folding or stuffing your tent?

I just bought a new tent its an ultra light 2 person back packing tent from REI.... Its an awesome tent and I absolutly love it but I can not for the life of me roll it up to fit back in its bag now I was talking to some people and they were saying it was better to stuff tents in to there bags to not create seams on the tent where the water proofing would come off... I was wondering about everyones opinions on this.... THanks

 

Yes definatly stuff the tent, it preserves the life of the tent material by not having creases in the same spot all the time.

Also another good tip I have is stuff the tent into one of those vaccume seal bags, the type you ziplock then sit on and squash all the air out much better than a compression bag IMO, as the material inside is 100% moisture and insect proof. which may be a problem for some.
same goes for sleeping bags, clothes... most things really and it reduces a lot of bulk in a pack.

 

Heres another tip: For long term storage stuff it into a pillow case so it's not compressed for so long. You should do the same with your sleeping bag.

 

Down bags should be stored flat or hanging, never stuffed even in a large cotton sack. But yeah I store my tents in old pillowcases.

 

I fold and roll mine, I have done a lot of jungle camping before and it is easier to find unwanted insects when you roll you tents. My nylon tents have a short life span so I don’t worry too much about creases.

I do a lot of camping by oceans and in higher elevations so my $100-$150 tents have a short life span due to high wind. I get models that low and make tie downs with parachute cord but 70-80 mph winds will just buckle them sometimes.

And if the wind doesn’t kill them the zippers seem to break.

 

thanks for all the suggestions guys.... Right now mine is rolled... but I will probably stuff it... It just doesnt seem to fit in the original bag I need a new one. thanks again.

 

My parents had the same tent all my life up until last summer when we were proofing it again, and someones cigarette fell on it and burnt a huge hole in the bottom, but we always folded / rolled it up. But we do have others that we put in draw string bags that we stuff, they never had a problem with the creases but if you plan on not using it often i can see how that would definitely be a problem.