SUL Cuben Summit Tarp: rain/wind bomber?

[Monte Masterson]

Joe at ZPacks made this 4.6 oz solo tarp based on a design I came up with.

I do a lot of summit hiking and I often find myself sleeping out on windy mountain saddles. Many times it's the only place I can find with enough level space. The views are great, but those darn winds. With this in mind, I wanted a rain/wind bomber tarp that weighs under 4.7 oz.
The bigger the tarp the more of a wind catcher it becomes, so I designed this one to be as efficient as possible. Surface area is only 44 sq ft.

Laid out flat the tarp measures 6 ft wide (head) 3 ft wide (foot) and 9 ft from foot end to front corner tie-outs. In order to keep rain out of the foot end, I had it made very low. At the head end I added a beak to block rain spray.

Lower pic shows the beak opened and unzipped. Flaps are velcroed to the outer canopy.

These next 2 pics are with the beak closed. I honestly think this design will keep the rain out. I guess I won't know for sure until I try it out in a major blow. Comments or suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Looks nice, though not much room. Pretty low to the ground so should have good wind shedding capacity, though only way to know for sure is to try it out.

Look forward to reports.

[todd]

Nice pics and nice design!

If the small size works for you, then the only thing I'd add to it is an end panel a-la the MLD Patrol – that is – if wind/rain-worthiness is your goal. It's a tiny bit of weight for much greater function.

Report back with more pics!

[Monte Masterson]

Thanks for the input Todd. The end panel sounds like a good idea, but I'm going to wait and see how well the low foot end blocks the rain. The Patrol is considerably wider at the foot, so I can understand why it needs the end panel to keep the rain out.

This tarp is meant for the Southwest where rain is unlikely, yet it's still possible. The Summer Monsoon season here in Arizona can bring violent thunderstorms, so it's important to have something that's totally weatherproof. Most of the time I cowboy camp and only pitch a tarp if rain threatens.

[Anonymous]

If you carry either a highly water resistant windjacket or a WPB rain jacket, you can use these to cover your feet area during a rainstorm anyways.

[Monte Masterson]

Yea Justin, I guess I could zip the rainjacket up and just slip it over the foot area like a sock.

[Ryan Smith]

That thing should shed wind like a champ. Very low profile and little surface area. Glad you're pushing the envelope. Is that .51oz or .74oz cuben?

Ryan

[Monte Masterson]

Ryan, the material is .51 cuben, and if the tarp didn't have 13 total tie-outs (there's also 2 mid panel tie-outs) I'd probably be a little worried about the material. However, with so many tie-outs, I think the forces can be distributed in a way that doesn't put too much stress on any one of them.

Thanks for the good word. I'm sending the tarp back to Joe so he can install a zipper on the beak.

[Monte Masterson]

I just got the tarp back from Joe with the new zippered beak. That adds .2 oz to bring the total up to 4.8 oz. As you might expect, entry and exit is far easier with the zipper.

[Chad “Stick” Poindexter]

Nice tarp! I agree with the others, it looks a little small, but the photo of you laying in it doesn't look so bad. What about with a pad though? Are you using an inflatable or a ccf pad?

Is the 4.8 oz weight with all guylnes, stakes and stuff sack (assuming you are using one)?

I like the zipper mod, but do you think it will leak in time? Do you think that there is a bit of stress being put on the zipper when the front of the tarp is staked out nice and tight? In the pics it looks like there isn't any real stress on it, but I figure that you would have to be careful with the pitch now to make sure that you get the right amount of width on the front so that you can still use the zipper correctly. (If that makes sense.)

I think that I would like to have an end panel on it simply so I could scoot all the way to the end to have the most clearance from the front in the case of heavy rains, however, as others mentioned, it should be pretty easy to fashion something with a rain jacket, or if you carry a rain kilt, that would work well. I have actually done that on a larger flat tarp set up in AFrame for bad weather. Of course it's a bit of fiddling, but it works, and make use of items you're already carrying.

Anyway, thanks for sharing. I will look forward to hear what you think of it after some use, and if you come up with any more mods for it…

[Monte Masterson]

Hey Stick, thanks for your insights.

The tarp weighs 4.8 oz without stakes or guylines.

For a pad I'll be using a Klymit Inertia X-Lite with a 3/16" Oware ccf underneath. The Klymits are 1.5 inches thick.

