Tent vestibules and TENT VESTIBULES

"A pyramid can be very light, approaching a pound even without using Cuben." One with a floor and bug proof?

Please show me as I am actually intrigued.

Sounds like 100% marketing spin to me.
Total BS.

Cheers

Please elaborate Roger. Don't hold back. But your post above without any further explanation is a troll post.

Cheery Bye

I don't get the need for views out of the tent. It's dark and I'm sleeping when in it. Never going to be tent bound for days, ever. Outside of expeditions or acclimatizing for altitude I would wager that the vast majority of folks look at a weather forecast and plan accordingly won't ever be either.

"I don't get the need for views out of the tent. It's dark and I'm sleeping when in it."

I'm a bit of a lazy backpacker, so I love views, especially in the morning. I like to wake up slowly when left to my own devices, and enjoy just doing a bit of gazing in the morning from under my quilt.

Anyone else use their umbrella as an impromptu vestibule?

When exiting the tent during a storm, open the zipper part way, stick the umbrella out and unfurl! Then open the entire zipper under cover of umbrella and exit. I've been using floorless shelters so I just put my shoes on inside, but off of the groundsheet to keep it clean.

Set the umbrella on the ground and if you're camped in the trees or behind a windbreak you can cook under it, only getting your arms a little wet when you have to reach from the shelter to the pot.

I like the idea of ease of entry and exit without a flappy wet vestibule hitting you in the back on a rainy night. At lease I think it was a flappy wet vestibule.

"A pyramid can be very light, approaching a pound even without using Cuben." One with a floor and bug proof?

That comment was triggered by recent posts on MYOG. Separate ground cloths were usually carried for the mids. Never having used a mid, I'm not up with the latest, but the reported weights seem pretty impressive even though the structure has to use more fabric to achieve the same amount of elbow room as a tunnel or a pop-up.
That must be due to the use of hiking poles and thus the absence of any pole weight.
Sorry to have unnecessarily intrigued you, David.

With 15-20D nylon and carbon poles, I think we can get the weight of a solo well below 2 lbs., including your sewn in floor. Bug proof? Depends on whether proof=impermeable or just resistant (same issue as with water). With carbon poles, the new issue becomes the durability and weight of the zips; thus the timeliness of the recent posts about #3 zips. Need a little more time. I'm working on it. If you follow MYOG, you'll be among the first to know.

Don't apologize; I was hopeful.

Will be following MYOG. Looking forward to the progress. I would like to see a single wall Mid that is both bug proof with a sewn in floor. I suspect sub 20oz in 30d sil for solo use.

The comments on this thread about using the front half of mids as vestibules have totally changed my outlook.
That, and I've never been able to come up with a good answer to Roger Caffin's argument that a tent that rises from the ground with the placement of one peg is far better than tarps, domes, etc. when forced to pitch in high winds.

Some quick sketches produced the following:

Carbon poles bow out one axis of the pyramid.
The rear bordering the other axis is slightly conical due to the bowed carbon poles.
The front of the tent is similar to the front of Roger Caffin's tunnels, with two beaks, separately staked out, and a door between them.
The floor and net liner will be separately built, and clipped under the canopy at several key points. The sil floor must be taut to prevent bunching.

The next step is to build a scale model to see if nylon fabric can be made very taut with the design.
If so, the fabric would be 1.1 oz 15-20D nylon, PU coated for the canopy, and sil coated with a much higher HH for the floor.
The netting would be .5 oz (17g) from Extrem Textil.

This may look like a MacPac MicroLight and its many imitators, but will have a higher, more pyramid shape, with a pointed apex and almost a square footprint. The basic pitch will be with 3 pegs, with 2 additional pegs to guy the carbon poles in high winds. One hiking pole could be placed at an angle supporting the apex in high winds where strong downdrafts may occur. The carbon poles would go into exterior pole sleeves, would join an elbow at the apex, and would weigh under 5 oz.

This should be fun. Sorry this is so MYOGish, but here on this thread is where the idea came up.

9/27/14 – Edited to show refinements to sketch.

Some great ideas in this thread. I'm too thinking about adding an extended vestibule using some sort of a tarp contraption: the sketches below show an example a 64" tall mid pitched close to the ground, and 8×10' tarp. Not sure if this design is any good though, especially if the conditions are windy as well as wet? The tarp would attach to the mid's top loop using a bungee cord, and a suitable length stick on the opposite side.

It would indeed be nice to enjoy some views when its raining, by opening mid doors without flooding half of the tent. Also cooking, I'm thinking of Sidewinder in its wood mode, and maybe even keeping a small fire going once the pot is off?

That looks quite similar to something Locus Gear is making:

Oh I like it a lot! Looks really efficient with just the amount of material needed to cover the door, really nice porch.

Just wondering if adding a tarp would this compromise mid's stability in higher winds? Since the overall shape alters as a result.

Looks similar to a MLD Cricket.

For a mid with a porch you should check out this thread:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/45447/index.html?skip_to_post=387999#387999

Interesting idea and design.

That's why I really like the cricket I got a while back. A solomid with a trail star entry. Not as weather worthy as the solomid or TS, I'm sure, but nearly so. Plus the advantages of awnings mentioned in this thread such as drip free entry, condensation management, ability to cook during inclement weather, and the ability to see outside while under cover. Not a LOT of room for gear with the poles being there, but I don't have much of anything to place there anyway. Not to mention the weight at 8.1 oz in Cuben with guy line attached is incredible. :^)

Edited to change incorrect header