Pop up tents – what a breeze!

Famous for their easy assemblance, they practically put themselves up.

But what about when it comes to taking them down?

Whether you’re just a casual camper on the weekend or you’re getting ready for festival season, you’re going to want to know how to take it down as quickly and painlessly as possible. And that’s what we’re here for!

Step 1

It’s best to clean the tent – if you need to – before attempting to pack it away. The longer you leave dirt, the harder it will be to get out. Plus, any sharp pieces stuck in the tent may rip the fabric when you’re folding it up. Also, make sure that it’s dry – the last thing you need is a mouldy tent!

Step 2

First, make sure that the tent’s door is open. Then, starting with your tent upright, you want to grab the tent arches/poles at the two highest points, then gather them together in one hand.

Step 3

While holding these two points in one hand, you need to use your other hand to pull the other poles, towards the middle where you’re holding the first two arches. Any air will be forced out (this is where the earlier tip of leaving the door open comes in!).

Step 4

You then have to stand the tent up on its side, so that the opening is on the floor and that you’re holding all poles in one hand close to your body.

Step 5

Try to do Step 5 and Step 6 in one motion.

Use your free hand to grab the pole at the highest point of the tent – basically, the one that’s not touching the floor. Push it down then tuck it back towards the hand holding the poles.

Step 6

Push your back hand down to the floor over the hand holding the other tent point. You should end up with two circular shapes after doing this, which you can slide together so one is on top of the other.

Step 7

Finally, make sure you push any excess air out to make it compact and if there’s an elastic strap, use that to tie it all together before stowing it away in its bag.

And that's how you pack away your pop up tent! Once you've done it a few times, it's a piece of cake, so get a few practices in before the time arrives and you'll be all set.