You may need a fixed
pitch font to see this work of art. p1 and p2 are pegs. If anything,
I would put p1 further to the left and p2 further to the right to
ensure that the end of the tent is kept as tight as possible.

Tent
------------
! /\ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
!/ \!
p1 p2

Very helpful, thank you 🙂 Like you, I have P1 and P2 further to the
left and right than that, more like someone halfway to doing the
splits 🙂

Quoted message said:

- The two guys attached to the pole sleeve seem to do most towards
tightening the fly.
- Always pitch the tent with the inner and outer fully zipped up.
(Although the vents can be open.)
- Do not fully tighten any guy until the tent is fully pitched then
work your way round all the guys twice adjusting them.

I've not really done that last bit: I'll try it next time.

Many thanks for trying to explain. It's not easy to put this stuff
into words!

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 17:59:31 +0100, Dean <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

I don't think the carbon poles are meant to stand vertical, but nearer 45
degrees anyway. I used to pitch mine so that the carbon poles at the head
end were nearer vertical for more headroom when laying down and let the ones
at other end slope quite a bit.

How were you able to control the angle at which they stood? When I
noticed mine at what seemed to be an unusually shallow angle I
couldn't find any way to adjust it.

[...]

Quoted message said:

Another thing might be worth
playing with is the ground tape that runs across the tent (in line with the
pole). I shortened it to try and get a bit more head room but it didn't
pitch as taught as before.

Perhaps I should try that then: I've not tried to adjust it at all,
afraid that I might [censored] it up somehow.

Many thanks for helping 🙂

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 22:26:25 GMT, "spongebob" <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

We have one of these available for Gold D of E kids and I pitched it
the other day. I think 45 degrees is about what I acheived.

Hmmm.... weirder and weirder!

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 07:57:18 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

[...]

Quoted message said:

45 degrees in which direction? Towards the centre of the tent?
Outwards?

Outwards - I should probably have said 315, not 45.

I suppose it depends on the side. Anyway, you know what I mean now 🙂

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

Dean said:

Quoted message said:

Tent
------------
! /\ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
!/ \!
p1 p2

I find if you pitch these 2 pegs about twice as far apart, that tensions the
fly much better. You then rarely need the 2 side guys.

Quoted message said:

I was going to try some ascii art as well but gave up :-(

Have a stand around in WHS; TGO this month has a few pics of CT's Akto
during the Outdoor Challenge Doofah

SteveO

NE Climbers & walkers chat forum;
http://www.thenmc.org.uk/phpBB2/index.php

NMC website: http://www.thenmc.org.uk

Peewiglet said:

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 17:59:31 +0100, Dean <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

I don't think the carbon poles are meant to stand vertical, but nearer 45
degrees anyway. I used to pitch mine so that the carbon poles at the head
end were nearer vertical for more headroom when laying down and let the ones
at other end slope quite a bit.

How were you able to control the angle at which they stood? When I
noticed mine at what seemed to be an unusually shallow angle I
couldn't find any way to adjust it.

Slacken the guys at one end of the tent and tighten them at the other. Sort
of moves the tent relative to the ground, changing the angle of the small
poles.

Quoted message said:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Another thing might be worth
playing with is the ground tape that runs across the tent (in line with the
pole). I shortened it to try and get a bit more head room but it didn't
pitch as taught as before.

Perhaps I should try that then: I've not tried to adjust it at all,
afraid that I might [censored] it up somehow.

Many thanks for helping 🙂

Best wishes,

SteveO <?@?.?> wrote

Quoted message said:

Dean said:

Quoted message said:

Tent
------------
! /\ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
! / \ !
!/ \!
p1 p2

I find if you pitch these 2 pegs about twice as far apart, that tensions the
fly much better. You then rarely need the 2 side guys.

Quoted message said:

I was going to try some ascii art as well but gave up :-(

Have a stand around in WHS; TGO this month has a few pics of CT's Akto
during the Outdoor Challenge Doofah

Tried to do that, but I couldn't get near any mags for all the 'library'
merchants stood browsing them. ;-)
--
Gordon

"Judith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

spongebob said:

We have one of these available for Gold D of E kids and I pitched

it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the other day. I think 45 degrees is about what I acheived.

You've all got me puzzled. I'm sure I get them upright-ish, but
perhaps I've never checked.

Looks like I'll need to do some back garden camping tomorrow!

You have probably got a better answer than me based on the number of
times you've put it up. I've only put one up on a handful of occasions
but never got the *poles* vertical. Perhaps 45 degrees is too shallow
an angle on reflection. I shall have to put it up again and pay closer
attention!

Graham

Peewiglet said:

Quoted message said:

I have an original mark 1
Akto, so I don't know whether yours is different.

I think mine must also be that one, since I've had it for a long time
now. How's it possible to tell?

By weight. The Mk I is heavier than the Mk II, also the Mk II has a
rain deflector at the top of the door zip.

Mk I http://www.backpacking.net/hilleberg-akto-review.html

Mk II http://www.backcountry-equipment.com/tents/hilleberg_akto.php
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

Dean said:

Quoted message said:

How were you able to control the angle at which they stood? When I
noticed mine at what seemed to be an unusually shallow angle I
couldn't find any way to adjust it.

Slacken the guys at one end of the tent and tighten them at the other. Sort
of moves the tent relative to the ground, changing the angle of the small
poles.

Thanks - I'll try that.

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

Phil Cook said:

Quoted message said:

I think mine must also be that one, since I've had it for a long time
now. How's it possible to tell?

By weight. The Mk I is heavier than the Mk II, also the Mk II has a
rain deflector at the top of the door zip.

Mk I http://www.backpacking.net/hilleberg-akto-review.html

Mk II http://www.backcountry-equipment.com/tents/hilleberg_akto.php

I'm not sure I can seen the differences there.

I've noticed in pictures that some models seem to have black plastic
adjustors on the guylines. Mine are grey metal. Is that an indication?

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 17:17:32 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I'm not sure I can seen the differences there.

I've noticed in pictures that some models seem to have black plastic
adjustors on the guylines. Mine are grey metal. Is that an indication?

This is the first time I have seen a decent photo of the Mark II Akto
and I can definitely see one difference - the rain cowl over the top
of the door zip. It looks like a piece of material with stiffening in
the edge so that it stands away from the zip/tent. This means that
you can have the top of the zip open a little, for ventilation, but
not have rain coming in. (I find that rain, or even heavy mist/cloud,
runs down the zip-pull and drips into the tent.)

Thanks for the links, Phil, but I think I'll get a few more years out
of my "old" Akto!

Judith