Tarptent Sublite anyone?

[Doug Johnson]

I'm seriously considering throwing down some hard earned funds for one of these. There are two main threads dedicated to this tent, but no one with a solid review/discussion of a production version of this baby!

My thoughts:

18.5 oz (claimed) for a solo shelter that breathes well and keeps the critters / rain out. The fabric is claimed to be mostly waterproof, which is fine for me out here in AZ.

Not as light as "The One", but you can actually buy it and it's $100 cheaper.

Alternatives: Tarp/bivy combo. Lightest bug bivy weighs 6 oz? Lightest available tarps weigh 6 oz? (Purely a guess). That doesn't include ground sheet (4 oz) or guylines (3 oz). Bottom line, weight is comparable for comparable coverage.

Questions:
– Durability / UV resistance of soft tyvek vs. silnylon.
– Actual ability of fabric to withstand rain and "wetting out"
– Fabric resistance to condensation vs. silnylon
– Real world packed weight
– Ease of pitch and tautness over extended periods
– Structure's ability to withstand moderate to high wind speeds for sustained periods of time

That's just a few of the questions rattling around in my cranium. If anyone has one, please chime in and share your experience with me/us!

Or, please chime in if you can answer any of these questions, or have questions of your own!

[Rog Tallbloke]

An expensive tent made from Tyvek?

Blimey.

How long is the warranty?

[Adam Rothermich]

Relatively speaking, the Sublite is a pretty cheap tent :)

The kind of people that would buy a Tyvek tent know the limitation of the material, much like those who buy spinnaker packs. Just because it doesn't suit your needs doesn't mean it won't fit anyone's. One man's trash…

Adam

[Diplomatic Mike]

Hi Douglas. You're comparing weights by adding up 6oz for a bug-bivvy, 6oz for a tarp, 4oz for a groundsheet and 3oz for guylines. 19oz total. A MLD Bug Bivvy weighs 5.7oz, and has a built in groundsheet. That would give you a total weight of 14.7oz. :)

[Scott Smith]

I'll open with the understanding that Henry is your best source for answers to many of the questions that you pose.

And, there a couple of earler BP LIGHT threads on this tent that go into some great depth discussing tyvek as a tarptent material and do address your first three inquiries.

Having said that, I've used my sublite on two trips now.

Fortuately, no rain .. and what I would consider light winds.

SUPER easy to set up . And "stays" put ( i.e. no adjustements once set up)

Real world packed weight on my digital scale is 18.0 ozs.

Again, very light weight . easy to carry/pack .. easy to set up … and . plenty of room .

So far, I'm a BIG sublite fan !

[Timothy Hortberg]

The tarp/Bivy combo gives you versatility that a tent doesnt offer. You can choose tarp only, bivy only, tarp and bivy. In AZ this versatility would be nice. Add a GG Bug Canopy at $30) and 3.0oz and you have a system.

[Doug Johnson]

Scott-

Thanks for the feedback regarding the tent. That's what I intended this thread for: real-world answers for some questions regarding the tent and its abilities.

I realize there are two other threads on the Sublite, but no one could really offer hard facts based on a "production" version of the shelter.

With that being said, is there any "surprises" to the tent that you didn't realize until trying it out? What I mean is, good or bad points that are not perfectly apparent on Henry's site.

As far as the tarp/bivy combo, I was only quoting relative weights, not drilling down the lightest possible combo on the current market. Obviously, there will be some cost/benefit and cost/weight ratio's involved for the super geeky types.

[Denis Hazlewood]

No one has mentioned the "Cool" factor of a Tyvek tent. Certainly that's worth something.

[Franco Darioli]

Yeah Man, that's a cool tent you have happening there…

Happy now ?
Franco

[Takatsugu Masuda]

I hiked of two nights last week with a Sublite.
Both were the tent sites in The Japan North Alps that exceeded 2500m/8200ft.

Weak rain continued to fall for a while on the second day.
The inside got wet to some extent, but was able to spend it comfortably.

This Tyvek took in a lot of water, and weight increased.
In Japan, a lot of moisture condenses dew.

Possibility of this tent isn't yet sure to me.
I reported to Mr. Henry Shires.

Other photos

Thanks,

[Scott Smith]

Hey Hardcorehiker ..Thanks for the commentary and photos..

Doug: No surprises . what you see is what you get .. Again, for me . this is a keeper ..

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