I have been making a new floor for my Grey Flyer Tent. You should understand that this tent doubles as a hammock tarp. Here it is in action in High Flying. The roof in this 1.15 oz/yd2 material weighs around 310 grams with tie outs and guys. As you can see it is big enough for two people, two dogs and lots of gear and stays wonderfully dry inside even in heavy rain with the door open so that you can still enjoy a toasty warm fire out the front under your trusty Fire Umbrella to stop it going out in the rain. In the future I may sometimes use my new Ultralight Tent Stove which will weigh around 250 grams including chimney.
The floor needs to be detachable so that you can use the roof as a hammock tarp when there are no flat spots or the ground is 6″ deep in water – something I have encountered more than once. An Ultralight Hammock needs only weigh around 150 grams each. You can swing two hammocks side by side under this tarp like this.
It was raining nice and heavily tonight so I thought I would see how everything was going. As it turns out I need a few more velcro tabs along the sides to keep the floor edge up. That will be done in five minutes tomorrow perhaps.
This waterproof fabric has zero condensation with the door open.
I would be able to sew a 6″ skirt all around the edge which falls into the floor and keeps insects out. At the front I can have two overlapping triangular curtains for the same purpose. The insect netting will add less than 50 grams to the tent. For myself I probably won’t bother but I may make a model (for Della) who dislikes bugs more than me.
I can now say definitively that in .77 oz/yd2 fabric with the floor all the (extra) pegs and tie outs for Windy Old Weather and an ultralight saw to make the tent poles with it will weigh under 550 grams.
I lay in the tent with the dogs for a while just listening to the rain. I doubt there is anything which soothes me so much as lying quietly in a warm tent just admiring the drumming of the rain in the thin roof just a foot or so above your head.
I was heading up the bush for a week’s tramping and hunting whilst the rain lasted but alas I really have to build a fence instead to replace the one that was destroyed by the huge flood back in June. There will be another time, I hope.
Hope you enjoy the rain on the roof anyway:
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