Locus Gear Khufu owners, talk to me

@Robert Meurant Do you have any pictures of your fabric inner?  I asked MLD recently if they would build a inner with cuben panels half way but couldn’t at the moment due to the season picking up.  Didn’t know LG had a similar option.

LG recently updated their site with all the inner options.  Can the 3/4 inner be pitched with the pole on the outside if it was angled?

Any body using a LG inner in a Duomid or MLD inner in a LG?

Here you can see my Hapi pitched to the ground. If it’s not windy I just stake the 4 corners and the door side. If it’s windy I’ll stake out the 4 corners, mid points and 4 guy lines.

Last night (not this pic) I used all staking options in 35-40 mph winds with occasionally 50-60 mph? gusts.  The Hapi handled it perfectly.

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Here you can see my Hapi pitched to the ground. If it’s not windy I just stake the 4 corners and the door side. If it’s windy I’ll stake out the 4 corners, mid points and 4 guy lines.

Last night (not this pic) I used all staking options in 35-40 mph winds with occasionally 50-60 mph? gusts.  The Hapi handled it perfectly.”

Don, did you measure the windspeed yourself or was 35-40 (and 50-60) more of an estimate?  I also have a CTF3 Hapi and I’ve been curious as to how it will do in heavy winds.  IIRC, our shelters have 8 perimeter staking options and 8 guyline staking options and I’ve wondered how many are needed in 30MPH winds.

@43ten Drew – I didn’t have a wind measuring device but just judging. The gusts came rumbling around only about  5 times that night thankfully because I only staked out 2 guylines for space. The gusts started after I got in my bag and was listening to a podcast. If the gusts were sustained I would’ve had to get up and stake out the rest. Two nights previous I had to set up my shelter in the middle of the trail because I had been hiking for 1 1/2 hrs in the dark waiting for a clearing. I was exhausted. The spot was the best I could find but it was slightly concaved. In my delirium, I tried to pitch it tight to the ground but obviously you can’t get it taut. It was very windy that night too but not as bad. I thought I was shelter enough and just said screw it and went to bed. No guylines staked out. I woke up about 4 am with one corner somewhat collapsed on to my bag. I just went back to sleep. ? I guess the point of my long winded story is that if you pitch it well it should serve you well.

Christopher – Here’s photos of my LG 2/3 fabric inner with Khufu as requested. Sorry about the delay, I had a tight deadline I had to meet. Usually, I don’t use an inner, or prefer my custom 2/3 bug net (not shown). Footprint not needed, but used it that time.

Don,

Thanks for the details.  I’ve done some testing with a leaf blower and garden hose (haha) on my Hapi to try to get an idea of storm worthiness, but it’s good to hear it held up well for you.

I’ve had my Khufu in some very strong blustery conditions close to the coastline on Japanese islands where I could find little natural shelter to take advantage of. The only problem arose with 1.8mm spectra slipping through the linelocs, so thicker line might be preferable. (Why doesn’t someone produce better linelocs that suit thinner line?) The catenary surface of the tarp performs really well.

@Robert Meurant Thanks.  Any chance you have a weight for the inner too?

@Dan   In your review of the Khufu last February you said that you thought the reinforcement points and the zip might be weaknesses on your silnylon version. After nearly a year’s use how has the shelter faired? Any sign of damage to the stitching anywhere?

Has any stitching damage shown up on anyone’s cuben version?

JohnH

John: Khufu is still working very well. No signs of anything failing but I also usually camp with my wife so solo trips are rare. I probably only have 10 nights on it.

Chris: I have a MYOG inner intended for a DuoMid that I use with my Khufu. It’s too tall by a few inches so I have to wrap it over the trekking pole handle in the mid peak to take up the slack. No big deal but if you’re buying new I’d get one intended for the Khufu. I like 1/2 inners rather than 2/3rds because then all the floorspace is protected when the door is open, and I like have the vestibule space in wet conditions for wet gear.

Christopher,

Weight of 2/3 ripstop inner in bag is 400gm on my scales.

Does anyone have a picture of a packed cuben Khufu?

Curious to see the packsize.

I’ve pretty much settled on an MLD or LG mid. (Would have considered HMG if they had different insert options like a 1P for their 2P mid).

I’m 6′ 0″ and a side sleeper, and think I’d be uncomfortable close to the mesh. Do you all think I be comfortable in the LG Khufu CTF-B with a 3/4 mesh? It looks like from this thread that I would be comfortable, but I hate to order an beautifully crafted and expensive item all the way from Japan only to be claustraphobic. My previous backpacking experience is limited to Hubba Hubba, which I found palatial.

I think the 2/3 inner makes better sense than the 3/4, but I’m 5 ft 8 1/2 ” , and find the Khufu a great fit.

