Xul/sul shelters

I think you could do that with the Zpacks hexamid twin tarp at
4.9 Ounces for the shelter
0.4 Ounces for 6 stakes
?.? Ounces for fishing line guylines?

Close anyway.

The heximid is high on my list any others ?

MLD has a couple of tarp offerings in cuben, one is a "SUL" @ 3.5 oz :)

What do you, SUL people, use as your lightest shelter? w/ or w/out bivy?

I use a poncho-tarp w/ bivy- tough to beat having rain gear do double duty as a shelter- mine is sil weighing just under 8 oz, cuben you'd be sub 5 oz

the bivy adds a few degrees to the sleep system, as well as thwarts bugs- no need for a ground cloth either

What do you use as a shell?

I originally used a poncho tarp and brought along my windshirt, but realized that for 2oz more, I can just bring a driducks jacket to use as a windshirt.

John,

My lightest shelter is the MLD Monk tarp, sub 6 oz. It's neither expensive, nor complicated, has numerous pitching options, a simple ultralight covering. The coverage for me at 6' isn't a lot, but sufficient without a bivy under fair/moderate weather conditions.

I was looking at that and the grace solo.

I think I want to go more for the grace solo, since it's lighter and I believe it's the same size as oware's cattarp1.5, and bpl's stealth nano tarp.

I always bring a windshirt- it's probably my versatile piece of clothing so it comes regardless; I often wear my windshirt hiking up high- breathability is outstanding- that's not the case w/ dri-ducks or even E-Vent, also serves as bug bite stopper, layer over insulation at camp, light rain/snow shell and have even used it as part of my sleep system- I'll find other places to shed weight :)

John,

The MLD Grace Solo is an excellent tarp, and yes, it's close in coverage to the BPL Nano and Oware Cattarp 1.5. I had the Grace Solo Plus in Spinnaker a while back, it was large enough for two people and gear, I also had the Oware Cattarp 1.5 for a brief time before the Grace and the coverage was identical just a few ounces heavier due to it being silnylon. The Grace is substantially roomier than the Monk, though not as versatile, all depends on what you're doing, where you'll be hiking, experience, and your preference in shelter.

Eugene, I just looked at the monk again, and MLD is offering it at around 9×4 for cuben. What's your monk's dimension? I'm assuming you have the silnylon one. Don't know if the cuben monk will work for me without a bivy.

I do A frame pitches 90% of the time.

Any other shelters that people use for SUL?

To get to XUL, I think we would have to drop the bivy.

Think a Hexamid or a small cuben tarp will be the only chance at 6oz with guylines & stakes included. I use a 9×7 cuben tarp w/ guylines and CF stakes, comes in at 8.2 ounces. .51 oz cuben would have got it at about the 6 oz mark though.

Ryan

"Any other shelters that people use for SUL?"

This certainly is no fancy solution. In my early backpacking days, I observed an experienced backpacker who kept shelter very simple. He had a plastic sheet tarp and a cord. He tied the cord between two trees, put the plastic sheet over it, held down the corners to the ground with rocks, and he was done for well under one pound.

When I started ultralight trips, I purchased the smallest and thinnest plastic painter's drop cloth. The really flimsy ones weigh about 2 oz and will fit into a shirt pocket. That goes over a very thin cord between two trees, and it works. It won't stand up to any serious wind, but it will keep rain off if the rain is vertical. If I went above timberline with it, I had a problem.

If I got really fancy, I would put a space blanket underneath it to protect against wet ground.

–B.G.–

I prefer to use a small net tent under a tarp rather than a bivy or single wall tent. This gives you some space to live, unlike a bivy. This is really appreciated if you ever have to wait out a storm, or if you just want to head to bed a bit early and read for a bit. Single wall tents like the Hexamid are nice, but I prefer to keep double wall protection from condensation, as I often get pretty heavy condensation where I hike.

I'm personally using a HMG Echo I shelter, which weighs a heavy 24oz all in (tarp, beak, inner, stakes, guylines) but if you're heading out for a SUL trip you can easily ditch the beak (3.5oz) and the inner can go when bugs aren't a concern (-11oz) or if you are trying to go sul (sleep with a headnet instead). The inner is really what is heavy and there are lighter options because HMG reinforces and beefs everything up quite a bit….which is nice.

A nice option would be a MLD Serenity shelter (6.2oz) under a tarp (ie. MLD Grace Solo) or a shaped tarp (ie. MLD Patrol Shelter, 6.8oz). The Patrol shelter + Serenity shelter is a particularly nice combo because you get the beaks on the tarp for a little extra protection.