Come to think of it, Lori, I do occasionally use mine as shelter supports, sort of. My Carbon Reflex 1 tent is not freestanding, which is not normally a problem (like you, I believe freestanding is highly oversold.) But, once in while, I need to pitch it somewhere that I can't put in a stake (say, an open rock ledge.) At that point, I can use a hiking pole on each end, rigged from corner to corner, to make the tent mostly freestanding - much like Henry recommends for the Rainbow tents. Doesn't happen often, but I've done it a couple of times over the last few years.