Cuben Tent Fly

Martha,

I did not replace the floor of the tent with cuben. I didn't do it mostly because of the cost and because I didn't think I could do a good quality job of it. I could have just cut out a big rectangle and left the bathtub walls, but I don't think that would have been a very professional job. Removing the entire floor would have involved sewing cuben to bug netting (which I've never done) and re-attaching all of the corner tie outs. Overall, the expense and difficulty deterred me.

I did get replacement poles. I measured the length of my poles and bought a new set of carbon poles from Fibraplex. I was quite happy with the weight of the poles. On one trip I encountered some fairly high winds and moderate snow fall, and these poles were too flexy to feel confident in those conditions, but for normal 3 season use they would have been fine. So overall I was happy with the weight and cost, I just wouldn't use them in harsh conditions (which can't always be predicted).

Dan,

You mentioned the possibility earlier (and then decided against) using “small but fat O rings”.

These castration rings might fit the bill:

RINGS

The ones I have fit tightly over tent poles. I find them handy for keeping things in position on tent poles (e.g. a buckle), by placing one on each side of an item that is tethered to the pole.

They degrade over time but are easily replaced.

Wow. That subject line certainly grabs your attention. : )

lol I dont know if I could sleep knowing that those were around.

Yes that subject line does grab ones attention.

Those rings look good and would likely solve this small issue.

In this situation I decided that this was simply a problem that wasn't worth addressing. After some experience using this fly in the rain, I observed that virtually no water was getting in here (I didn't see a single drip), and even if it did get in, it would drip into the vestibule rather than the tent. So the worst case scenario is a few drips of water in the vestibule under heavy rains.

Maybe carry some of these rings anyway.

Any male bear that came close would see those things and think twice about messing with you.

Been there, done that. But nobody gave me a ring……

Any male bear that came close would see those things and think twice about messing with you.

I just watched a video that said grizzlies will mutilate the genitals of its opponent in a fight.