GVP Practical Backpacing Podcast – 11 oz. Cuben Tent

I believe there are two tents GG is working on. I've heard one is shaped like a diamond, so it only requires minimal set up and offers maximum length. Expect to see it in the summer as Grant still needs to test it in January which means production a few months later.

Shameless self promotion here…but check my blog on Wednesday (link in my profile). It will give a little info on a 9.2 oz cuben tent that is available. It should be the lightest on the market…

It's going to be interesting to watch the cuben tent scene develop over the next few years. I'm hoping for a 2 man cuben tent like the SMD Refuge X but with a bathtub floor.

Great, now I have to wait for SMD's redesign of the Refuge X and two new GG tents coming in 2010. And now early pics and a tease about a mystery one-man cuben tent (9.2 oz.) and even a 2-man cuben tent coming later. Thanks Jolly Green Giant! I'm waiting patiently so far…

Wednesday is still an awful long way off. I can't stand it. Post up that blog info now please :)

Dan, pics and info are up just not the company making it but you can email him for that. Thanks JGG for the info. Mosquito netting on the floor seems like it could be a problem as you mention in foul weather. I would rather see a silnylon floor and not having the one side remain open. The size is great though. It might not be too hard to modify and add a solid floor.

http://jolly-green-giant.blogspot.com/

I think I can guess who the manufacturer is but I'll leave it to others to figure it out.

Not too hard, considering there are not too many cottage gear makers using Cuben products and who (As mentioned in the blog) tested the shelter in the CDT. In fact, you can go to the manufacturer's webpage and see many pictures of the shelter if you look hard enough.

I know who the manufacturer is as well. The Hexamid is going to be a very nice addition to the shelter offerings in 2010. The two things I like about it the most are the 9' length and the fact you only need one pole to set it up. For those worried about the one exposed side, you can reduce the height of the pole by 5" and pitch the tarp so the beak is much lower to the ground. I'm a little concerned about the all noseeum floor wearing out but the manufacturer, to be named later, says it's a lot more durable than folks think. I kind of like the idea of having the ground cloth inside of the shelter.

When pitched this shelter looks a bit like a gatewood cape without the hood, but with netting.

Anyone familiar with this new cuben tent want to comment on the zipper placement? My TT Squall 2 has the front door zipper running along the base of the door and thus is always collecting dust and dirt and getting clogged. I couldn't tell from these early pics if the zipper worked from the top or bottom of the entrance?

Zipper Placement – Maybe this pic will help:

It looks like the netting comes all the way to the perimeter of the tent. This, IMHO, was a design weakness of the Refuge-X as it allowed water to 'crawl' under the edges and wick into the netting, eventually ending up pooling on the floor.

It also looks impractical in any kind of cold wind. At least with the Refuge-X you had the option to pitch it lower so the cuben edges were at ground level, blocking out most wind. But may be a great tent for fair weather endeavours where insects are a problem.

Thanks for the additional pic showing entrance zippers in action.

Lynn, maybe any moisture that crawls down the perimeter netting as you describe will exit the floor since it too is made of netting. ??

I will be very curious to see how this and the 2-man version compare to SMD's new Refuge X in design and weight. I'm definitely interested in a fully enclosed, floored tent with cuben canopy for my wife and me. Of course it must be an improvement of my TT Squall 2 in terms of weight and function. Appreciate the feedback from everyone!

The BIG guy also says you can get the Hexamid tarp without netting weighing in at 3 oz from the "mysterious" vendor. The hexamid looks to be close to the SMD gatewood cape in shape and dimensions so the SMD serenity nettent might work with it. If so, combining this with the 7 oz six moon nettent looks like it would be a good option.

Hexamid w/ sewin in netting = 9.2 oz
Hexamid tarp + SMD nettent = 10 oz

I think Ron Moak's on to something with the double wall nettent designs. With nanoseeum weighing .7 oz/sq yd there's only a very small weight advantage to the single wall tarptent designs. The advantage of the nettent is that tarp and nettent can be used separately, for truly low weight when bugs are not a problem and bug free cowboy camping under the stars when the weather cooperates.

Edited to clarify products in question.

I'm a little surprised at the choice of netting on the bottom. I would prefer Cuben or Silnylon. I think both give you much better strength (including puncture resistance) per weight. 0.7 oz Cuben (or the closest weight to it) is much stronger than Nanoseeum. It is also not going to "grab" (see the mesh vs. smooth pocket discussion). One little root sticking out of the ground and I'll have a puncture in my tent when I stretch it out (unless I'm really careful). I guess I can use a ground sheet, but then why not make the bottom of the tent out of the ground sheet material?

