Lightest bug net tent?

[michael levi]

I'm having a hard time comparing net tent weights, who makes the lightest one?

I dont mind going cuben for the floor but are there any silnylon ones that come in at or under ~8oz?

If anyone has weights of theirs with make/ model that would be helpful.

Style I'd prefer is one pole setup, and that can fit under a Zpacks hexamid.

[Chad B]

SMD Serenity NetTent is advertized at 8oz. Not sure if it will fit under a Hexamid or not. Are you talking a solo Hexamid? As opposed to a solo+.

[michael levi]

Yes just a solo, but have not ordered it yet so I could get a +.

I was considering getting a bug bivy, but if I could find a net tent for a 2oz penalty I would rather have the extra space to move around.

[Chad B]

I recently purchased a Hexamid Solo and have used it a few nights (3) with a Borah Gear bug bivy. I plan on getting a Borah Gear M90 bivy for use in the winter time. I have pretty limited use so far with the Hexamid/bivy combo but am really liking it so far.

I looked at the specs of the Hexamid Solo and Serenity, and on paper, it looks like the Serenity would fit underneath. Maybe someone who has tried it can chime in.

Other options I can think of would be a custom PyraNet from Bearpaw Wilderness (I've heard these sometimes come out heavier than what's quoted) or if you get the Solo+, getting the Hexanet from Zpacks (9oz, $195).

[Chad “Stick” Poindexter]

Yes, the Serenity net tent will fit under the Hexamid solo… and it looks like it fits pretty dang good! Check out this link:

ZPack's Hexamid Solo

[michael levi]

Thanks for the replies, something in the 6-7 ounce range for would be nice. I doubt Joe at zpacks would be able to custom make a solo innernet with current wait times.

Does anyone here have weights of Bearpaw net tents?

Our just actual measured weights of your personal one…

[Chad B]

Ahhhh, nice link Stick. That looks like a great fit. Now the question . . . why aren't more people using that combination?

[Brian Johns]

The silnylon net tent "serenity" weighs in at 7.5 ounces. I purchased one from a forum member here and will know more in a few days. Not as warm, but for summer/buggy conditions, this will be as light as my borah bivy … well .6 oz. heavier, as my Borah weighs 6.9 in the silnylon sack.

EDIT to add Pyranet 1 specs per BearpawWD.com:

Size
Regular Length
90" x 30"
Tent Peak Height: 44"
Sleeps 6'2" person
Packed: 12" x 4" dia.

Extended Length
96" x 30"
Sleeps 6'6" person
Tent Peak Height: 44"
Packed: 12" x 4" dia.

Weight (Reg length)
30D sil floor: 10 oz.
70D sil floor: 14 oz.
.74oz Cuben floor 8 oz.
1.25 oz Cuben floor 10 oz.

Materials
30D floor 1.35 oz (std)
silicone-coated nylon
70D floor 2.3 oz (opt)
silicone-coated nylon
Cuben Fiber floor
0.74 oz (opt)
1.25 oz (opt)
Netting: black no-see-um
1.1 oz/sq yd standard
.8 oz/sq yd optional

Included
Tent canopy/floor
Guidelines/linelocs
Stuff sack

[michael levi]

7.5 is very good, Any lighter ones out there?

It's weird how Bearpaws cuben one is listed at 8oz, where is the extra weight?

[Bradley Attaway]

Here's the article "ZPacks Hexamid Pocket Tarp + Suluk46 Bug Proof Bivy = New Lightest Weight Enclosed Manufactured Shelter System":

http://wp.me/p1SR5e-cV

Here's the bivy:

http://goo.gl/kG841P

Okay, so it's really more of a bivy, and probably highly impractical for 99% of even us in the BPL community. Makes me love it all the more ;-)

EDIT (clarification):

I don't have one, nor any use for one, nor would I ever recommend considering one except perhaps as part answer to "Lightest bug net tent?".

What I love is the idea that somebody out there is pushing minimalist boundaries like this. Besides, it'd hardly be BPL if somebody didn't throw the stupid light option into the conversation :-)

Apologies to anybody who thought I meant insult. By all means, HYOH.

[Herbert Sitz]

"The silnylon net tent "serenity" weighs in at 7.5 ounces. I purchased one from a forum member here and will know more in a few days."

