ALL-W.E.T. Cuben Shelter

Looks interesting. You are doing some great stuff.

Looks very similar to the SMD Vamp Tarp in a sense.

Looks like a great shelter. Do you have any plans for bug protection?

Been watching your snowshoes for improvement!

Steven,

Great looking shelter!

Went over to your website and read the info below.

>>I am also working on a carbon fiber strut to run between the poles. The few times I have used the shelter, I have been in an area where there is lots of wood, so finding a natural strut has been easy.<<

Looking at the width of the shelter between the trekking poles has me wondering what kind of pack you are using. I know this sounds strange but bear with me. Does your pack use stays? If it does, what are they made of, are they easily removeable and could they be put to dual use as the strut between your trekking poles?

Don't add something to your pack if you are already carrying something that can become a multi-use item.

If your pack has no stays what about guying out the peak to each side using two more stakes and a little more cordage? Maybe you could add a pole pocket of sorts inside of the shelter at the peak where the trekking pole handles contact your reinforcements. This could make them self locating.

A couple of pieces of 1/2" gros grain ribbon sewn into loops and attached to the interior of the sidewalls at the peak might work.

Just a couple of ideas from your friendly neighborhood hiking "gearhead". :-)

Good luck with your ALL-W.E.T. It looks like a great piece of gear to me.

Party On,

Newton

Steve,

Liking the layout so far! Seems coverage is similar to your Duo without the the inherent loss of space associated with the center pole design.

Also seems there are some benefits going with the spaced 2-pole design vs something like the solo-mid provides structure as well as head room. Time will tell if it provides solid load bearing (snow loads for instance).

What I like about it is the coverage it provides you at a weight that's still in the tarp range. This wouldn't require bivy use but still provides full coverage and also has the benefit of a super small foot print.

Me likes!

E.

Jason: It is like a mini vamp. I think the vamp is a great design, but apparently (according to a few ppl on BPL) with some downfalls. I plan on using a bug bivy inside. I do enjoy full bug protection via a enclosed ten in the summer months, but I want to add a hood and eventually make it into a poncho/tarp so adding a floor and netting is probably unlikeyl right now – maybe the next version.

John: Great ideas. I use a frameless pack so no stays for me. Using guylines is defintely a possibility. The only reason I went for the strut is because the walls are quite steep on the door sides and I am concerned that they will pull out in heavy wind. I was kinda hoping that with the strut, this thing is would be super rigid. Even when I use the wood strut lodged between the poles, the structure is very stiff. Once I had proper tieouts, this thing should be good for most weather up here. I do like the idea of polepockets…right now they can kind of slip a bit if they aren't positioned just right.

Eric: You nailed it. I love my Duomid…and I mean really love it. Awesome shelter, but I'm a big dude and the center pole kills me. I know it has the hang loop to use but that provides a floppy pitch. We'll see how this new shelter works out.

Steve,

Keep up the awesome work! Have you considered struts (like at the foot end of a Tarptent Contrail) to increase interior space?

Casey,
Originally I was thinking of putting struts in each corner like some of the tarptent/SMD models. But when I designed it in my CAD program, I just extended the line to the floor, thinking it would be easier to pitch, sew, and also to wear as a poncho. Basically, if I added 6" struts, I would then have a floor length of 91 inches. Still plenty of room. I just wasn't sold on the idea at the time.

What are some of the benefits to adding the struts?

I guess a smaller footprint for a given height would be one. I could essentially save myself 16" of length and still have enough clearance for my head and feet. Any others?

I think you went the right way. Even with struts, wouldn't the overall footprint be the same since you'd be pulling out the guylines to the same point? You might save a little weight, but there's little to be saved when you're already using cuben fiber. One big disadvantage of struts for me is that it would require more care while packing. Without struts you can just stuff it.

Looks awesome!

Awesome Steve!

Good point made above re: struts. They do, of course, maximize the foot room but require more care and time to pack and robs us of some flexibility in throwing it in the pack. However the tents that feature them, e.g. Contrail and Sublite, would incur a significant loss of structural integrity without the struts.

Back to the ALL-W.E.T. Cuben Shelter. I like it a lot.

Steve,

I wonder if we could come up with a way to integrate the pole tips into cups/grommets up at the ridge and then pull lines off those to the ground (could possibly laminate guy line loops off the grommets/pockets)?

This would allow you to pull that section tight without a strut. The grommets would lock the system together and theoretically provide a very solid load carrier. This could also allow one to add a small section of guy line internally between the poles in case of big snow loads or high winds.

Just thinking aloud.