3-4P Cuben Shelter (very wind-worthy)

I bought a Locus Gear Khafra in DCF in the summer of 2015 and have been extremely pleased. It wasn’t even published as an option at that point. Totally custom. I have used it for myself and my 5’ 6” son as well as my other 5yo son at times. For the 3 of us it’s perfect although I wouldn’t say the same about 3 grown adults, especially if any are over 6ft tall or overwise large. I have the 4/5 insert and wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s my preferred shelter for 2 since there is plenty of space on each side of the pole. The only disadvantage that I can note is the footprint size, which is quite large. It’s never caused me trouble though, yet. I’d say for two adults and a child it would be a great way to save a couple pounds. 3 adults could work if friends and four adults could only work if all gear was outside and everyone was touching. Maybe toe to head? It could work, though, unless someone was taller than 6ft. I will note that the insert I chose was the midddle of the road taffeta option, not the lightest Silnylon option. I didn’t want the slippery fabric. It’s a little heavier but it’s soft and not showing much of any signs of wear.

I have a Patrol Shelter Duo from Mountain Laurel Designs that I have for more minimalist excisions for one or two, especially if the weather isn’t expect to be bad. I have a super minimalist DCF cat cut tarp from Yama Mountain Gear that weights about 8oz, all in, for fair weather excursions where I’d like the openness of the tarp. Then I also have a GoLite Shangri La 5 that I’ve fit my wife, daughter and dog in with not an inch to spare. That’s 5 people and a dog. The GoLite is really nice, worth the weight on car camping trips and shorter backpacking trips. I also have a half nest insert that opens up a large porch. I found this GoLite setup over on Gear Swap a few years ago. I just used it on a Scout trip last weekend and slept solo in the half nest while enjoying a huge porch for all my car camping gear.

I’ll note that I did have, at one time, a Supermid. I sold it on Gear Swap a couple years ago because I couldn’t justify keeping it with one I got the GoLite. The GoLite and Khafra covered all my needs. Plus, the unique formats of nests weren’t readily available.

I’ve never owned a HMG shelter but it’s worth noting that the center pole is higher, meaning that the walls will be steeper. That would translate to more space, obviously. Here again, though, the specialized nest options aren’t available as they are with Locus Gear shelters. Plus, the HMG shelters finish a bit heavier than Locus Gear’s, possibly due to the fact that they include heftier reinforcements/materials in areas.

Cuben Fiber is a wonderful material but honestly unless I had an unlimited budget I’d judiciously reserve it for trips where it’s really going to count and I really valued the savings. This is due to the fragility of the material. That said, The Khafra absolutely delivers in those instances and if I have more shelter money in the budget I’d buy another shelter from Locus Gear in a heartbeat.

Lastly, it might be good to consider a Triplex from Zpacks. While I think that mids are likely more wind resistant there are pages of posts on here from Duplex users attesting to the worthiness of their shelters. The thing is that (from memory here) there’s exactly the space for 3 regular size pads. Obviously if two do, but if any one of those 3 people uses a wide pad then it likely negates further consideration. If not it would be the least heavy option.

As you may tell I’ve spent many, many hours pouring over this stuff so I’m glad to share my hard won experience. Good luck and please report back.