This part is made for a computer

Dorris on a computer is laid out for a big screen, and on a phone it's too cramped to click around in. Open this page on a computer to see every tool. Or try the iPhone app here: it has the same made-up customers, but only a few of the tools.

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A real Dorris, with a made-up store. The screens Tim's store uses every day. Every customer, order and number in it is invented.

Dorris

Blog Posts / Winter Tent Setup, Step by Step

Winter camping rewards a little extra care at setup. Snow won't hold a normal stake, wind finds every slack guyline, and a sealed-up tent collects frost on the inside by morning. This is the routine we use on every cold trip.

Pack down a platform first

Before the tent comes out of the bag, stomp out a platform a foot wider than the footprint on every side, then give it twenty minutes to firm up. A solid base keeps you from sinking into a trench overnight.

Anchor with snow stakes or deadmen

  • Snow stakes: wide, U-shaped stakes buried sideways hold far better than stakes pushed straight down.
  • Deadmen: tie a guyline to a stuff sack filled with snow and bury it a foot deep.
  • Our Aluminum Stakes work in packed snow if you drive them at a 45-degree angle.

Guy out every point

Use all the guylines, not only the ones on the windward side. Tension them evenly, then check again after an hour, because nylon stretches as it gets cold.

Leave both vents open, even on the coldest night. Warm breath has to go somewhere, and if it can't get out it turns into frost on the ceiling.

What to bring

  1. Snow stakes, or four spare stuff sacks for deadmen
  2. A closed-cell foam pad under your Trail Sleeping Pad
  3. A small brush to clear snow off the fly in the morning