I finished up a new pyramid shelter recently and I thought I would post a few pics. I have learned a great deal in the past from others posts, so I thought I would show a few things that I did differently this time that might help someone else.
Parameters:
1. Big mid that could fit 4 in a pinch or 2 comfortably for an extended trip.
2. BIG vent. I have made some mids in the past without vents, and while I don't think a vent is needed for condensation management, I feel they are very useful in the heat. A big vent turns a sweat lodge into a nice shaded area in the summer or above treeline in direct sun.
3. Be able to open and close the vent as needed. Open in the heat or closed up in stormy conditions. I would also need to close it once I put in a wood stove for winter camping.
I ended up with a 10.5 x 10.5 mid about 6' tall.
I'll try not to bore anyone on the construction since there are many posts about that already. What I would like to share are a few things that I did that I found helpful that might be of use to someone else.
First is cutting. I don't have a large cutting table or useful templates. What i did was take the fabric into the garage and measure the length I needed for each piece. Then I aligned the marks with one of the grooves made in the cement floor. This acted as a straight edge. After I used some weights to keep the fabric in place. I was able to run a magic marker down the groove to make my cut line. I could then use my cutting wheel and 24×24 cutting board to cut each line. This actually worked a lot better than what I have used in the past.
The next thing was the hood. Since it was so large on this mid, I had issues with how to hold it open. I started out with weed whacker line (4 pieces) This was ok but rather flimsy. Then I tried an industrial zip tie. A little better but still too flimsy. I finally ended up with sort of a strut like some tent makers are using. I took 2 pieces of grossgrain ribbon and sewed them together on the edges to form a tube. I used a cut down carbon arrow shaft to insert into the tube. Then I added velcro to secure it in place as needed. This ended up as a very rigid vent that will not collapse. If I need to close it, I can slide the arrow shaft out of the tube and secure it with another strip of velcro sewed on the hood.
Inside view:
Carbon Strut can be removed:
I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Thanks
Ben
