How to Set Up a Pop Up Tent: 9 Steps + REAL Pictures!

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I’ve used various pop up tents over the past few years, and in this article, I’ll be showing you the most common way of setting up a pop up tent.

*This is a picture of me guying out my Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent with the 2 pre-attached guylines.*

Table Of Contents

Step 1: Take Pop Up Tent Out of Carry Bag
Step 2: Remove Strap Across the Pop Up Tent
Step 3: Toss the Pop Up Tent Away from Yourself
Step 4: Watch the Tent Pop Open
Step 5: Adjust the Position of Your Tent
Step 6: Take the Tent Stakes Out
Step 7: Zip the Door and Window Up
Step 8: Stake the Tent Body Down
Step 9: Guy Out the Pop Up Tent

Step 1: Take Pop Up Tent Out of Carry Bag

This is the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent, and I’ll be using this tent to show you the set up process. So, first, unzip the carry bag, and take the pop up tent out of it.

*This is a picture of me taking the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent out of its carry bag. Notice the black strap across it holding the tent together.*

Step 2: Remove Strap Across the Pop Up Tent

After taking the pop up tent out of the carry bag, you might have realized that it doesn’t pop up yet. There’s a black strap holding the poles of the pop up tent together, so remove this strap for the tent to pop up.

*This is a picture of what the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent looks like when folded up.*

Caution: Do Step 3 immediately after Step 2 to prevent any injuries.

Step 3: Toss the Pop Up Tent Away from Yourself

After removing the strap holding the pop up tent together, immediately toss the pop up tent away from yourself.

*This is a picture of me tossing the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent away from me.*

I have to emphasize the word “immediately”, as the tent will pop open the moment the black strap is removed. If you don’t toss the tent away from you, and you misjudge the size of the tent (it can be as big as a 4-person tent), the tent might pop up in your face and hurt you.

The likelihood of getting hurt increases if you wear eyeglasses, sunglasses, or there are any broken poles in the pop up tent.

*This is a picture of the Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent popping open as I throw it away from me. Notice that I’m backing away a little, as it was popping up a tad too close to me.*

Also, please pop your tent open only if there’s no one else or anything around you, preferably there’s some empty space around you. Do not toss your tent indoors near breakable objects.

Step 4: Watch the Tent Pop Open

Once you’ve tossed the tent away from you, simply stand around until it pops open completely. This will take about 5-10 seconds or so.

Here are a few pictures of my Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent popping up:

*This is a picture of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent popping up.*

*This is another picture of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent popping up, 1-2 seconds later.*

Step 5: Adjust the Position of Your Tent

Once your pop up tent has completely popped open, it’s safe to adjust the position of your tent. To do so, simply just pick up your pop up tent off the ground, and move it to a place which better suits you.

*This is a picture of me picking up the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent.*

Step 6: Take the Tent Stakes Out

Once you’ve decided where you’d like to camp for the night, break the stakes out. Most pop up tent brands will usually provide you with tent stakes (albeit cheap ones) for staking and guying out your tent.

For the Coleman Pop Up Tents, the tent stakes are hidden away in a separate pocket inside the carry bag.

*This is a picture of me taking out the 8 stakes from the pocket of the carry bag of the Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent.*

Other pop up tents may not have this pocket; instead tent stakes are usually packed away separately in a smaller carry case. This is to prevent the tips of the stakes from piercing the fabric of your tent.

*This is the stake case provided by Teton Sports for my Vista Quick Tents.*

Step 7: Zip the Door and Window Up

Next, for the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent, zip up both the inner window and outer door panels, before staking down the tent. This is so you wouldn’t have any issues trying to zip the doors up after the tent has been staked down.

*This is a picture of me zipping up the window and door of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent.*

If your pop up tent doesn’t have windows, then just go ahead and zip up the door.

Sometimes, you might pull the tent out too tightly, and that might make the door of the pop up tent a bit hard to zip up after. This can put a lot of tension on the door zip and spoil it, which is something I try to avoid.

