Bushwalk Australia

Hi All, a newbie question that may be an absolute contradiction in terms, but do any free-standing tents that are able to be set up fly-first (2 or 3 person is my goal)? If yes, happy to hear some suggestions. Cheers

You can use the footprint to set up the fly in some cases, then the inner.

Many dome tents offer a fly-only option, if you use their matching ground sheet, or some have ribbons to stop the corners spreading. Brands like MSR and most American ones, it will say so in the product description as a feature. Gives the option to set up the fly and then clip in/out the inner tent if you want.

Free-standing tents usually require at least two stake points to hold out the vestibules.

Some are a three pole design like Exped Orion or the Big Sky Chinook. The third full pole holds those vestibule corners. Using some stakes/pegs/tie-outs is advisable.

Nicely pointed out Lamont. A Goondie would be a goodie, that floor would also work well under a tarp.

My brother recently purchased the Goondie 2. Just received the bathtub floor for the fly-first option a few days ago. He also asked if he could buy 4 extra clips, and they happily obliged. His plan now is to make his own concoction using cord or webbing. All it needs on each end is the grommet for the poles and the clip for the fly to clip into. If it works, he’ll just have to carry the extra straps around, rather than the extra bathtub floor - ie, it’ll just be two straps forming a cross on the ground (corner to corner). Each strap will have a grommet on the end for the tent pole, as well as the clip that the fly would normally clip into on the tent. Once the fly is set up, he can attach the inner to the roof, then detach each corner strap clip/grommet one-by-one, replacing with the tent clip/grommet as he goes around the corners. Once all have been swapped over, he can remove the straps. Looking forward to seeing how it goes. Seems straightforward enough, as all that is needed is the tension and the straps should provide that.

It’s a quality tent.

If your concern is about not getting the inner drenched during pitching then checkout Big Sky International they have a range of tents including several with the poles external to the fly so you are always setting up fly and inner together.
I brought the Revolution 2 from Backpacking Light in Melb.