In your case at 6 ft, with the 3/4 inner you could sleep angled (parallel to the front face of the inner), which would give you a little more headroom (i.e. when lying down), though I don’t think you would need to. You would definitely want to use a DPTE or similar. You might be more comfortable with the extra height of the DuoMid.

There are various good reasons to prefer a 2/3 or 3/4 inner over a 1/2 inner.

As regards claustrophobia, you are unlikely to get it in a mesh inner, as your eyes adjust to the fabric of the (inside of) the outer fly. It’s not a problem. But in a fabric inner, you will definitely experience claustrophobia (based on my experience).

Thanks so much for the advice, Robert. I really appreciate it.

My brother is 6’4″ and about 260#s – he borrowed my MLD duomid with the 2 person inner and used the DPTE to set it up (so he could sleep at a bit of an angle).  a year later and he STILL raves about how awesome that tent was for him.

I just have to say that I would want to eliminate a vertical pole that’s always in my way and somehow use both hiking poles parallel with and against the tent sides like Robert Meurant has shown in his photos.

I totally eschew vertical poles in a tent and that’s why I avoid mid style tents. That’s just my idiosyncrasy.

But Eric that is readily avoided in a ‘mid by the Locus Gear DPTE, which acts as a hinge at the apex allowing two poles to be used in an A-frame arrangement. Well worth the minor hassle in pitching it. And Merry Christmas, and to everyone, it’s a sunny morning here!

I recently purchased and received a Locus Gear Khufu (silnylon) w/ 2/3 mesh inner. The two nest very well and I really appreciate the width of the 2/3 inner vs. 1/2 inner.

Yes, the two make for a really effective combination, especially using the DPTE. And the catenary cut makes it shed wind well. Also I found the fabric inner to be a little claustrophobic compared with the mesh.

Can someone help me with some advice on how to pitch these mids? I’m using the DTPE and it seems that my 130cm trekking poles are not long enough despite extending them far past the ‘STOP’ and measured at nearly 140cm. Even at that length the tent is still too close to the ground. What am I doing wrong? How do people get them 4-5inches high to maximize airflow? Is that only possible with a center pole?

The DPTE works fine with Locus poles (at least with the Khufu), which are not particularly long. I would just bring the bottoms (handles, as they are inverted) closer together. I seldom bothered attaching the tarp to the poles, that is not needed, unless you are in extreme conditions.
You could measure the height you want at the apex by using a single pole, pitching on a flat surface, then experiment with just the two poles and  DPTE to get the same effective height, rig a bottom chord of the right length between the pole ends at their bases (at about ground level), then try pitching with the 2 poles, chord, and DPTE and also check the height is as wanted. The bottom chord of the triangle obviously needs to be removable and easy to fix, also adjustable. (I’m presuming you are using a Khufu; if something else, then its theoretical apex height is probably greater).

I’ve experimented by physically lifting the poles (with the DTPE and my estimate is the pitch would be much better if my poles were 145-150cm. I believe trekking poles are not even available in that length? Bringing the poles closer together helps but is not a good solution as it effectively reduces the space within the tent since I always use an inner. BTW, I have a Khufu and a Hapi Grande and they both have the same issue. I don’t understand how Locus Gear recommends a pole length of 130cm in their literature as the tent would always be touching the ground?

…the pitch would be much better if my poles were 145-150cm. I believe trekking poles are not even available in that length?

Leki has a number of poles which are 145cm in length, including the Sherpa XTG. Alpkit does a 150cm pole and Cnoc has one which extends to 158cm.

Mostly when I have had trouble with pitching the Khufu, it is because I have had the corner guys too tight. The nominally rectangular Khufu in plan really wants to be pitched as a stretched octagon. I think you might be having trouble by trying too hard to pitch the tarp as a rectangle. That would give too short a distance from front (zip) and back midface tie-outs, and the tarp apex too high. That would also would give too narrow a separation of the base of the triangle of poles, DPTE, and bottom chord, hence too high an apex for the limited pole length., So I propose that you pitch the front midface guy and back midface guy further apart, stretching the plan into a fatter octagon (or nominally hexagon, ignoring the effect of the end midface guys)., rather than a rectangle. That would bring the tarp apex lower, and mean that it should accommodate the ordinary length poles and DPTE. In my opinion, the natural shape of these “rectangular” mids is not a rectangular pyramid at all, but a stretched octagonal (vertex to opposite vertex, not edge to opposite edge) pyramid.
Further, having the corner guys too tight interferes with the canopy assuming the desired hypar shape that sheds wind so effectively, A related problem might be that you are pitching these corner stakes too close in, when they want a bit of space from the perimeter corners. Have the corner guys quite loose at the start, and concentrate on getting the “right” overall shape, first by the corners, then by the mid-faces, by gradually tightening the guys. Don’t over-tense the tarp.
Unless you have an early prototype or somesuch, the Khufu ought to be perfectly pitchable with regular poles and DPTE.