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Zpacks Duplex versus MLD Cuben Grace + Serenity CF
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Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › Zpacks Duplex versus MLD Cuben Grace + Serenity CF
- This topic has 2 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 7 months ago by JCH.
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Aug 24, 2016 at 2:15 pm #3422352
I have been using a 9×8 simply light tarp with a BPWD 1.5 net-tent (w/ 8 inch sides). This is a fantastic setup and has performed very well in the cascades under all manner of rough weather. I’m looking to upgrade in the near future and thought to compare the uber-popular Zpacks duplex with basically a cuben MLD version similar to what I’ve been using. Zpacks doesnt really describe their dimensions in great detail and I am trying to calculate approximate ground coverage. In the cascades it is wet…..a lot, and I like to keep my soaked gear (shoes backpack etc) out of my bathtub dry space so vestibule or tarp overcoverage counts as a valuable commodity. Duplex people….have you actually had two people in your Duplex?….in the rain… and did the vestibules work adequately? Please discuss the pros and cons of each of these systems.
Zpacks Duplex 0.51CF $600 21ozÂ
28 sqft interior plus 7.2 sqft * 2 = 14 sqft vestibule coverage
MLD grace duo + Serenity Bug Shelter duo 0.71CF 600$ 22oz
28 sqft interior ~16 sqft *2 = 32 sqft tarp coverage (pitched to ground)
Thanks!
Drew
Aug 24, 2016 at 10:09 pm #3422425I’ve been in a couple nasty storms in the Sierra with swirling wind and rain in my Duplex with another person. The vestibules are adequate but not generous. Mine was a 2015 model before they put the extra toggle on the doors and we definitely got some spray coming through onto our packs. We both had rain skirts which we threw over our packs to help with the situation.
Aug 25, 2016 at 6:27 am #3422450I would echo Matthew’s observation on the Duplex. Â Adequate, but certainly not palatial, room for two inside with gear in the vestibules.
Swirling winds with rain, in my experience, are the only conditions where the zipperless Plex door design does not work wonderfully.  The new toggles work well, are a functional improvement and are easily retrofitted to older models.  I have always carried a 0.5 oz piece of ploycro precisely for protecting gear in the vestibule…works great as a cover, or as a ground cloth if the ground is soaked and/or pooling.  When wind direction is relatively steady, simply orient the tent with the door overlap facing downwind.
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