Bonded Cuben Fiber / Momentum 50 Bivy

[Steven Evans]

Just finished making a new bivy using 0.33 cuben fiber and the new Momentum 50 offered by thru hiker. I made a bathtub floor and bonded all the cuben fiber seams. Final weight is 2.08 oz (59 grams).

More pictures and details here:
Suluk 46 Bonded Cuben Fiber/Momentum 50 Bivy

Enjoy!

[W I S N E R !]

You're producing some quality looking gear, keep it up.

[will sawyer]

Steven, I'm not sure if it's looks or its numbers are more impressive!
However, aren't you a bit worried using the .33 cuben for the bottom? I know most tents with a cuben bottom use 1.3 or 1.5 for additional abrasion and puncture resistance.

Still, awesome work.

Edit: I'm also wondering how you did the cuben to mumentum seam. I assume you sewed it, did you double layer the cuben or anything? I'd also be concerned about durability here.

[Ken Thompson]

!!

[Levon Jensen]

So light! Well done.

[Steven Evans]

Thanks guys, I can't wait to give it a try.

However, aren't you a bit worried using the .33 cuben for the bottom? I know most tents with a cuben bottom use 1.3 or 1.5 for additional abrasion and puncture resistance.

Will: No worries what so ever. If you check the R&D page of my website you'll see I built my first bivy years ago with a 0.33 cuben floor. It is still going strong with no issues. However, I always use a thin CCF pad underneath it – and I think everyone should try this technique. I've become a huge fan of the 0.33 cuben over the years and although many think it is too thin, I think it is suitable if you treat your gear accordingly. Stay tuned for my Saran Wrap/Tissue Paper bivy…;)

[Patrick S]

Looks good, Steve. I was anxious to see this since you mentioned it earlier and was curios about the weight since I knew you used the .33 oz stuff on your previous bivys. That foam template was a pretty clever idea too! Although if anybody ever had any doubt about a bivy being coffin-like your shape does nothing to dissuade them haha

[Brian Senez]

The bivy looks great. Amazing weight! It makes my MLD Litesoul cuben/momentum bivy seem like an absolute boat anchor at 131g! Your saran wrap/ tissue paper comment made me laugh. That is how I felt trying to sew the M50 also.

[John Donewar]

Steve,

Excellent work and sinfully light.

Question: You are able to sleep through the night without waking up before breakfast, correct? ;-?

Those of us who are on the darker side of 50 may need a zipper or two for a 2:am constitutional! ;-)

From what I see one must slide/wiggle into your bivy and slide/wiggle out of it to exit.

Seriously great work and so light you could actually wonder if it is in your pack or not. :-)

I'm dreaming of a cuben / Momentum 50 / Nanoseeum Meteor Bivy using a 2.5 mm coil zipper for entrance and exit for us older folks. ;-)

Party On,

Newton

[Devin Montgomery]

2 oz for bivy?! That's way cool, Steve. I bet the hair on my head weighs more than 2oz!

[ziff house]

nice work as always, didn't know momentum was other than black, how water resist is that.?

[Tim Marshall]

Steve, did you finally learn to sew or was there a few trips to mom's? looks awesome, just a touch heavy though.

-Tim

[Michael Davis]

Amazing work, Steve! As always.

[Royal Magnell]

That is very impressive. I admire your patience!

[Weiyi Wang]

" … It makes my MLD Litesoul cuben/momentum bivy seem like an absolute boat anchor … " summarize my feeling!
Nice work!

[Alexander L]

Steve, I officially hate you for making a bivy lighter than mine! J/K! Nice work! Jealous…

4.1 ounces with clunky old M90 and .6 cuben is considered heavy now…. Thanks ;)

[Matthew Zion]

Very impressive.

[Steven Evans]

First off, thanks for the compliments! One thing to note, if you are shorter than me, you could easily get this below the 2 ounce mark by cutting a few inches off the bottom…

Now, to answer some questions…

Patrick: Your coffin comment is too true. My buddies came by the shop and were like "You're building a coffin?!"

Newton: To enter and exit the bivy, one must perform my patented move known as the Inverted Reverse Worm. At 33 years old, I am just barely able to do it. A few more years and you'll see a zipper on this bivy. :)

Ziff House: The M50 only comes in the orange color right now. I know that the M90 used to come in other colors but last time I checked there were only a couple of options. I grabbed it from thru-hiker so it would be best to check with him.

Devin: Always shave your head before hiking. ;)

Tim: HAHA, Sadly, you are correct. ;)

Alexander: I remember when you posted that bivy on the forums. Great design and it turned out really nice. 4.1 oz ain't bad though, I mean, it's only 97% heavier than mine. ;)

I'll let you guys know how it works out for me, but we are getting hammered with snow up north and I don't think this bivy will make it out for a trip until spring next year, but we'll see.

[Steven Evans]

Tim, almost forgot. I bought a sewing machine on the way home yesterday from Walmart! It was $90 and comes with an instructional DVD and a bunch of accessories. It is probably the cheapest and worst machine ever made, but I'm taking baby steps. Be ready for a slew of e-mails with sewing questions! :)

[Tim Marshall]

baby steps are good. i can offer sewing tips but sadly by the time my home cooking made it to you it would be cold. can't do laundry at my place either.

-Tim

[John Donewar]

Steve,

Is there a video of this "Inverted Reverse Worm" move on your website? ;-)

Party On,

Newton

[Steven Evans]

Newton,
I was going to do a tutorial, but I think this video sums it up fairly good. This is EXACTLY how I get into my bivy each night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol4RElkWYPc

LOL..See? No need for a zipper!! ;)

[John Donewar]

Steve,

Just watched the video.

How many forward front flips do you do prior to transitioning into your Inverted Reverse Worm?

Are two or three required to generate enough "momentum" to get into your bivy?

Just my 2 ounces worth! ;-)

LOL :-)

Party On,

Newton

[Chris Peichel]

Your bivy is awesome!!
Now you need just need to sew a small pocket on one of your socks to carry it!!
If you keep this up all you will need is a plastic grocery bag to carry your stuff…but… that would probably be too heavy.

Nice work…i'm jealous.

[Michael Davis]

Steve,
A couple of years ago, I bought the cheapest sewing machine that Walmart had, just to see if I liked this idea of making something. That machine is still going strong after dozens of projects. And, I had not sewn one stitch in my life before that and I'm nearly twice as old as you! (No Inverted Back Flipping Worm maneuvers for me).
I'm confident that you will become a master of sewing :)

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