Posted by: dkramalc
MYOG floorless, zipless shelter - 06/29/15 01:27 PM
I have had this project going for about a year; I finally finished the final detail and sewed in the netting about 90 minutes before setting out from home on my trip last week - or as Mom would have said, it was "sewn with a hot needle" (i.e., somewhat sloppily).
The tent is made of silnylon (from the $1 bin at Walmart several years ago) and design is sort of a love child of the Zpack Duplex and Six Moon Designs Haven. I am deeply indebted to both Joe and Ron for providing the inspiration for my variation on their excellent shelters (and also to Henry Shires for the floorless design that our old Cloudburst has).
I downloaded SketchUp to design the tent; that was a learning experience in itself, never having used any software like that. It helped me at least get close to the right dimensions for the door and vent pieces, though if you look closely you can tell it's not close to perfect. Perhaps one day I will do this again with a little more precision.
The tent has doors in the style of the Duplex, though with a vent above them like the Haven. The high point is not located at the middle but more towards the head end, and poles fit into a pocket in a triangle at each peak. I used nylon tulle for the side and end panels, suspended from the seams along the door openings and from a strip of silnylon sewn across each end about 7" from the bottom. Somehow I ended up with a much taller tent than I'd intended (pitched with trekking poles at 135cm) but it is nice to have all the headroom that creates. I was able to kneel under the peak without my head hitting the top. It is also wider than either of its "parents" - about 50". There is a huge amount of room - I think 4 people could probably sit up inside. Total weight is under 23 ounces.
I wasn't sure about my idea for loosely hanging netting instead of an overlap, or a zippered door, but it worked well on this trip. Most of my motivation for the zipperless design was to make things easier (for him) and quieter (for me) with regards to my partner's several nighttime pee trips.
Luckily there was no precipitation on the trip, as I had not had time to seal the seams (we brought a Squall 2 in case of emergency). It seemed to hold up well with the amount of wind we experienced, despite its height and imperfect tautness when pitched, but I suspect it might be pretty flappy with a really strong wind. I enjoyed the ventilation and the views leaving a flap open on either side.
The drawback of the tulle panels is that they are so light that they're easily deflected by much wind, but despite a very heavy mosquito presence, they did not seem to find their way under the netting. We placed gear along the in places, and that seemed to keep it in place well enough when we were inside. Perhaps one day I will use some real nanoseeum netting, but for now the tulle seems to be sufficient, very breathable, and good for viewing through.
I used a Tyvek bathtub floor for this trip; I'd like to use something lighter eventually, but given the rocky area we had to pitch on one night (that poked through the Tyvek in one spot) I'm not sorry we brought it this week.
The tent is made of silnylon (from the $1 bin at Walmart several years ago) and design is sort of a love child of the Zpack Duplex and Six Moon Designs Haven. I am deeply indebted to both Joe and Ron for providing the inspiration for my variation on their excellent shelters (and also to Henry Shires for the floorless design that our old Cloudburst has).
I downloaded SketchUp to design the tent; that was a learning experience in itself, never having used any software like that. It helped me at least get close to the right dimensions for the door and vent pieces, though if you look closely you can tell it's not close to perfect. Perhaps one day I will do this again with a little more precision.
The tent has doors in the style of the Duplex, though with a vent above them like the Haven. The high point is not located at the middle but more towards the head end, and poles fit into a pocket in a triangle at each peak. I used nylon tulle for the side and end panels, suspended from the seams along the door openings and from a strip of silnylon sewn across each end about 7" from the bottom. Somehow I ended up with a much taller tent than I'd intended (pitched with trekking poles at 135cm) but it is nice to have all the headroom that creates. I was able to kneel under the peak without my head hitting the top. It is also wider than either of its "parents" - about 50". There is a huge amount of room - I think 4 people could probably sit up inside. Total weight is under 23 ounces.
I wasn't sure about my idea for loosely hanging netting instead of an overlap, or a zippered door, but it worked well on this trip. Most of my motivation for the zipperless design was to make things easier (for him) and quieter (for me) with regards to my partner's several nighttime pee trips.
Luckily there was no precipitation on the trip, as I had not had time to seal the seams (we brought a Squall 2 in case of emergency). It seemed to hold up well with the amount of wind we experienced, despite its height and imperfect tautness when pitched, but I suspect it might be pretty flappy with a really strong wind. I enjoyed the ventilation and the views leaving a flap open on either side.
The drawback of the tulle panels is that they are so light that they're easily deflected by much wind, but despite a very heavy mosquito presence, they did not seem to find their way under the netting. We placed gear along the in places, and that seemed to keep it in place well enough when we were inside. Perhaps one day I will use some real nanoseeum netting, but for now the tulle seems to be sufficient, very breathable, and good for viewing through.
I used a Tyvek bathtub floor for this trip; I'd like to use something lighter eventually, but given the rocky area we had to pitch on one night (that poked through the Tyvek in one spot) I'm not sorry we brought it this week.
