Just got a Lightheart Solo Cuben

[Dave Jenkins]

Got this in the other day and did the first test set up today. Please look at the set up and tell me what you think. Not a taught as I thought it might be? So any suggestions in the pitch would be appreciated.

It is right at 20oz on my scale without the stakes and the mini caribiner (hiking poles as well, of course). Mine has the medium weight cuben floor. I used 10 Zpacks orange dipped Ti stakes. I put it in a Zpacks cuban stuff sack. It came in a SilNy one. Honestly for almost $600, a cuban sack would have been a nice touch.

Here it is in comparison to my pack:

Initial set up with the awning rolled up. I did not see a way to secure it in place so hopefully a stiff breeze will not unroll it. I chose not to get the zipper on the back to go in to full star-gazer mode.

I think this is for securing the door open?

The zipper pulls a re VERY small, which is great weight wise, but I will need to add a little Spectra to be able to grab them easily.

Large NeoAir fits (I am a side sleeper), with room to spare for gear.

I will likely add some line locks here (the bottom line) to be able to tighten this up and use one stake for the bottom and fly:

Here is my pitch:

Storm Mode:

I reckon I just need more practice pitching it and I am stoked to take a couple of lbs off my pack weight.

[Dan Cherry]

Nice tent and it's always good to see more pics of these set up – been toying with the idea of ordering a cuben Solong for myself at some point…

[John Mc]

Dave,

I have the exact same tent, with awning too. I can see that you didn't have the head and foot ends tight and in line with each other. I typically set it up and then go back to the head stake, pull it out and tighten it and make sure it's centered with my poles. I then do the same on the other end. That makes for a tighter more taught setup.

I really do enjoy my tent. Mines a total of 27 ounce complete. I believe I got a thicker bottom.

[Kenneth Houseal]

"I can see that you didn't have the head and foot ends tight and in line with each other."
-Exactly! If you don't line those up you'll mess up your pitch. I only made that mistake once, the second time I pitched the one I was using. I demoed a cuben solo that was identical to your tent and it was AMAZING.

-I ended up ordering A cuben solong6 with the new heavier weight cuben(for the awning) that Judy is now offering as an option. Judy is absolutely one of the best to deal with and her tents are sweet. My solong will be here in about 2 weeks, I'm pumped. You have a nice piece, that's for sure.

[Brian Lewis]

"Honestly for almost $600, a cuban sack would have been a nice touch."

I have a Lightheart solo with cuben upper and silnylon floor, so pretty similar. Mine did come with a cuben sack, and I suggested to Judy that it not do so in future (so maybe this is my fault). A month or so along on the CDT last year and my stuff tent bag was somewhat shredded; I started carrying the stuffed tent inside of a plastic shopping bag to protect it (I carry my tent in a mesh side pocket on my pack).

Cuben is great, but not super durable for use as a carry bag IMO.

It's a great tent, though. You're right about the little elastic loops, and note that for my tent the one place it wasn't seam sealed well was right there; only an issue in hard rain of significant duration. Ditto the zippers, treat them with a bit of care. One of the zipper pulls on mine is wonky now (but there are two pulls per zipper track, so now I just use the other one).

[Dave Jenkins]

Yeah, maybe is should be an option depending on where you carry the tent.

I set it up again the other day and took special attention to the ends and it was more taught. My friend who came over to check it out could not believe how big it is for the weight,

[Brittain Briber]

Hi Dave –
Thanks for your post. I am wondering, what weight CF did you choose for the canopy? The 0.5 or 0.75 CF? Also, do you have 2 doors on the canopy or innertent? I am trying to get an idea as to how much a version of your tent mine will weigh and this is about as good as I can get.

[Dave Jenkins]

I have the standard weight upper and one door.

[Jacob D]

Hi Dave. I have the same tent. Mine is .74oz cuben in white (a custom special) and with the standard fly. It weighs 21 oz.

I've found that getting the pitch right does take a little practice. The two things that seem to really make a difference are (1) symmetry, (2) pole height. If the poles are set too long you'll never get a taut pitch. If you're not quite satisfied with your pitch I'd suggest trying to collapse the poles an inch or so and see how it goes. Experiment a little if need be.

One of the key things I like about this tent is that it's essentially a double wall tent. Yeah, the inner and outer are very close together at some points, but it still offers most of the benefits of a double wall.

I recently posted about it on my blog as part of a series I'm wrapping up on Cuben Fiber shelters, check it out if you're curious… or ignore the blogspam :)

http://hikeitlikeit.com/2012/lightheart-gear-solo/

edit: just realized one of my images is broken… will fix that in a bit.

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