Stumphges: re: “A 20d silnylon Duomid is stronger, will last longer, will not deform, is far more forgiving to pitch and will cost you 3 ounces.”
All true, but what about the drawbacks of silnylon. In short, it simply will not maintain a taut canopy in wet weather. And a loose canopy is essentially the same type of issue with DCF, only for different reasons. Granted, there are far less leaks and abrasion over time with silnylon; but when the fabric wets out and becomes soppy and heavy, in my mind it is just as bad, because the sagging is wet inside the tent, and the wrinkled tent is far less able to resist high winds. So we need a new fabric, and I’m trying hard to find one.
Murali, re: “… even if it is a half a pound hit – it is not a big deal.” Well, OK, but only if there are not a bunch of such hits. It’s like living on a small income. You have to find a bunch of little savings, but they all add up to a big savings, only weight savings, not money ones. Fortunately, there are a lot of different things that go into a tent, so there are plenty of places to look at and try to come up with many small savings that add up to one big one.
And it appears that polyester tent fabrics do need to be a little heavier to be competitive on the weight and durability fronts. So we are being dragged kicking and screaming to heavier tents, when what we want are lighter ones. But it can be a far more enjoyable challenge compared to current events.
PS: I’ve noticed that woven fabrics are more elastic when stretched on the bias than parallel with the threads. So a fabric woven with dyneema or spectra threads may hold some promise.
Happy trails.
