new nano tarps

[Michael Demchak]

just curious on how the new nano tarps dropped so much weight? are they using a lot lighter cuben? the older ones where using .6 oz right? im wondering how long it would last… god you gotta love those weights but it would be a bummer if a butterfly runs into it and tears it apart.
mike!

[Kathleen B]

I just did some math comparing the Contrail to the new BPL tarp, bivy, and bug tent, which, as a threesome, pretty much provide the same features as the Contrail. The Contrail weighs 24 oz and costs $199. The Threesome weighs 13 oz and costs a total of $332.47 (member price). So the 11 oz savings costs $133.00, or a little over $12 per ounce. The question to ask ourselves is how much do we want to spend per ounce of weight savings? I'm not even going to use the word "need" when buying new gear. We're all old enough and crazy enough to admit we're way past using that excuse! Interesting dilemma.

[Adam Rothermich]

One could argue that the bivy isn't needed if you're comparing to the Contrail. Bugnet and tarp are essentially the same as the Tarptent. That would save you a few ounces and quite a few dollars :).

Adam

[Ryan Gardner]

> I'm not even going to use the word "need" when buying new gear. We're all old enough and crazy enough to admit we're way past using that excuse!

Kathleen, you just said what I've thought in my mind but never said out loud. Now I feel like I can't justify buying gear anymore!

[Kathleen B]

Instead of justifying, use the comparative vice argument. A friend at work flew to Paris for a 4-day trip. I wondered how she could afford it on our salary. Then it occurred to me that I've paid for a trip to Paris. All she has is pictures and memories. I have pictures, memories, and the gear!

[Ryan Gardner]

Kathleen,

Thank you for your wisdom. Tell me this – can I trade vices and not feel guilty?

Example: I'm way into music – I have an entire recording studio – and lately I've been selling gear I don't use, and using the money to buy backpacking gear. I really shouldn't be spending money (poor, newly married college student), but I sold a mandolin I never used, got $400 for it, and ordered a new bivy and a new tarp.

That's OK right?

[Kathleen B]

Ummm. Sure. Permission granted. Go for it!
Since this thread is supposed to be about the new BPL gear and its durability, I'll patch back into that thought and reiterate my original comment that the Threesome is a cool idea, but more expensive. And the unknown is whether it's more durable than the Contrail. I still think the bivy needs to be part of the mix, because the bugnet appears to have a net bottom, rather than a waterproof fabric one.

[EndoftheTrail]

Something is definitely wrong — very wrong — when a society that earns some of the highest incomes anywhere in the world finds itself with a negative savings rate! By comparison, the Chinese earn a small fraction of what we earn; and yet, they manage to save 20% or more of their income!

There's something about the way we approach our hobbies — be they backpacking or biking or music studio or home theater/hi-fi or whatever that we find ourselves in endless cycles of "acquisitions and upgrades"! Marketing is powerful stuff indeed!

EDIT: Sorry for going on a tangent, but just thinking out loud after reading some of the posts up above. Now back to nano tarps… :)

[Jon Rhoderick]

At the same time though, there are alot of people just waiting to start living after retirement. There are too many stories of people dying of a job induced heart attack before having the chance to spend their hard earned money.

[Aaron Sorensen]

This is a little late but I had to give a better perspective of the threesome, (tarp/sack/bug net).

My homemade momentuim bivy weights 3.0 ounces, the h/made bug-net .1 ounces. With the 2.9 ounce tarp added in that comes to 6 ounces and a cost of about $220.

If you are really going to utilize a 2.9 ounce tarp in your line-up, you need to have more of an SUL list to be happy with the product.

If you're still tiring to buy every product to get you to SUL, you must be a lot better off than I am.

Almost every product out there can be home-made to save 25-50+% of the weight.

[Kathleen B]

Thanks for the comments about home-sewn gear, Aaron. I adore my Contrail, and was intrigued by BPL's new gear listings of bivy/tarp/net gear with comparable function, lighter weight, but higher cost. For some reason I hesitate to tackle sewing backpacking gear, even though I have lots of sewing experience from a previous existence. My quick excuse is "no time"! I don't want to spend a lot of money and time on something that doesn't hold up to the rigors of outdoor life, and then have to buy a ready-made one after all. Did you ever finish your 2 lb zero degree bag? A really warm, really light bag is my final frontier. I drool over the WM ultralite, but I'm pretty much spent out on gear for awhile. I do believe you were going to post pictures in the make-your-own-gear thread when you finished your bag.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Hey Kathleen,
I got held up with the quilt.
It is all sewn up except the outside. Just need to add the down and sew up the other side and I will be finished.

I may just have to borrow a 0* bag myself for comparison.
It's starting to get cold now.
I know it's well below freezing at night in the sierras, so I may have to head up to the top of Glen pass for some testing.

I'll have the quilt and some pics posted when it's done.

[Author]

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