Cuben Gatewood Cape?

In Ron’s last post on BPL more than 4 years ago, he says he’ll have a cuben Gatewood available soon. lol. Maybe you’ve heard something about it recently. but I’m not aware of anything. I’ll believe it when I see it.

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/101069/#post-2190160

The current version of the Cape, in silnylon,  is 10 oz, $135.

not sure that a DCF version would be more than 1-2 oz lighter.

I think the hardware is about 1oz, prob 0.9 silnylon vs 0.51 Cuben, so that would put it at about 6.0 to 6.5oz is my guess.

I’ve never known Ron at SMD to ever use .51 DCF on anything, always .74. Also, the average weight of 15d silnylons is about 1.05. In the link I posted, Ron says that a DCF Gatewood Cape would come in at around 7 oz.

I would prefer a 0.74 or even a 1.0 ounce DCF cape just for improve performance, not for any weight savings.  I have a Zpacks poncho and the stiffness of the material is great, keeps the fabric from clinging to your skin, doesn’t absorb any water, less likely to snag.  As a shelter it wouldn’t sag when pitched.

The somewhat similar, but I think somewhat smaller,  Deshutes Zero G (DCF) is 8 oz.

I like Paul’s logic on this–improved performance and less water absorption.

I’ve been thinking about trying to make one (slightly larger than my 2007 Gatewood)….using the 0.74 DCF, and taping rather than sewing.    This would be a  pricey mistake though if it didn’t work out.

@ Franco, the Deshutes zero – g is larger than the gatewood cape.

Ah, I see. I had based my guess on that wrong assumption  (that the Gatewood used more fabric) .

Well, I waited a while hoping to see a DCF gatewood happen, but finally gave up and ordered a silnylon one this week. So that means it’ll probably come out next week. lol

You will love it!!  I prefer the silnylon over DCF. It packs much smaller and think of all the money you saved.. For other needed gear!!