Cool and Interesting

So… I put in an order at one of my favorite stores:

Many thanks for providing so many wonderful articles for creating camping stuff; letting my imagination go wild; feeding my peculiar deep-seated inclination to design and create my own shelter. (Was it because I traveled so much as small child?)

ExtremTextil had some second-choice dyneema material on sale, and since my current top tent candidate is not available at the moment, this got me dreaming again about finally, finally creating my own super lightweight tent. So, just before midnight, I clicked on the button, and put in the order, which I look forward to receiving soon!

EASTON® Aluminium 7075, tent pole Connector, 115°, 8,6mm 1pcs. €4.00 total: €4.00 72291

Inspired by the Aeon Li, create a cross strut on top of a single central pole to increase headroom and reduce pole weight.

EASTON® Aluminium 7075 tent-pole segment, without insert, 40,6cm, 9mm GOLD 4pcs. €4.00 total: €16.00 18.9g

Use two 40.6 cm segments, cut down to 30cm, to “umbrella out” from the top strut. I’ll saw the other two segments in half to create four corner posts. I’ll never be able to re-create the special PitchLoc© struts that TarpTent has designed, but the idea of having the bottom 20 cm of the tent walls vertical seems like a good idea.

Dyneema® Composite Fabric 0.55, 19g/sqm, 2nd choice color: bottle green 7,0m €25.53 total: €178.71 Roll width 1380mm

Oh, bliss. 7 whole meters to play with for the top tent material!

Dyneema® Composite Fabric 0.96, 33g/sqm, 2nd choice color: black 5,0m €25.53 total: €127.65 73182.SW

Oh, bliss. 5 whole meters to play with for the bottom tent material! I’ll use half for the tent and half for my super lightweight picnic blanket/ emergency tarp, or for the non-bug-free area of the shelter.

YKK DynaPel® 5C Zippertape by the meter color: black 3,0m €11.17 total: €33.51 70550.SW

For the waterproof window on one side, and the door/window on the other side of the tent. I’m currently planning a particular entrance that doesn’t require a separating zipper or needing to reach down to ground level. Stay tuned!

YKK 3C slider, both side, non-lock color: black 2pcs. €1.23 total: €2.46 70280.SW

For the zipper on the mosquito netting.

YKK 3C Zipper by the meter color: black 2,0m €1.95 total: €3.90 70474.SW

For the mosquito netting that divides the tent into two.

Grosgrain ribbon, Polyester, 30mm color: black 2,0m €0.87 total: €1.74 70099.SW

For the top “umbrella” section and the connection to the vertical pole.

YKK 5C Slider both-sided free pull tab color: black 4pcs. €2.05 total: €8.20 72311

For the waterproof zippers for the window and the door

EASTON® dome tip, without tieoff, Aluminium, 9mm 3pcs. €1.44 total: €4.32 72769

For the umbrella pole sections to avoid rubbing the raw edge of the pole sections on the dyneema material

Tent pole shoe, for tent poles up to 9,5mm diameter 1pcs. €1.54 total: €1.54 72290

For the bottom of the vertical pole

EASTON® Aluminium 7075 tent-pole segment, with insert, 40,6cm, 9mm 4pcs. €5.02 total: €20.08 23g

For the vertical pole. I’ll cut 10cm off each section so it will be 4*30cm=120cm high and each section an easy-to-pack only 30cm long. On hikes I could just use my hiking pole.

The Aeon Li inspired me:

I would have bought it for 550$ but it’s out of stock. So I bought reams of Dyneema material that I can now have fun playing with.

I’ve always wondered how to get maximum usable volume out of the mix of poles and material for minimal weight. An interesting optimization problem!

The open questions are:

• The width of the tent and the mosquito-proof area: one, or two, people wide? We already have a wonderful superlight 900g two-person dyneema tent, which I don’t want to recreate. But if I plan to use it as an emergency shelter, then two people and luggage should fit, while still being substantially lighter than 900g.
• Single or double walled? My camo ziplock tent is single walled and works ok at lower altitude levels in good weather. Its problem is the lack of size, overabundance of weight, and not enough ventilation. So no inner tent needed, just an impermeable floor and roof with airy doors and windows.
• Can I make a 1-person sleeping shelter that holds off the pouring rain, allowing me to get dressed in the dry and tackle the next leg of my bike trip wearing my waterproof clothing?
• Could it double as an emergency shelter for two while day hiking?
• Does it need to be all-singing and dancing? Just more protective than a tarp, bigger than a bivvy bag, and lighter than a two-person tent.
• Comfortable to sit, sleep and get dressed in during a thunderstorm
• With bug-free ventilation
• Windows to look out of on both sides with hoods to keep the rain out
• No need to go outside in the rain to tighten the sagging fly – ergo dyneema.
• Avoid single points of failure, such as zipper end points
• Avoid hard pointy objects that can damage the material when it’s rolled up tightly
• Have as few pieces that can get lost or blow away as possible. Attach pegs to the cords, no pole or peg bag, one piece of material
• Otoh maybe a flexible pole setup is useful – using a trekking pole for the vertical support, or having a complete hoop to support the roof and avoid the middle pole
• Quick and easy to set up in a sudden thunderstorm. Stake out the four, six, or eight corners with pegs attached to the fly. Open the door zipper, step inside with the luggage, and insert the umbrella struts (maybe they can be permanent, just detached from the top strut). Raise the roof with the central pole. Relax.
• We once went backcountry canoeing with our 11-month old son. Just as we were arriving at the backcountry campsite a huge thunderstorm let loose. I sat under a big tarp, just draped over me, and fed him while the others set up the tents. It was all that was needed – a dry place to eat something. (The tarp rubbing my hair got a bit annoying after a while though.)

Do I really need mosquito netting dividing it in half? What if the door and the window had mosquito netting on them? For the window the mosquito netting could be on the outside. For the door the mosquito netting would need to be openable, but also on the outside…

Something like this (a bit smaller and lighter plus the addition of mosquito netting)?

A bit tricky to climb in and out but ease of entry is not a top requirement. (What if the emergency shelter is needed for an unconscious person? Tant pis.) The tent would not need to be able to float. Though since the ground sheet would be attached to the fly, no water would come in that way. Ventilation would be provided by the mosquito-netting covered and hooded window and door.

Gosh, watching old videos from the Apollo splashdowns puts everything into perspective! The risks they took … vs. the “getting wet while sleeping on a bike tour” risk that I’m trying to avoid …

Continuing my thoughts, how can the hoods over the window

like in our very old wonderful tent, be kept open? With a rigid ribbon? Would it be removed when packed?