Stress on the zipper shouldn't be a problem. Joe put a tie-out on each side of the zipper so I can secure the tip the beak around the trekking pole with a small piece of bungee.

I found that I'm able to get the beak taught, no matter how the front is set up. All I have to do is slide the tip of the beak up or down the trekking pole to get it just right.

I'm sure the zipper will leak with sustained rainfall, but even if it does I should be able to keep my head well away from the falling drops.

Needles to say, this tarp isn't meant for wet climates. It's meant for hunkering down in the brief but sometimes heavy rains that are typical of the Southwest. I certainly wouldn't want to spend a lot of time under this tarp, but if it will hold up to 50 mph wind gusts and keep the rain out, I can deal with the smaller size. I just don't want a wind catcher at 9'000 ft with 45 degree temps in big weather. Think hypothermia.

I appreciate your thorough critique Stick.

[Jack R. Abbit]

Monte,
Great Job. Because of your design,it should be way easier to pitch while it's real windy. Which for me has been half the battle sometimes. I found a lot of tarps would work for me as long as I can get it anchored down before the wind shreads it, or flies it like a kite. I don't think I'd change a thing until I got some dirt time. Simpler-er is better right? It makes me want to have one! Looking forward to see how it works for you. Thanks for the post and pic's!

[Henk Smees]

Hi Monte,

First of…… Thanks for your input in my thread about the tarp size in the Gear-Forum :).

I really like your “Cuben Summit Tarp”. If I wouldn’t be set on a flat tarp, I’d go with something like your design. I’ve had a GoLite Lair 1 (silnylon) for many years and have been able to use same on every trip I've made (no matter how bad the weather would be). Since the Lair 1 has a large front opening -and no beak at all-, when needed (in very nasty weather) I’ve used my poncho to cover the gap and it has always been adequate. It’s a bit of fiddling, but worked well.

Even though I really like your design, once you decide to go with a shaped tarp, a whole new world of possibilities will become available. Someone earlier suggested having a beak at the back and I would certainly give that a thought. My Lair 1 had such a beak and that made life a lot easier in bad weather. This will obviously increase the weight a little more, but less than the zipper you had installed (if I’m not mistaken) and will avoid having to fiddle with the rain jacket. With a rear beak you might even be able to shorten your “Summit Tarp” a little, so you probably would not gain any weight at all.

I do lots of long-distance walks -well, here in Europe even a 300-mile route is called long-distance :).

[Eric Blumensaadt]

My idea of a Cuben fiber TENT (not tent-shaped tarp) is the Six Moon Designs Skyscape X.

Yes, Pricey but very well designed and very wind-worthy. And you can even make a "porch" for soul weather cooking from Ron Moak's porch pattern. (He no longer sells the porch option.)

[Jennifer Mitol]

Um, Eric, did you just mention a tent that is NOT a Tarptent??????!!!!!!!

[Andrew U]

"Um, Eric, did you just mention a tent that is NOT a Tarptent??????!!!!!!!"

Lol. That was my thought, too.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Monte,

I like the shape of the foot end of your tarp. In fact I like it so much that if it were my tarp I'd put the same thing on the front with a sewn-on "addition". That way you don't need to be as concerned about wind shifting around to the entrance and getting you wet in a big storm.

For easier entrance and exit in good weather you could put a light, waterproof or flap-protected zipper on one side of the "porch" where it attaches to the main tent.

Look at Tarptent's Contrail as an example. It even has a built-in top vent. You can run the guyline beneath the "porch" for more room inside the tent or out through the top vent and outside the porch for the most protection. I used to own a Contrail and it works either way.

I realize you likely won't want as much front protection as the Contrail but even a half porch is better than none.

[Monte Masterson]

Eric, thanks for the reply, but I think what you're seeing as the foot end (in the 3rd and 4th pics down) is actually the head end with the extended beak zipped shut. You can see the beak open with the flaps velcroed to the canopy in the second pic (the one where I'm lying down under the tarp).

I do like the features on the Contrail (now called the Protrail) though. Wish someone would make one in cuben.

But I must say that so far, in the couple of rains I've encountered with the Summit Tarp, I'm convinced that it provides the most protection possible for 44 sq ft of surface area and 4.8 oz of weight. I'll post some pics soon with the MLD Bug Bivy under it. Total weight with tarp, lines, bivy and 10 ti stakes is right at 14 oz…for a bombproof shelter!

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