View Full Version : Double Wall Tent @ 14 ounces! Whadayathink?
pafarmboy
10-12-2010, 20:30
Here it is...the sub 1 pound double wall tent:
http://www.lightheartgear.com/LightHeart_Gear/Cuben.html
I'm assuming most specs (except weight and material) are the same as the regular solo:
http://www.lightheartgear.com/LightHeart_Gear/solo_specs.html
Thoughts?
I used the Gossamer Gear One for the PCT and the CDT. This tent you have here is really similar in design. I was very happy with the ability to sit up in the middle of the tent. It made it easy to change clothes, take care of my feet, eat, etc. in the rain or during "mosquito assaults". This tent looks like it is truly a double wall as well. Hey, this is really an interesting tent you have found here! Thanks for sharing! :sun
I think the cuben Lightheart Solo would be fantastic, but unfortunately I don't have the money for it right now. It would also mean adding half a pound to my setup. I'd love to have the 360 degree visibility that tent offers someday. If only this had come out a year ago.
Johnny Thunder
10-12-2010, 22:14
i haven't seen the cuben version but they were at an even in asheville and their tents are sweet. if i was looking for a one-man in the near future...well, i wouldn't have to look.
trailangelbronco
10-12-2010, 22:53
I love my regular Solo. Bought it this summer and used it on many hikes. I got caught up in the Sawtooth's of Idaho at 9,300 feet when a bad storm hit. Rain, hail, and 40 mph winds all night, and then woke up with two inches of snow on the tent and ground, In early Aug! My gear and I were bone dry. Best one man tent that I have ever used.
Just looks too narrow and pointy at the foot end. How could you keep your bag out of contact? I'd definitely have to see one in person and crawl inside before I'd pay that kind of money, even if I won the lottery. :-)
Its 11 feet long.
If you do a layout and figure your bag head to toe will be 7' (I am tall), the
width would be 24" but its a triangle in shape so small.
topshelf
10-13-2010, 12:14
hey, not only is it sub 1 pound but it'll empty your wallet too...
that's like an extra bonus.
Personally, I could never fork over this much money for a tent, no matter how light it was.
Mountain Wildman
10-13-2010, 15:01
My thoughts: This tent joins the elite tents like Stephenson Warmlite, Hilleberg etc... in terms of status. But, $500 plus is a little expensive considering you have to treat the tent like fragile glass. You have almost no choice but to use a ground sheet of some type if you get the Solo with the Cuben floor, That does add to the 14 ounce weight even though minimally. I spent over 500 on my Stephenson so I have always found that you get what you pay for. I will be using a Gossamer Gear "The One" on my Thru-Hike next year but if money is no problem, I just might get the Cuben Solo.
I actually put in my order a couple of days ago, but went for the hybrid: sil-nylon floor and cuben tent body and fly --- that saved $100 vs. an all-cuben tent.
From interaction with Judy Gross, I'm not sure that the 14 oz figure will represent the version that many people will opt to buy (but I could be wrong ...) --- this is a custom tent, you select features like extra zippers, etc. The option to have a heavier duty cuben floor would add back in some weight, and for my use on the CDT next year I was a little nervous about the abrasion resistance of cuben as a floor.
There are, however, definite advantages to cuben, even as a floor: more waterproof, easy to repair (duct tape), and less tendency to "slide" (less slippery floor). But I have no problems with any of those issues with a sil-nylon floor now, so --- I saved those bucks.
I saw ("kicked the tires") on the sil-nylon version of this tent at Trail Days in Damascus this year, and was quite impressed. I hadn't been considering this brand, I was leaning towards a Tarptent Moment or maybe something by Terra Nova, but for use beyond just the CDT next year, I think that the Lightheart Solo will be the perfect tent for me in my local area (Pacific NW).
Mountain Wildman said:
"But, $500 plus is a little expensive considering you have to treat the tent like fragile glass. You have almost no choice but to use a ground sheet of some type if you get the Solo with the Cuben floor, ..."
Per above, agreed on the floor part, but I don't think it needs to be treated as all that fragile otherwise. Cuben is quite strong, one just needs (IMO) to take the same basic care that you would with sil-nylon, and my sil-nylon tents are all going strong after a lot of use. And, a polycro ground sheet isn't all that heavy and is pretty tough, FWIW; I'll likely use one of those even with the sil-nylon floor.
As a wild guess, I'm thinking the hybrid might be on the order of 17 or at most 18 ounces seam sealed, but --- TBD (I'm in the queue of tents that Judy will be sewing up).
