Jerkylad

The tent body and tent fly are made of waterproof material. This makes them excellent items to stuff in the top of your hiking backpack as their coating of waterproofing will help protect the rest of your items in your pack. There is also another reason why stuffing the tent body and tent fly is the best method of packing tents. Have you noticed how folding a tent the same way over and over, the waterproofing can crack along the creases? By stuffing the tent and fly, they are never folded the same way twice and creases do not form.

Another reason for placing the tent and fly in the top is for easy access. The first thing most people do when they get into camp is to put up the tent. With the tent being at the top of your hiking backpack, you save time from having to unload the rest of your pack just to get to the tent. This may not seem like much of a time saver, but if it is raining, you’ll be grateful that your tent is in the top of your pack.