New Tarp from Gossamer Gear

It's nice to see them making shelters again. Looks like it isn't taped as the posted weight is “before seam-sealing.”

I noticed that, but under the quick overview it say "All seams and tie outs are fully bonded, there is not a stitch on this one so no need to seam seal."

So which is it?

It's good to see GG back in the shelter business. Cool tie-out design. Stitching for webbing tie-outs on cuben shelters makes me nervous, even when it's through multiple layers of cuben. That design eliminates the stitching completely.

I do wish somebody would make a 2-person cuben tarp with a beak and closed foot end, sort of a cross between a MLD Patrol Shelter and a HMG Echo II.

Sounds like you want a Gossamer Gear SpinnShelter in Cuben.

Yeah. I have a Spinnshelter which is my primary solo shelter. Would love that in cuben, or even better, a 2 person version in cuben.

Hi Andrew, i talked to Gen from Yama Mountain Gear about a design like that. He's working on something that you might be interested in. Just send him an email, he's very responsive.

Looks nice but I am somehow underwhelmed. I was hoping for a cuben "The One" to go head to head to with the SMD Skyscape X in a solo cuben shelter steel cage death match. Instead, we get another cuben cat cut tarp. Yawn. The Grace Duo vs. the Q-Twinn in a polite game of cards….yawn. I like the idea mentioned above of something more like the Spinnshelter, with a beak etc.

Yeah, pretty much agree on the cat cut tarp. Cuben stretches very little, so you really need a lot less catenary curves to compensate; more to do with how it is set up and tensioned. In all the variable winds of the storms we get in the ADK's, I find the size is more like a single with gear. Roughly the same size as my tarp but lacks any front beak protection. This is almost a necessity near all the mountains/hills/lakes in the ADK's.

Anyway, it looks like a good shelter for western trails.

zpacks solplex is a pretty good approximation of a cuben "the one"

Bear Paw Designs Canopy Tent sounds like what you're looking for.

So this has been out for a while, has anyone picked one up? I'd like to hear some opinions on it.

While we're on the subject, it would be nice if somebody made a cuben fiber version of a Boraghami style shelter but actually made it large enough (like 8x10ft instead of 8×7.5ft which is not long enough).

The Boraghami design seems like a nice way to deal with windblown rain at the head or the foot of the tarp, especially when it comes unexpectedly in the middle of the night when you just want to stay dry and not get out in the elements and reset your tarp.

Seems like the main disadvantage of open tarps is unexpected shifts in wind direction and the Boraghami designs seems like it might be a nice solution, offering the advantages of an open tarp when it's not storming, but also offering a quick and easy way to button everything up when the weather turns foul in the middle of the night, all for just the small weight penalty of the side flaps.

Anyway, just a thought. Wish somebody made these.

The taped seams on this are really sexy. Overall it looks like a re-design of the Backpacking Light-designed / Cubic Tech-built Stealth Nano that was released ca. '09/'10.

Comparing the two tarps gives me pause over the weight of the CubicTwinn's construction (e.g. the use of metal grommet). I have used the BPL version of this as my go-to solo shelter without any concern for durability so I question whether the GG version is overbuilt.

Gossamer Gear vs. Backpacking Light

length: 117 in. / 108 in.
front width: 110 in. / 102 in.
rear width: 62 in. / 68 in.
weight: 7.00 oz. / 4.95 oz.