If it does weigh 7.5 ounces then it likely was not made recently. The SMD Serenity I ordered a few months ago came in at 9.9 ounces, even though it was listed as 8 ounces. I believe this is because the Serenity noseeum material being used is the same as the Haven nettent noseeum, and both are heavier than they used to be. SMD notes on the Haven nettent page that it is shipping at higher than listed weight but gives no such warning for Serenity. Anybody ordering an SMD Serenity who's weight conscious should contact SMD before purchasing to check on weight.

[michael levi]

That's exactly what im worried about before I order something.

I just sent SMD an email asking about it.

People with real time weights please chime in.

[michael levi]

We've been making the Serenities with the lighter netting again for over a
year now. We just updated the website recently to reflect that change. The
weight of the Serenity is approx.. 8 oz.

Thanks,
Ron

[Link .]

Here is what a custom net tent from Bear Paw Tents for the solo Hexamid looks like and weighs.

[Chad B]

Keep in mind also that with the pyranet, it needs the Hexamid modifications. The 10" of either sil or cf on at least three sides is going to add a bit of weight. It's impossible to determine the exact weight based on the info offered on the website, that always drives me nuts, but you could email him. Last time I contacted them with a question on weight for a tarp, I was given an estimate that had a range of +/- 2oz. That wasn't good enough for me so I passed.

"Can be modified to fit under Zpacks' Hexamid shelter. Requires the 10" extensions on at least 3 sides (additional to the Hexamid modification.)" – From BPW.

[Chad B]

Thanks Link, that is helpful.

[Herbert Sitz]

"We've been making the Serenities with the lighter netting again for over a
year now. We just updated the website recently to reflect that change. The
weight of the Serenity is approx.. 8 oz."

If 9.9 oz is approximately 8 oz then I'd say he's spot on. I ended up keeping mine, but wasn't very happy with the overage surprise or with the response from Ron when I wrote him a note questioning the overage. No apology, just some canned blurbage about variations in production runs, advertised weights (on tags, website, etc.) being set upon first product release years ago and it being too difficult (I think he actually said "not possible") to change the advertising, apparently even on the website.

[Chad B]

Is that 9.9oz with or w/out the stuff sack? 9.9oz is a far cry from 8oz. I would have sent it back. It can't be that hard to update his website. Add a little blurb to the product page that weights may vary from 8-10oz depending on production run.

Situations like this are what make me appreciate companies like zpacks and Borah Gear more and more, their quoted weights have always been spot on, sometimes even coming in a little lower. Is Six Moon outsourcing their production? Is that why it is so difficult for them to get a handle on quality control? Check out the "new" Lunar Solo LE, 7oz off from what it was supposed to be.

[michael levi]

SMD weighed a few net tents for me and Ron got 8.1 across a few of them. These are the new and current style. Of these new models there were a few in the past that came with heavier netting and weighed upwards of 9-10 ounces.

The old style weighs 7oz which doesn't have the elevated walls.

[Jason G]

"Okay, so it's really more of a bivy, and probably highly impractical for 99% of even the BPL community. Makes me love it all the more ;-)"

you're so elite bro… f'in 1%'er..

[Ken Thompson]

"Is Six Moon outsourcing their production?"

Yes.

[Bradley Attaway]

deleted

[Bradley Attaway]

Please see edit to my OP.

[Greg Mihalik]

Jason, you said –
"you're so elite bro… f'in 1%'er.."

yet you posted earlier…

"… the TRT is 165mi although I started from my parents cabin in Meeks Bay …"

… but I suppose it is a small quaint cabin, within reach of most the 5%? 'ers?

[Chad B]

"SMD weighed a few net tents for me and Ron got 8.1 across a few of them. These are the new and current style. Of these new models there were a few in the past that came with heavier netting and weighed upwards of 9-10 ounces."

OK, that was cool of him to do that. 8.1oz is a good weight for a net tent. My post may have been a bit harsh, I just getting really annoyed when listed weight and real word weights are significantly off. And in all fairness, they posted on their website that the Lunar Solo LE was an error on their part. It was unfair of me to throw that in there. Still though, if they were more directly involved in the production, then those types of things would be much less likely to occur.

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