test page before posting it
I used tyvek for making a shelter and a bivy
This photo shows its weakness
You must seamstich and stiching tyvek I think.
So it’s much stronger
Did some tests
Now i’m only use silnylon for making shelters
I filled my ‘la fayette’ (Valandré) with a extra 100 gram down
I used
this homemade gear
Then I blow the down into the bag with my breath
test photo for new post
I made a copy of the trailstar.
My manner to forming the peak:
Before I made the last seam to close the shelter, I laminated the insite with a second layer of silnylon.
After closing the shelter, I reinforced the in- and outsite of the top with a circle of silnylon which was folded into a cone and again laminated with silicone.

First,
apology for my poor knowledge of the English language.
therefore, my comments will be limited
I need your thoughts
I did a little test with two types of goose down.
The first came from les ateliers de lastour.
He is also the supplier for Valandre.
Ik used the ‘duvet d’oies grises du Périgord 95/05 réf 021000LD de 750 à 820 cuin.
The second is the 900 fill power white goose down van Thru-hiker
In both cases I did 20 grams down in a large glass tube. I kept the tube horizontally when I shake the down to move freely.
Then I put the tube vertically.
The loft of the two products seems remarkably similar
About 59 cm for the ‘duvet d’oies grises du Périgord 95/05 réf 021000LD de 750 à 820 cuin
And 61 cm for the thru-hiker stuff
The loft of the two products seems remarkably similar but the puff of thru hiker is much easier compressible.
For testing, I used a PU foam disc (37 gram) to compress te down clusters
37 cm for the duvet d’oies grises du Périgord 95/05
and 28 cm for the 900 fill power white goose down
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| Van donstest |
The clusters of the French down d’Oies grises du Perigord 95/05 looks more robust but seem much less uniform than the down clusters of the 900 fill power white goose down.
More featers can be found in the French down while thy barely be found in the white goose down.
The air spaces between the gray goose down are much larger while the white goose down has a more compact look.
I have the impression that the small feathers also give much more structure and support to the down clusters than when they were absent.
This perhaps explains, i think, why the fluff Thru-hike much less resistant to pressure.
It must be said that the thru-hiker down have a much smoother look.
Soulo copy: I need your thoughts
I am making a copy of the soula (hilleberg).
(a little higher and longer)
I have made a framework for the dimensions of the fabric
some photo’s



MarcD on
Freestanding winter/summit tent
was already very helpful.
Should I make the seams as Hillberg does?
Or maybe like Roger Caffin doing?
see diagrammatic cross-section almost at the end
I fear leaks under stress.
This is not a tunnel tent but a dome.
What material would you use for the sleeve (the top part and the part that touches the ground?
The curve is steep and therefore I think only using sleeves is not easy to build up and break down the tent.
The Soulo has a neat solution to distribute the stress on the clips.
See photo
What fabric should I use?
Cutting the curve with heat to prevent fraying?
Or only using grosgrain (extra clips?)
Thank you.
winter down bag
i have made a down bag filled with 1000 gram 860 cuin down.
I wanted a central zipper just like the la fayette from Valandré.
Using a zipper on the left or right, then, it’s easy to integrade a draft tube.
But with a zipper in the middle and a baffle hight of 11 cm?
I’ve found a solution for this issue by using two zippers, one for te outer, one for the inner.
The vertical part pops a little bit for a better seal.
Some photo’s





Some extra photo’s on my dutch blog
A zipper for the rear and for the beak something like the echo ?
I have an exped downmat 7 with integrated pump.
An integrated pump fails in deep cold because the elasticity is gone
Therefore exped sells a schnozzel pumpbag.
I found a good adapter for the input by using the ecover liquid dish soap bottle

Made a short video
More on my blog.
I would like to thank David for his insights
I used his experience to make my own prototype
of a backpack.

Cheap material is used for this first test.

For the frame, I used laminated oak.

Strong and not as heavy as aluminum.
His last myog article was the basis for my design.
supplemented with the article “Contoured side panels for improved load carry in frameless packs” 
some thoughts in dutch on my blog