Maybe actual experience will change my mind, but while expensive, a hybrid sil/cuben Lightheart Solo seems like a great option, and on a per-day basis on a thru-hike, the few extra dollars will amortize out pretty well I think.
Mountain Wildman
10-13-2010, 18:09
BrianLe,
Sounds to me like your right on target with your post. And it is of course an essentially double wall so a few extra ounces is totally acceptable. Cuben fiber actually gets stronger and more abrasion resistant with usage and wear which is a unique trait of Cuben. Please post a review after you have used the tent, I would be very interested in your opinion of the Cuben Tent.
Wrangler88
10-13-2010, 18:28
Maybe it's because I don't have a lot of money, but ...
I could never ever see myself spending that kind of money on any one piece of backpacking gear. For that much money you can nearly outfit an entire UL/SUL system.
I understand the benefits of double walls. But if someone really wanted something fully enclosed and made of cuben, I'd go with something like the zpacks hexamid at half the price and then find something else to spend the rest of the money on.
Just an opinion though.
The Cuben reminds me of a glorified, $550+ Eureka Spitfire.
I could never justify spending that much money on a little tent. I'd rather spend half the money and carry double or even triple the weight.
It's a sweet tent no doubt but by the time i got it the way I wanted it it'd weigh almost the same as my Lunar Solo.
Kudos to the person who created it - it *is* a nice tent.
Nothing against this tent or the Lightheart Company, as some other gear manufacturers do the same thing, especially those marketing to the UL community, but just as BrianLe started to alluded to I also advise one is very careful about noting EXACTLY what weighs 14 oz. and how THAT 14 oz shelter works within your hiking kit, hiking style and typical hikes! It's my contention that in the real hiking world few hikers are going to ultimately have this shelter weighing in under 1 lb! Every so often a new piece of gear hits the market advertising and claiming such and such an incredibly low wt, but those advertised wts are under the MOST OPTIMUM conditions! For example, that advertised wt does not include stakes, guy out lines, or tent poles. That wt of 14 oz assumes a tent made of light wt Cuben. A Cuben floor made of that same wt Cuben will most likely necessitate a ground cloth weighing a couple of ozs. That 14 oz wt assumes you use trekking poles or have some other way to erect the shelter. The wt of tent poles or trekking poles is not included in the advertised wt of 14 oz. It's these kinds of considerations and conditions that may, and most likely will, raise the wt of this shelter under real world use! DON'T be so fast to jump to the conclusion that if you purchase this shelter it will only weigh in at 14 oz ON THE TRAIL!
Dogwood is right on target. I used a Gossamer Gear One for the PCT and CDT. I loved this tent and it performed admirably on both trails.
It begins as 17 ounces for the tent body alone. Add seam sealing, tent stakes, trekking poles, and a ground sheet and the entire shelter system is over two pounds. Of course the trekking poles are dual use and I would have carried them anyways so that weight is arguable. It is important to keep in minds all the ancillary things that add to the weight of a shelter before making comparisons. On the trail I was impressed by the 6 ounce tarps some of my fellow hikers used. They also had an umbrella, ground sheet, guy line, and trekking pole(s) to use inconjunction with their tarp.
I read that the Cuben Fiber Solo tent comes seam taped so I assume the 14 ounces is the total weight of the fabric tent body. I also read it was 11 feet long though I cannot find this figure on their site. If that length is correct it is important to think about the difficulty of finding a place to stake out a tent that requires a large footprint. My GG One requires 6 stakes minimum. I admit there were times when it was difficult to find enough room and solid enough ground to stake out my shelter. I always managed but I must be honest.. there were times when I had to "hoopty" rig stakes with rocks etc and more than once I wished for the simplicity of a free standing tent regardless of the weight. There is something that happens when you find yourself in a downpour or heavy snowfall, when all you want in the world at that moment is to be inside a shelter. The CDT definitely gave me that feeling more than once. I made it thru with my GG ONE and overall I loved my choice in shelter. This Lightheart Solo looks very similar. However it is important to realize that ultralight gear can sometimes impose a penalty in set up time/convienience as well as the space requirements to set it up. It ain't gonna be everyones "cup-o-tea".
:sun
pafarmboy
10-13-2010, 21:30
I also advise one is very careful about noting EXACTLY what weighs 14 oz.
I agree. When I emailed Judy about this tent, I suggested that she list what each individual "option" would add weightwise. When you are talking ounces instead of pounds for a tent, any extra weight should be advertised alongside the various options.
IMO, barring something really amazing, I think we've went about as low as we can go on shelter weights, whether we're talking tarps, single or double wall tents.
