Cricket door, camp stool, just because….

[BlackHatGuy]

So I had a couple of things made just because I like having things made. I might never use them, dunno. Just wanted to see how feasible they were.

First up, a door for the MLD Cricket. Instead of pitching the Cricket lower and decreasing headroom I asked Chris Zimmer to make me a door, much like the door Joe at zPacks used to sell for his first generation Hexamid. It would take a heck of a rain storm to get past this door and into your 'sleeping compartment.' And because the door attaches in front of the innernet and to the front lower clips of the tarp, you still get some vestibule space.

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Tarp without door (and without inner, I was short on time…..)

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Tarp with door

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Tarp with door, another angle

The door is about 3 inches shorter than the tarp, allowing ventilation even when you've got the tarp sides closer to the ground. But, as you can see, it pretty much fills up the opening, including well under the overhang, to provide exceptional rain protection. All for about an ounce with bungees. And because of the clips in the Cricket that help hold the inner up, you could actually clip in the top and one of the sides of this, and then roll it up and attach so it's completely out of the way, but only take a second or two to quickly unroll and attach if a storm hits in the night.

Next up, a lightweight camp stool. Simply used the REI camp stool, that weighs over a pound, as a template. Cuben seat with some dark fabric (ask Chris) sewn to it for the pole inserts. Poles are 20" CF poles from TiGoat (the .600 ones). A bit of window foam insulation in the middle, and a giganto zip tie holding it together. Some MLD bear line at the base to keep the 'legs' from spreading too far.

It's quite comfortable, and weighs a tad over 5 oz complete. I might actually take this on any trip where I'll be in camp for a bit – better than sitting on the ground and easier, at my age, than sitting in one of those Thermarest Compack Camp Chairs that sits on the ground (and it's a tad lighter than the Compack). We'll see how long the cuben seat lasts with my fat butt…..

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Shows the bear line keeping the legs 'in check.'

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From the bottom

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Pole insert

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Middle section of poles

[todd]

Doug, you make the things we wish for a reality! Just not for us:)

Please keep us posted on the chair's durability. Looks like a winner.

[Steven Paris]

Very nice Doug.

I can barely get my gear organized, much less come up with something like this!

[Leigh Baker]

Yes Doug,
Please do let us know about the chair's durability. Both are very cool!

[David Adair]

When you came up with the cuben veranda for your duomid somehow I suspected some comfy lounge chairs were in the works. Keep those goodies coming!

[John Mc]

I love the chair. At 48 years of age I do get tired of having to sit on the ground. So if the Bear Line breaks does the chair also break? Meaning…. do the three carbon legs punch through the cuben fabric???

[BlackHatGuy]

"So if the Bear Line breaks does the chair also break? Meaning…. do the three carbon legs punch through the cuben fabric???"

Two separate issues. If the bear line breaks it would allow the legs to continue to slide ever outward – until you were either a few inches off the ground or, more likely, they broke from getting too much side pressure.

I can't see the legs punching through the pole inserts, and then through the cuben. the pole inserts are pretty heavy duty, cordura I think but Chris would have to say for sure. My main concern is whether or not the stitching holding the inserts to the cuben seat is strong enough for my weight. That's really the only point of failure I'm concerned about.

[Rakesh Malik]

Cordura is pretty strong stuff, so my guess is that the only potential failure point is where the Cordura patches are sewn onto the Cuben. Seam sealer might help with that.

Although that could turn out to be a manufacturing weakness, it seems to me that it can be fixed, in case it does turn out to be a weak point and wear through.

The bear line is really unlikely to break IMO, but abrasion against rocks and such could wear through it if you're not careful.

All that said, it's a great design for a chair… we just need someone who's good at making things in quantities to start making them — or get you to launch a Kickstarter project to get funded up to do it yourself ;)

[d k]

I would think that even if you made the whole seat out of a lightweight cordura (200 denier?), the weight difference would be negligible for that small amount of fabric. For one thing, the edging on the cuben would probably not be necessary on cordura.

But then the coolness factor would go way down! (and it wouldn't match the duomid veranda)

[BlackHatGuy]

"I would think that even if you made the whole seat out of a lightweight cordura (200 denier?), the weight difference would be negligible for that small amount of fabric."