This is a picture of me zipping up the window of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent. This last part that I’m trying to zip up has quite a lot of tension, as the gap between both sides of the zip is quite wide.

Step 8: Stake the Tent Body Down

Using the provided stakes that you’ve just taken out, look for these stake loops at the base of the tent body. For the Coleman Pop Up Tents, the stake loops are black in color, making them easily identifiable against the white-colored tent body and gray-colored pole sleeves.

This is what the black stake loop of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent looks like. I've already driven a stake through it. — *This is what the black stake loop of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent looks like. I’ve already driven a stake through it.*

These stake loops are made aren’t the same material as the tent body; instead, they’re made of webbing or canvas scraps. They are usually a different color from the tent body, and protrude out a bit from the tent boy.

Simply put the long end of the stake through the hole inside the stake loop, and drive the stake through the ground. When using stakes, the best practice is to drive the stake at a 45-degree angle to the ground. Push it all the way through until only the hook at the top sticks out (above picture).

The picture below shows what the provided Coleman stakes look like before staking anything down:

This is what some of my free tent stakes look like. I accidentally bent one of them by stepping on it. — *This is what some of my free Coleman tent stakes look like. I accidentally bent one of them by stepping on it.*

Related Reading: Does a Pop Up Tent Need Pegs?

Step 9: Guy Out the Pop Up Tent

Next, look for these guylines that are likely already attached to your tent (most pop up tents have pre-attached guylines). If they’re not pre-attached, simply tie a knot (using the free end of the guyline) to the guy-out point, and you’ll have your guyline ready to go.

*This is a picture of me attaching one of the provided guylines to one of the guyout points on the Quechua 2 Seconds Fresh and Black Tent.*

The guy-out point looks the same as a stake loop, also made of canvas or webbing, but are located usually near the middle height or the top height of the tent, instead of right at the bottom of the tent.

*This is what the guy-out point of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent looks like.*

Using the other end of your guyline, which will form a loop around your stake, pull the guyline out tight, and then drive the long end of the stake through the ground (picture 1 below), until again, only the hook at the top sticks out (picture 2 below).

*This is a picture of me staking down one of the guylines of a tent.*

*This is what the guyline will look like when staked out.*

Guylines also usually come with pre-attached tensioners, which you can usually find in the middle of your guyline. This is to adjust the tightness or slackness of your guyline:

*This is what the pre-attached tensioner of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent looks like.*

Make your guyline firm, but not too tight. If your guyline is too slack, it won’t be of any use. But if your guyline is too tight, it may damage your tent.

Pop up tents tend to have anywhere between 2 to 8 guylines, and you can use as many, or as few as you want to. Just take note that the more guylines you use, the better your pop up tent will be able to withstand stronger breezes.

*Each side of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent has 3 stake loops for staking down the tent body, and 1 guyline for guying out the tent.*

Related Reading: How to Secure Your Pop Up Tent

And with that, your pop up tent will be fully set up. For more info on pop up tents, check out this article where I bought, tested and thoroughly compared 7 different pop up tents in the market.

This is a picture of me with my 7 pop-up tents. From bottom to top: Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent, Fresh & Black 3-Person Tent, Quechua 2 Seconds 2-Person Tent, Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent, Fresh & Black 2-Person Tent, Teton Sports Vista 2-Person Tent, and the Teton Sports Vista 1-Person Tent.

Pop Up Tent	Full Review	Check Price
Teton Sports 2-Person Vista Quick Tent	Read Review	Amazon, Moosejaw
Teton Sports 1-Person Vista Quick Tent	Read Review	Amazon, Moosejaw
Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent	Read Review	Amazon, Moosejaw
Coleman 2-Person Pop Up Tent	Read Review	Amazon, Moosejaw
Quechua 2 Seconds 2-Person Tent	Read Review	Decathlon
Quechua 2 Seconds Fresh and Black 2-Person Tent	Read Review	Decathlon
Quechua 2 Seconds Fresh and Black 3-Person Tent	Read Review	Decathlon