Saw some cool new gear at the “Kickoff”

Also snapped this picture of Glen's GG Cuben Fiber Shelter. This thing was pretty cool and looked well thought out.

Wow, that shelter looks a heck of a lot like what I've been dreaming about lately… a Cuben Gatewood Cape. I hope they'll have a cape option, or at least consider it.

When looking at the picture I almost missed the bugnetting and sewn-in floor. That is a great looking shelter! Wonder what it weighs in at?

11 oz.

Thanks Glen for the response. 11 ounces is pretty amazing! Bring it to the public for sale!

11 oz cool!!! Any chance for a 2 person 16 oz version?

Anyone have any idea what the size of the miniposa is?

It would be a hard toss up to have to decide between that and the ULA Relay.
I think they could both easily be considered as a PCT pack with an ULer.
Even when you would have to carry an extra 25lbs of water a few times with each, it would be very doable. 90% of the time your pack weight is only going to be 15-20 lbs unless you've just stocked up on food.

Aaron,
Here are the specs that were on the pack.

We aren't thinking about a cape option at this time, and have no plans to for right now.

The Cuben version will be prohibitively expensive, but we're working on the spinnaker version, which we hope to bring it at a pound.

Probably not. I'm not sure that this design scales well to a 2-person version. There are lots of great two-person shelters out there, so 2-person version of this is pretty low on our list. We'll work on getting the 1-person version out and see where it goes from there.

Glen:

For the fanatics in us… any chance of retaining cuben as an option while bringing out the spinnaker version?

Agreeing with Ben – a cuben version would be sweet, I'd most definitely get one. You could eliminate the bivy with the floor and netting…and if it could be used as rain protection aswell (maybe a clip out floor or something), that would be my shelter of choice.

Hi Glen

Any idea of the timing for the Spinnaker version?

Glen,
the shoulder straps on the pack look pretty wide. Will they fit a women's body without getting in the way?

We're thinking of making at least a few cuben versions. The fabric is so expensive that the shelter will be hugely expensive, so we don't want to tie up too much capital by making a bunch of them. Plus, it's not the most durable of shelters. Who wants to spend $600 on a shelter only to have a branch fall on it and wipe it out?

We're planning on spring '08 at this point. We have are field testing now.

Donna –

Best bet is to drop Grant a line grant@gossamergear.com, he can better answer that. It depends on the woman, obviously. The shoulder straps can be made effectively skinnier by using socks or rolled up bubble wrap instead of the flat foam inserts that come with them.

–Glen

Hello Glen,

Will you be bringing one of these "If you have to ask……." shelters with you on monday night at A-16? I have been waiting for any info to show up on your website or the newsletter.

Randy

Glenn:

It would sure be wonderful if you can bring your tent with you to the Torrance A16 on Monday. Can you also set up a small "petting zoo" of cuben, spinnaker, silnylon, etc. — to give the public a touch and feel comparison? Bring all the animals. :)

Randy and Ben –

I guess I could bring some fabric samples. The only cuben version shelter is a very ugly early version that is not fit for public viewing.

–Glen

Glenn:

I'm sure folks will be interested in a look-see of the tent itself, be it made of silnylon, spinnaker or cuben. :)

Looking forward to meeting you on Monday!

Unfortunately I don't have anything to show in any fabric except very crude early prototypes, so I'll have to pass this year. If people are interested I could post some photos of the last prototype (cuben), assuming I can figure out how to do that.

Well, if you'd like some field testing done in Japan and Australia I'm happy to volunteer …