I have just finished making and erecting my new (476 gram) tent (‘the Grey Flyer – it is a very windy day, hence the name!) in the garden, as you can see ahead of a trip I am planning soon. I just couldn’t resist finishing it so that I could take advantage of the 150 grams of savings compared with my Deerhunter’s Tent #2 which this is a slightly ‘shrunk’ version of (using 5′ wide material at 1.1 oz’yd2 instead of 5′ 6″ material at 1.25 oz/yd2).
I have used the ultralight groundsheet I made for the $30 Aricxi Tent but it is a little small for this tent. Its dimensions are 7′ x 4′ x 2’6″ (210 x 120 x 75 cm). I will make a larger one to fit this tent. The tent is going to be big enough for Della, the two dogs and myself, and still large enough to swing 1-2 hammocks underneath as well. I will be able to heat it with my new stove: Tent Stove Progress
As you can see it weighs 476 grams including ten shepherd’s hook tent pegs (416 without). In the .93 oz/yd2 which I made the Siligloo out of it will weigh 349 grams – that’s including the groundsheet by the way, plus 62 grams for the ten pegs = 411 grams!
Ripstopbytheroll has some .77oz/yd2 material I am keen to try (everything is out of stock at the moment – China). In that material the tent will weigh 291 grams (including groundsheet) + 62 grams for pegs = 353 grams complete.
If I make the tent out of cuben and the groundsheet out of the .77 fabric the whole tent will weigh 214 grams (including groundsheet) + 62 grams of pegs = 276 grams! About two muesli bars. I think I will manage to carry that.
I have the cuben so I will be making the tent part at least. I also have some .93 oz fabric which I can make the groundsheet out of, so I will do this as soon as I can source enough cuben tape to waterproof the seams. This may be some sort of record for a two person tent!
PS: I guess the weight is a bit of a ‘cheat’ for some folks as it does not include the poles, but I make my own out of (dead) bush sticks usually with the aid of a DIY one ounce (28 gram) hand saw I featured here: How to Carry a Saw
See Also:
High Flying first trip with the Grey Flyer.
I would love to get a pattern. I will start with Tyvek before investing in cuban but looks great. Thanks
I would forget cuben. It is working just fine in a silnylon. The Mountain .89oz is cheap enough and will make a roof that is only about 240 grams – less if you shortened the tent a bit something which I am thinking about at the moment. Send me an email at stevendella@finnsheep.com. We will talk about it. Cheers, Steve.
Do you offer a pattern for this? Did I miss it?
I have not done so. I am thinking about a partner agreement with some of my designs, but I can scan and email you my design of you just want to make one for yourself. Cheers, Steve.