ends are inserted into the grommets located at the tent corners. I have found the pole sleeves to be a mixed blessing. The sleeves do appear to distribute tension evenly across the top of the tent which keeps the fabric taut and reduces flapping. The sleeves do, however, make it harder and slower to set up the tent in comparison to tents which use clips. The fabric bunched somewhat as I pushed the poles through the sleeves, particularly at the two points where the poles cross. To complete the set up, the tent is covered with the fly and the black fly pole is threaded through the continuous sleeve on the top of the fly. The ends of the pole are then inserted into the grommets in the tent guys that extend from the midpoint of each side of the tent body. The fly is secured around the perimeter of the tent by side-release buckles at each corner. The buckles have adjustable straps which allow the fly to be pulled taut. If you have the optional Fast Fly Floor, it can use it as a ground cloth for the tent. The tent has been pitched on rocky gravel, grass and pine needles for a total of 9 nights. In each case, I have used the fast fly floor as a ground cloth. So far there are no signs of wear to the tent bottom or the fast fly floor. When the tent was first inspected upon arrival, I noticed that one piece of seam sealed tape on the floor had begun to become delaminated. I put a bit of seam sealer on the tape and stuck it back down and have had no other issues with any of the tape.

(click image to enlarge)

Setting the tent up in fast fly mode is an even simpler process and can easily be accomplished in under 5 minutes. In fast fly mode, the tent body is not used. Instead the fly is used as the shelter and is pitched directly over the fast fly floor. The fly is set up by threading the fly pole through the pole sleeve as you normally would. The tent poles are then placed in each corner of the fly (crossing in two places as they would if used with the tent body). The poles are secured in place with hook and loop fastener.

Weather Resistance:
I have not had the opportunity to test the tent in inclement weather yet, though a few nights produced a bit of wind with gusts from 10 - 15 mph (15 - 25 kph). Because the tent and fly can be pitched quite taut, I have found that tent noise and flap can be reduced to a minimum. On windy nights, there are adjustable cords that clip from the outside of the center of each door on the tent body, to the fly. This provides additional tension on the tent to reduce flap. There are also 4 guy lines connected to the tarp which can be staked to the ground in high winds, but I have not had to resort to the use of these features yet.