A shelter is going to weigh *something* and when you start talking about a full coverage shelter at 16 ozs that something is about as close to nothing as you're going to get.
As I said above about this particular tent - by the time I accessorized it and got the stuff that's not included in the 14 oz figure it'd weigh about what my Lunar Solo does...
IMO, barring something really amazing, I think we've went about as low as we can go on shelter weights, whether we're talking tarps, single or double wall tents.
Agreed. A Hexamid is already only gets down to 8 ounces. It could get a touch lighter with some customization, but it's going to take a whole new fabric to get lighter, or for someone to take the risk of getting a shelter made out of .33 oz/yd cuben.
Adding the weight of trekking poles has been debated before and ,in some forums, one or two individuals are very loud about this "issue" , but in my view like any other multi use item, you only count the weight once.
That is , if you already use and intend to keep using poles, well you do not add that to the weight of your shelter.
On the other hand, if normally you do not, then you do add that weight.
The manufacturer cannot add the weight for you because there is no standard "trekking pole" weight.
The same as I do not add another 2 oz for the thermometer in my watch because the watch weighs exactly the same even if I do not check the temperature...
Franco
HeartFire
10-13-2010, 22:23
HI,
I'm LightHeart Gear! and I'd like to clarify a few things, the '14 oz tent' is mine. I made it to hike the JMT this summer. it was actually 13.8oz before seam sealing, it just now weighed in at 15 oz (it's got a lot of dirt on it). with stakes, it weighed 16.1 oz (titanium stakes on our site). I used a 2 oz plastic ground cloth on the JMT, but have now switched to a tyvek ground cloth that is 5 oz. I put a lightweight cuben in the floor - big mistake going with the lightweight plastic groundcloth. I had a hole in the floor from a pine cone the second night out. (patched it with duct tape). I will be putting a heavier cuben floor in the ones I make for sale. or at your oprion, a silnylon floor which saves $100.00.
Cuben Fiber has it's upsides and it's downsides. It is quite expensive. It costs me about 5 times the cost of silnylon! it's also so translucent that in the white cuben, I can see stars through the tent at night. We had a full moon the first night on the JMT, it seemed like someone had a spot light on right outside the tent. I don't know if this is any better with the olive colored fabric, but I hope so. Cuben, since it is not a woven fabric, (it's more like a mylar) is more waterproof than sil nylon. And, it weighs about half the amount of sil, and packs down much smaller.
As to having trouble finding a place to set it up, that has never been a problem. I"ve had a solo (cuben or sil) out on the JMT and on the AT, and there are many others that have thru hiked the AT and the JMT with it, no one has said anything about that. What I do know is that people on the AT love it when they get up into Virginia, the weather is hot and muggy and very BUGGY, they can roll up the rain fly, get a breeze and stay out of the bugs.
You don't have to have a cuben tent to enjoy the LightHeart tent. you can get a silnylon version which is 1# 11 oz. - it doesn't need a foot print, and with ti stakes, you add only 1.5 oz. - this includes the tie out cords and stuff sack.
I will be at the ALDHA Gathering this weekend with the tents, I'm also doing a presentation on DIY backpacking food (dehydrate it yourself) Saturday.
Judy
Adding the weight of trekking poles has been debated before and ,in some forums, one or two individuals are very loud about this "issue" , but in my view like any other multi use item, you only count the weight once.
That is , if you already use and intend to keep using poles, well you do not add that to the weight of your shelter.
On the other hand, if normally you do not, then you do add that weight.
The manufacturer cannot add the weight for you because there is no standard "trekking pole" weight.
The same as I do not add another 2 oz for the thermometer in my watch because the watch weighs exactly the same even if I do not check the temperature...
Franco
Agree... If you're already carrying trekking poles anyway the tent shouldn't be penalized with the weight - makes no sense at all.
Now if you carry *4* trekking poles, sure. :)
Thanks for weighing in HeartFire(pun intended!). I wish you all the best with the entire Lightheart line-up. It's nice to notice you are on the east coast. I wish I could attend the ALDHA Gathering to see your shelters erected in person, but I'm working and hiking in the west right now.
I could not fine the specs on the wt of the Cuben used in the 14 oz version. I assume you used .60, .74 and/or .80 oz/sq. yd. Spectralite?
Some combination of various weight Cubens?
Yes, not that it's really a BIG deal for me, but I would also contend that under my .74 whiteish Cuben fiber tarp(the color most readily I encounter, the other colors of Cuben usually entail an additional price increase) with a full moon it's rather bright. Never slept in or under a tinted(olive green, light brown etc) cuben fiber shelter but it's my guess it would be darker?