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what are the weight trade offs?


You can make that shelter with any 10'x10' tarp, so if you already carry the tarp and rigging the additional weight will be the reflective surface used and the front panel. I also used a ground sheet. (these last two could be made from one piece of material). These don't have to be visqueen, but I do think the visqueen is a good choice for the front panel. Tyvek might be another, but I have no experience with that.

For this test I used two of the cheap mylar emergency blankets you can get at Wal-Mart. Here the brand is called "Ozark Trails". They weigh about 45 grams each.

I think the "SOL" brand emergency blankets are a few inches bigger and a tiny bit heavier. They are a lot more durable, and they don't tear if they get a puncture. They are made of a different plastic than the all silver mylar type. Same thing as the visqueen I think.

Either way, you're only adding about 3-4 ounces of weight with the reflective surface.

The floor and front cover were made of 3 mil visqueen, those two 5'x7' pieces together weigh about 1 pound. I used the heavier visqueen for these because I wanted a ground sheet tough enough to resist punctures, and the front panel tough enough to resist sparks, but mostly because I had those two pieces from a previous test.

The 1 mill visqueen 10'x10' tarp I made weighs around eight ounces. That includes the duct tape reinforcements and grommets on the corners and centers of each edge.

So all together, that comes in at around two pounds. Add whatever the stakes weigh that are used to pin it down to that.

All that said, if I make one to use on a trip (and I probably will soon) I think I'll make it all with 2 mil visqueen, which I'd guess would end up close to the same two pounds, maybe a bit less, because I'll also probably make it with a 9'x9' tarp, which would be plenty big enough for me alone and all my gear.

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