Update on Cuben Double wall tent

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

Finally I have some progress worth showing. I have two of four panels finished. The screen is bonded to the cuben and overlayed with a one inch strip in the interior. The bond I am using is Aquaseal Urethane. The zipper is sewn on both the cuben side and the screen side. I am estimating that I will end of using about 1.5 oz of glue for the tent body.src="/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1183875444_02556.jpg" alt="Partially completed side" width="550" height="413">

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

Anyone know why the photos are not showing?

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

[EndoftheTrail]

Nice!!! Definitely look forward to its completion — and more pics! :)

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

I have completed the tent body. Here are pictures of it. Final weight of body and all the attach points is 9.1 oz. slightly better than my estimate. So I am on track for total weight under 24 oz. Here is the rough breakdown of the weights:

tieout parts 1.3 oz
Bonding 2.5 oz
cuben 2.0 oz
mesh 2.1
Zipper 1.2

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

Here is the view from the back. Three stakes are required to stake it out. the little straight poles on the rear are built into the body.

[todd]

Beautiful!!!! Kudos to you.

[Mireille Halley]

wow wow wow :)

[Mike Barney]

Great tent. Any Bill of Materials or Cost estimates?

Thanks,
Mike

[Roger Caffin]

What keeps the rain out?

[Michael Fogarty]

Very cool shelter, but whats the difference btwn. your shelter and using a solo tarp, with a floored bug bivy? This type of set-up could also qualify as a double wall of sorts?

I think my MLD Grace Solo spinntex tarp and bug bivy weigh in at approx. 18-19oz including cordage and (8-12) stakes.

[todd]

Michael,

I believe Scott's design has more headroom than most bug bivies. Also, Scott's door he made should be easier to enter/exit.

Todd

[Ross Bleakney]

I think this tent looks really cool and was hoping to see a finished version sometime. Did you build a top for it?
Thanks,
Ross

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

It seems that I missed several posts over several months. Here is the update on this project. The only thing I have left is the rain fly, which will be all cuben bonded together. I have been sidetracked while making down sleeping bags for my kids. I have used the tent once without the fly and it worked pretty well. I hope to finish the rain fly before this summer.

I can easily sit up in this tent with good head room and I am 6' 1"

Bill of materials:

I think I used about 7-8 yards of cuben at about $16/yard
2 yards of nanoseem from Thru-hiker
Two zippers
Graphite pole from Fibrplex ~ $100

Overall I have about $300 of materials in this tent. If you consider labor well… that's a different story!

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

I am making some progress on the rain fly. I should be done in a week or so. Here is a picture of the progress.

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

Rain fly is complete and it came in at 6.5 oz. So here is the final weight breakdown.

Main body 9.1
Rain fly 6.5
Carbon pole 3.1 don't have this yet
Stakes 1.7

---

Total 20.4 oz

I love cuben fiber!

Here are the pictures:

[Joshua Knapp]

Nice job on the tent! It looks pretty sick!

[Steven Evans]

20.4 oz for a ful double wall tent – not frickin' bad!

That looks great too…tons of headroom. So, when is it going into production?

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

"So, when is it going into production?"

You saw the dates on some of the early photos didn't you? I have thought about it but from a production stand point this tent design has a huge amount of hand labor. To make others at even a modest profit this would be one expensive tent. I think after tackling this one there are simpler methods/designs to get double wall tents in the less than 20 oz range using cuben.

So we'll see I want to get some test days under my belt with it. Is there much interest out there for double wall tents?

[Devin Montgomery]

Way to go, Scott! That's one good looking tent, and I can only imagine the relief after so many months. I'm more of poncho guy myself, but after trying some DIY I sincerely appreciate the completion of such a large project. You'll definitely get some turned heads if you run into other ultralighters on the trail.

[Franco Darioli]

Scott
That looks great. Congratulations on your stamina and persistence and on a job well done. Looks like a good mix between full weather protection and air flow for ventilation . If you get the time, can you please take a shot of it packed next to something like a Nalgene bottle so that we can see how small it packs ?
Franco

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

"and I can only imagine the relief after so many months"

Amen to that, there were times when I thought I just wasn't going to make it.

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

Probably doesn't pack down as much as you would think. One limiter is the small poles built into the body. These poles are what is making it as long as it is. I have also found myself reluctant to fold it up too tightly. I put so much effort into it I am treating it with kid gloves. Here is a picture of rolled up package including the pole wrapped in the middle.

[Steven Evans]

"Is there much interest in double wall tents?"

Just take a look at big sky – seems someone is buying them! And heck, they're even waiting a year to get them! :)

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