101 ways to ruin a tent

[Ikmclean]

Pine squirrel got to mine last elk season

 

[jmike]

Dont be lazy , use all the stakes and guys, Rafting the John Day river , and the wind came up, was blowing an easy 30 to 40 mph, while messing with the rafts my tent took off like a kite landed in the river and was never seen again....

 

[justinspicher]

I drove by a camp a few years ago and saw a cow (beef) eating the donuts left on the table. The tent was mangled beyond repair next to the table.

 

[insanelupus]

Uh yea, don't try to vacum the inside of the tent with a floor vacuum. That roller brush melts nylon in a hurry! Lol BTW, tire patches hold real good, 20 years now!

 

[BadTostada]

After the first night in a brand new trekking pole tent I emptied the tent and grabbed my poles for a day hike. Left the tent staked down. Came back a few hours later with holes chewed all over the fly. Lesson learned for sure

 

[jpmulk]

Was drying mine out in the back yard. Neighbors dog got loose and apparently thought it would be fun to jump through the netting.

 

[ORJoe]

Slipped off of the motorcycle luggage rack and dangled in front of the exhaust for about a minute

 

[Paladin]

I had a black bear make a new entrance into one of mine. I always hang my food but I forgot the little tube of toothpaste that was in my camp bag. Rookie mistake.

 

[Windigo]

I had a black bear make a new entrance into one of mine. I always hang my food but I forgot the little tube of toothpaste that was in my camp bag. Rookie mistake.

Really! Man, that’s rough

 

[S.Clancy]

I was drying one outside and a big storm cam up and blew it over the top of a 3 story house. Patched used for another decade

 

[OutHeavy]

Similar to a few other posts I returned to camp one night to find a knee-high critter had slashed it's way into my tent to retrieve...my inflatable pillow. I found it about 10 yards away with a fatal bite mark that made it pop. How I wish I had that on the trail camera!

 

[Danomite]

When I was a kid on summer break, my dad let me and a couple buddies set up and sleep in his new tent in the yard. We didn’t stake it down and left it up the next day. When my dad got home from work he asked where the tent was. It was windy and my dad found most of the tent over a mile from the house, after it had gone over/through at least three barbed wire fences.

 

[parshal]

Wild horses chewed and stomped it.

Related side story. Woke up once to a wild burro licking back window of camper shell. WTF???

Had a buddy sage grouse hunting in NW CO and a bunch of wild horses chewed the paint on the hood. Lots and lots of teeth marks on the paint. Something to do with the salt or something like that. Never would've thought they'd go after a tent, though.

 

[FlyGuy]

Man, some of these are brutal! So far, the worst I’ve done is forget to cinch down the little flap of tent that covers the stove pipe hole when not in use. I didn’t think much of it, and for almost a week it just dangled there and wasn’t a problem at all… until it was. Then a few days later I’m happily using the stove one night while riding out a big storm with high winds. Well, of course the wind blew that flap against the hot stove pipe and left me with a giant hole. I felt so stupid. But, luckily It didn’t ruin the hunt, and a few days later Kifaru patched it for free while I waited.

 

[WildIdaho]

I've really been enjoying reading these!

We once had a customer call to inform us that he had burned a large hole in his tent from a propane torch that had tipped over -- he was using it to singe hair off an elk quarter.

If anyone is in need of canvas for patching, we can assist.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Wild horses chewed and stomped it.

Related side story. Woke up once to a wild burro licking back window of camper shell. WTF???

That stinks.
Had feral horses scrap the paint off a .gov work truck with their teeth.
That was a fun one to go through the accident report on...

 

[SoloWilderness]

Mice have chewed holes in several of mine, just to be A-holes. Had a friend wake up to a porcupine sitting on his backpack 6" from his face eating the straps and backpad, then proceeding to eat the one sitting next to it as well.

Don't even get me started on how many game bags I have sitting in a box that need little 1" chew holes fixed from pine martens...

 

[Windigo]

Had a buddy sage grouse hunting in NW CO and a bunch of wild horses chewed the paint on the hood. Lots and lots of teeth marks on the paint. Something to do with the salt or something like that. Never would've thought they'd go after a tent, though.

Horses seem to be a recurring theme...

 

[bow_dozer]

Shot a bull on opener a couple seasons ago. We came back to camp after starting to pack quarters. Tent was no where to be found. Luckily we were headed out to go get the horses to finish packing.

 

[Bassman]

Was riding out a storm in my tent and thought that cutting my fingernails with a fixed blade knife would be a good way to pass the time. Ended up cutting myself and flinched with my knife hand..... putting the blade right through the inner wall of my tent.