scottmcon's photostream

This photographer (left) with his brother on an early tenting experience. The tent was the still available, US Army style pup tent, with snapped together halves, and sectional wooden poles ... standard A-line; the tent engineer (me) sustained a taut tent.
Scott & Owen F [Chip} Connolly Jr. camping with USA Air Force sponsored Cub & Boy Scouts aotop a "down" English Downland Wiltshire near Burdrorp Park Wroughton UK 1958-59.

Most mountain or backpacking tents rpesent this problem: a good waterproofing and good rainfly, and a good waterproofed tough floor in the "tub" fashion. But to erect this tent, normally, you would exposed the floor to inside water collection through this no-seeum mesh roof as you set it up. A minor set-up change and the use of the rainfly to set up the tent under it secondly, can keep heay rain out when setting up. Read how in this and the prior pictur.
Top view of tent without fly shows the sleeved portion of the tent roof which receive the poles, which also are joined with press clips to the poles. That double sleeve impedes the setting up of the tent free standing under the fly in heavy rain, but, the tent can be erected without sleeving the poles, and the ten top clipped or tied through the center opening of the crossing sleeves. It would then be erected back to front from under the rain-fly, without exposing the tub tent bottom to material rainwater.

Top view of tent without fly shows the sleeved portion of the tent roof which receive the poles, which also are joined with press clips to the poles. That double sleeve impedes the setting up of the tent free standing under the fly in heavy rain, but, the tent can be erected without sleeving the poles, and the ten top clipped or tied through the center opening of the crossing sleeves. It would then be erected back to front from under the rain-fly, without exposing the tub tent bottom to material rainwater.
This cropped enlarged close-up of the tent top, shows the pole sleeves which can be adequately bypassed to erect then ten beneath the rainfly in bad wet weather. That would avoid the tent floor filling with water while setting up. Instead of buying another one with full clips, or retrofitting, simply set up the ground cloth and stake it, and cross the poles into corner grommets; then doing what fully clipped tents do, loop either a small caribener at the poles crossing, or tie them with a rope, or compression strap and stabiley erect the poles.
Then drape the fly and dry-unfold the ten inside and clip the tent clips to the poles fron to back from the inside. T hold the tent top upsecure the sleeves center opening with a loop to the same center poles clip. It will droop about six inches at the center -but it its not critical for the weather inside and under the fly. Finish with the rainfly pole. You'll stay drier. Otherwise this tent is waterproofed. The method jsut described works, and defeats the concern of the tne floor getting excessively wet under the mesh tent top. Can also reasonably work a a lite top shelte the same way. After erecting he dry tent inside, secure the stakes and the poles as needed/desired outside.

Tent, loaded, with aluminum poles and stakes, into stuff sack.

Small Caribiner rings, compression straps, or a lanyard or rope, can be used to secure the tent poles at their crossing. After doing that, the tent fly can be placed over the poles, and the tent erected from inside the fly during a full rain.