In general, though, I really like the fact that folks are making more Cuben/Nanoseeum tents. I know the Cuben is expensive, but I think it is worth it. This is exciting.

With regards to double walled tents: I agree that with the lowered weight of materials, that double walled tents are definitely worth revisiting. Many of the so called single walled tents were almost hybrid double walls. The big difference, like Nia mentioned, is that you couldn't take the roof off. That's why favorite design is still the Luxe Rocket X. For much of the tent, it is double walled (especially the upper body, where most of the condensation originates) but it saves some weight by not being completely double walled. If that baby was made out of Cuben and Nanoseeum, it would probably be extremely light.

Hi all. I released my blog earlier than Wednesday, so that's all the information I'm sharing right now. Keep in mind, there are two different pictures on the blog. One is of the Vamp which is public on SMD's blog and the other is of the soon-to-be-released cuben tent. Some people have mistakenly assumed they were the same tent. I should mention that SMD is not the vendor of the new cuben tent. As others have said, no one will be surprised when they hear it and I'm simply not saying it publicly out of respect for the owner who shared the information with me off the radar. Have fun.

I edited my post above to clarify the use of the Hexamid by the unnamed vendor with the SMD serenity nettent originally designed to be used with the gatewood cape. The dimensions are quite similar so they probably would work together. If not a nettent of similar design surely would.

I too don't like the idea of a nanoseeum floor. It just seems wrong. But the stuff is surprisingly strong. I just tested on a scrap piece I had and while I could poke a hole in it with my finger it took a good deal of effort similar to (maybe slightly weaker) 1.3 oz silnylon.

I just think a floor should be a little more water resistant.

"I just think a floor should be a little more water resistant."

I agree Nia. If the floor were sil the groundsheet could be eliminated offsetting any added weight. In the photo album section of the site there is a colorado photo about 3/4 of way down that shows it in a light snowfall. It looks really exposed with that side open. Adding a few extra ounces to this would make it much improved IMHO.

"It looks really exposed with that side open."

Because it's more of a tarp than a tent, site selection will play a major role with ones comfort under it. I like it because it somewhat reminds me of a typical monk tarp setup which generally has an open side like this. A monk tarp has always been a favorite of mine, the added beak and integral netting is nice here in mosquito-land.

I'm anxious to read HIS review of how it worked on the CDT. HE should be posting about it soon according to my last email with HIM. ;-)

I'm surprised we haven't seen more typical tent designs being tried with cuben. I realize most cuben fans are also SUL freaks, but I still think that a good 'ol single wall tarptent style shelter that sets up with trekking poles and has a bathtub floor would be pretty popular tent when constructed from cuben. I think a lot of people would pay the extra $100-$200 to save 1/2 lbs or so. The Refuge X is close to this, but the lack of a bathtub floor and some troubles with the guyline reinforcements seem to plague this shelter. A second generation Refuge X with a bathtub floor could be a winner.

Right now, I'm thinking that the best 2 person tent might be the MLD cuben DuoMid (11.5oz) and inner nest (14.5oz) which gives you essentially a 2 person double wall tent for 1.5 lbs. The only thing I'm not diggin about this is that the pyramid shape means head room is probably lacking for two occupants. I wish MLD would use 2 trekking poles in the design and space them apart like the Refuge X to boost head room. Can anyone who's used the DuoMid inner nest comment on the interior headroom with 2 occupants?

another MLD option would be the Duo Grace tarp in Cuben, 7.3 oz. I heard he is coming out with a Duo Serenity Shelter in the spring. The solo SS is 8 oz. so a duo with the cuben tarp should probably be just a bit over a pound.

A Lunar Solo made out of cuben might be a nice shelter as well. However, I'd also like to see the Lunar Solo made a little longer as well. As one can probably tell, I really like shelters that employ one trekking pole. =)

I would like a Contrail as well as a Squall made out of Cuben and Nanoseeum as well (assuming it dropped the weight significantly). Call me old fashioned, but I really like those lightweight tarp tents that have the high point of the tent by the head. Of course, if the tent is long enough, or tall enough, it probably doesn't matter.

Okay Jolly Green Giant…..who is making this bad boy?

I have no knowledge whatsoever about this shelter. But I did find this picture.

http://picasaweb.google.com/valesko/CDT_1_Montana#5407760087943151394