Lightest WP Bivy ???

[Murali C]

hmmm….as Chris K said, some of the popular Nemo tents say HH is 1200. Couldn’t find the HH numbers for Big Agnes…but are these not very popular tents used by tons of people? If these tents fail in hard rain, won’t Big Agnes, Nemo have to make it better? I mean I trust what you guys are saying, but, still seems that such popular tent models will have only 1200 mm HH (15d sil/PeU) according to Nemo Hornet 1p tent specs.

[DWR D]

“are these not very popular tents used by tons of people?”

Popular??????????

Good Grief… you make your decisions based on ‘popular’???

Big sales (aka ‘popular’) do not equate to storm worthy…

I might use a 1200mm tent, but only in a low precip area.. like the desert where rain is unlikely and things dry out fast and it is not cold anyway, but not the desert in monsoon season… I would not use it in the high mountains above treeline… summer or winter…

[Murali C]

No – what I meant is if a tent is used by lots of people (popular), then problems will be immediately seen as these are used on AT trails and in all sorts of places where there is tons of rain. My tents/tarps so far have been DCF. PCT as well – but, you can argue that PCT is mostly dry – but they do use it in Washinton where 5 day continuous rain is not uncommon…

[Roger Caffin]

if a tent is used by lots of people (popular), then problems will be immediately seen as these are used on AT trails and in all sorts of places where there is tons of rain.
Yeah, right.

Never underestimate the power of marketing. That is what makes ‘popularity’.

Cheers

[DWR D]

“if a tent is used by lots of people (popular), then problems will be immediately seen”

I doubt that… I would guess that most people do not backpack in the rain… and if it does start raining, they pack up and go home. Sure PNW people… but even them, I bet most watch the weather report and don’t go if much rain is forecast and pack up and leave if it does rain much. I have witnessed that on Mt. Rainier… easy to get permits when there is a big rain forecast (lots of cancellation)… not easy when it is sunny.. and when it rains, a lot of backpackers in the parking lot bailing out and heading home…

Two years ago I bought a light weight rain jacket that was ‘popular’… selling thousands of them, I am sure… but before taking it out I gave it the 15 minute shower test…. it leaked, so I took it back… the sales gal at REI was upset and told me it was rain proof… it was not… My conclusion is that a lot of this rain gear, including tents, has been made so marginal to get the weight down for sales that these things really are not rain proof, except maybe in the lightest rain for just a few minutes… and will not hold up to hours of hard rain. If you want to try a 1200mm tent, I suggest you set it up in the back yard and hose it down for 30 minutes with a hard stream… before taking it out backpacking… then you will know what you have before the need is critical…

[Murali C]

So what HH do you all recommend?

X-Mid silpoly is 2500, MLD silnylon seems to be 3500. I am surprised that Skurka’s joint development with Sierra designs High Route tent fly has only 1500…..and I think it is now 1200…

How much is yours Roger?

[Roger Caffin]

Oh, I’m a wimp.
Both blue summer and red winter were over 2,000 mm when new.
The summer one has seen a LOT of use. I respray it every couple of years with silicone spray.
My first winter tent (orange) was maybe 4,000+ when new.

MLD silnylon seems to be 3500.
Sounds good to me.

Cheers

[R L]

If a silnylon has a 3500 rating, why does it still sag when wet.?  Does ambient temp factor into the mix?

[DWR D]

Murali C…

You seem to be very focused on the technical specification such as the mm/ HH numbers provided by the tent makers. So much so that I think  you might get better responses by maybe starting a new thread focused on that instead of this thread which was supposed to be about bivy sacks. With a thread focused on HH/water proofness you would maybe get responses form some of the BPL participating tent makers and maybe even Stephen Seeber who tests fabrics. Personally, I don’t put my trust in what the bigger tent makers put out in their marketing, or even their numbers. Many of the bigger gear makers have been know to put out false numbers for weights, dimensions, etc… so even if they rate something at 1,300mm/HH, it may not be so… that’s why I put more weight on the hose and shower tests… you could also search for a Stephen Seeber post and maybe Pmail him. An aside, I seem to recall that years ago Tarptent was putting out silnylon tents that were rated at something like 1,200 or 1,500 that were leaking in hard rains… after enough feedback they upped their products to something like 2,000 (though I may have these numbers wrong… memory!). Anyway, I think a new thread focused on you questions might get the attention of Tarptent, Dan Durston, etc.. and the answers you want…

 

[Murali C]

Yeah – I will probably do that….what made me ask these questions is your post in this thread regarding the HH numbers and the summary you gave of the various numbers for tents:-)

[Monte Masterson]

The Lightwave Rainshadow XL would do the trick. Big enough and features X-Tec fabric, a 20D WPB nylon ripstop with a 10,000 mm rating. Pricey though and you’d have to order from UK. Weighs a little over 12 oz.  https://www.lightwave.uk.com/product/shop/rainshadow-xl

 

[Murali C]

There is a MLD eVent bivy for sale on reddit…..long/wide with DCF bottom – 16 oz

[DWR D]

• Thanks Murali

[DWR D]

Thanks Murali

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