Any helpful advice on how to fold up a mahoosive tent to fit back into the effing bag?

[BiscuitMillionaire]

It's an old tunnel style one, with three bedroom inserts. Khyam 8 or something.

For example, fold up the main tent with the poles rolled up inside, or separately?

Poles separate, fold up the tent and sit on it as you roll it up to squeeze the air out as you go. I managed to get my 5-man tunnel-tent back in the teensy-tiny bag for the first time ever after a festival last week .

I do always wonder why they provide such tight-fitting bags, though - it's not as if tents weigh any more if they are in slightly more user-friendly bags with room to manoeuvre.

Poles separately. Lay it out. Fold it up into a long strip same width as the bag. Roll it v v tightly.

Put the inner pods on top of the outer shell folded in same way and roll all up together.
Once its tolled, get a child to sit on it to squash all the air out before putting it in the bag.

Fold each section up so it's long but the same width as the bag.
Then place them all in a long line, overlapping the ends.
Place the bag at one end and start rolling from the other.
Roll really tightly.
As you roll up, it'll pick up each section because they're overlapping. Eventually you'll get to the end and you can roll it straight into the bag.
Bingo!
Not sure about the poles though.

Oh thanks, that's great. Good point exexpat, why do they do that? Ours has a strap with buckles to squash it even smaller once it's in the bag, which helps a bit with getting the zip done up.

Ours sounds similar in structure to yours, we fold in thirds then roll. It is significantly easier if you roll ours towards the (unzipped) back door as then the air escapes through that rather than having to seep through the seams & fabric of the closed bedroom end. So definitely worth unzipping everything a bit.

As for the why, every mm of fabric saved in making the bag is a saving on unit cost. Doesn't make it any less annoying though! Although there's nothing like the sense of victorious satisfaction we got once our old Hi-Gear was eventually zipped back in its bag when at some points it seemed like a physical impossibility...

Get a bigger bag

Leave doors unzipped, fold bedrooms into the middle then fold again till you get to bag width, then roll up towards the door - pushing the air out. Roll up then squash...kids love the squashing part....then it should fit!

I also find rolling twice helps. Do the best you can first time then unroll it and do it again - you'll be surprised how much extra air comes out.