Pyramid 4 season/snow tent – info??

[Andrew :-)]

According to the G-spot thread about ‘tarptents in winter’, most people reported that a pyramid/teepee style tent would be better. This has me thinking.

I own a Salewa Sierra Leone tent for snow use. It’s a heavy (3.2kg) typical double wall tent and the floor is starting to rot. I was loosely planning to replace the floor (and then the outer fly) with light silnylon to both give it a new life and save a bit of weight (not sure how much weight).

BUT now I’m thinking that making a simple teepee style shelter for snow camping might be time better spent and an easy MYOG project.
Say, a simple 2-person-plus-gear pyramid tent.

Does anyone have experience with making a pyramid type tent like this?
What material would/did you use? Silnylon? How light can you go? Cuben?
What are some do’s and don’ts for making this type of tent?

Thanks for your replies.

[Mike Barney]

Check out this nice handy work from Kevin. Wish I had one…
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/9459/index.html?skip_to_post=67947#67947

[Eric Parsons]

For size, the "standard square shape of the BlackDiamond Mega mids are great for 2 people + gear. in the summer you can fit four people under it, three in winter, two with pleanty of room, gear, dug out kitchen etc..

If you make it smaller it will turn into a rectangular shape since you still need the same length head to toe.

[Andrew :-)]

I'll have to research more for local materials etc. And pyramid requirements for local conditions.

[Kevin Egelhoff]

Andrew,
You could easily take my 2.5 season Cuben Hybrid design and modify it into a nice winter superlight shelter. I really like how my shelter sets up easy, weighs under a pound, and has plenty of room. My design was really intended for three people and some gear or four in a pinch. You could easily modify this into a taller shape and smaller footprint for winter/snow conditions. The steeper winter version would also reduce the condensation or allow it to run down the sides without dripping on you.
Hope this helped ?

Kevin

[Andrew :-)]

Yes mate, it helped thanks. But now I need to investigate what is involved with cuben (in Australia) or perhaps go with an alternative lesser material. I think Roger has had experience with it here and may offer some wisdom.

A floorless design like yours might be really flexible for Aussie snow use if used with light bivvies.
It could be used as a normal tent,
Or used over a dugout with a bund wall,
Or if the conditions are right we could snow cave and not use it at all BUT be happy knowing that we only carried a sub-pound of unused tent.
The top vents with steeper sides would probably work well in our conditions as there is almost always at least a breeze blowing. A slightly rectangular footprint would allow positioning to suit prevailing weather.
A system like this may prove great for fast/light loops on the main range.

[Author]

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