I have been leeching this forum for a while so I thought to share some of my experiences.
I am the (recent) proud owner of a Tarptent Sublite Tyvek. My faithfull Jack Wolfskin Gossamer is hereby officially retired and thanked for after about 15 years of faithful and reliable duty (the bloody thing didn’t want to fail…).
The reasons why I choose Sublite Tyvek
– it’s light. It weighs 599 on my scale, after seem sealing. (boy, what a joy to ditch the 1,4 kg Gossamer)
– it’s breathable, of course courtesy of Dupont (Tyvek).
– it’s pretty closed of, except close to the ground (but that’s similar with the Gossamer)
– it’s got ample space and … I can now decently sit upright (again, what a joy to ditch the Gossamer, 80 cm high)
– its construction seems gale proof, thanks to it’s A-frame (but the jury is still out there – can’t wait to hoist it up the Alps and Pyrenees for some profound testing – will report back in summer).
– raised foot end, preventing my sleeping bag to touch the Tyvek.
Minus points:
– The lack of vestibule, but not really an issue for me, considering it’s light weight
– It’s a tat heavier than advertised, even without seem sealing. But I believe it still remains the world’s lightest commercially available breathable tent
– It cannot cope with prolonged rain. I understand the Tyvek utilized has a hydrostatic head of about 1000 mm (compared tot 5000mm of my Gossamer).
Well, I normally carry a Golite Poncho/Tarp – 210 grams – and had a look if I could fit it around my Sublite Tyvek and hey, without any extra’s I could attach to the front pegs and the rear rods. I had a first test this weekend in the lake district. No thunderstorms but prolonged (horizontal) rain. The Sublite passed the test with honors. The Tyvek was damp everywhere but significantly less where it was covered by the poncho. Perhaps this combination might be a real winner for extended trips to exposed and wet areas. Again, I will report back in summer.
Maybe an idea for Tarptent to make a custom made poncho that can also serve as a cover for their (future) Tyvek models?
Wim