Very true. The original REI seat was only about an ounce and a half heavier.

"But then the coolness factor would go way down!"

Yup! ;-)

[Ken K]

That chair is awesome! I want one! No, two! And a matching card table with 36" 2-section legs!

Civilized dining set for two at about a pound? Yes, please!

[Christopher Zimmer]

Here is the low down on the chair, I knew going into this project that the biggest weakness of this chair was going to be the connection points of the CF rods to the cuben. So to make the connections points as strong as possible I used 2 layers of 500d cordura to make the rod insert covers. For the main body of the seat I used 2 layers of 1.45oz cuben, I cut these two layers at different angles on the cuben so the dyneema threads are going in two different directions. I was a afraid that by cutting them at the same angle on the cuben then there would be a greater risk of the cuben failing. To connect the two layers of cuben together I C3 tape at all 3 corners. I ran several lines of tape from about the edge of the black cuben to the corner. I figured the tape would help give added support and strength to the connection points. The black cuben is really only there to cover up the stitching from the connection of the rod sleeves. That is about it.

Chris

[Ryan Smith]

Doug, I think you've been reading my mind. I love camp chairs but the weight stinks. I had often thought, "No reason I cant use CF for the legs and heavy cuben for the seat". Glad you made it first and can report back on durability! Good job man.

Ryan

[David Ure]

I presume a log isn't available where you hike? What's next? A cuben whoopie sling?

Jeesh Doug.

;)

[roberto nahue]

and do report on durability… sometimes sitting on a chair is more comfy…

[John Mc]

We should be congratulating Chris and his great craftsmanship. Both the chair and front door are exceptional.

[BlackHatGuy]

"What's next? A cuben whoopie sling?"

Aw gosh Dave, you ruined my surprise for the next project!

[drowning in spam]

I can't wait to find out how the chair works out for you.

[. .]

Way to keep pushing forward, Doug + Chris!

+ nice cork floor

+ nice pistachios

(lunchtime here)

[BlackHatGuy]

"I can't wait to find out how the chair works out for you."

Since I'm taking my movie projector and screen with me on a weekend backpacking trip this coming weekend, I'll get a chance to give it a whirl. I'll let you know how it works out!

[Jason Elsworth]

Hi Doug,

Do you think it would be possible to make a door rain skirt multiple use item? Or do the shapes and sizes just not match up?

How does pitching the cricket low compare to the coverage given by the door you had made?

[BlackHatGuy]

"Do you think it would be possible to make a door rain skirt multiple use item? Or do the shapes and sizes just not match up?"

Don't see why not. You'd have extra hanging when used as the door, but that doesn't present any particular problem I can think of.

"How does pitching the cricket low compare to the coverage given by the door you had made?"

Can't answer that off the top of my head, I'd have to pitch it in both configurations and take some pics. Won't have the opportunity to do that for a few weeks, as I'm out in the woods for the next two weekends.

[drowning in spam]

I've done something like the Cricket door with my Hexamid door in a beaked tarp. The wind changed direction in the morning and I had the rain blowing into the front end of my tarp. The wind blew the rain over the top of the door no matter how I configured it, and there was still plenty of wind coming under the bottom. If I were to make a door specifically for a tarp, I'd add attachment points or velcro between the ridgeline and the corners to help prevent wind and rain from coming over the top of the door. I'd also make it long enough to stake directly on the ground. Or I might just give up on that idea and go with a removable shaped beak since that'll blow the rain over the top of the tarp. Hopefully you have much better success with your beak.

[John Myers]

Nice work.

I've wondered for a while why no one offered a cuben/carbon fiber tri leg camp stool. Great execution! :)

[Ryan Nakahara]

my tarp door is just a smaller rectangular tarp with the corners connected in the same way, and the middle edge material pulled up and over the ridgeline. then i use a big clip to secure it to the ridgeline, and move the top in as far as necessary to prevent rain from blowing in over the top. it's a bit more material, but adjusts well and i can use the mini tarp for other things if i need to.

the camp stool looks great. i thought a few times about using thick arrow shafts (since i don't weigh much), but wasn't convinced it would hold up. that's something to consider though, people come in different sizes and weights. i'm curious what the weight limit is for this chair. looks awesome tho!

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