Lightweight Tent?

[That_Asian_Bloke]

Hi All,

I'm still trying to minimise my weight for almost everything and recently came across this. Seriously considering this despite the price tag.

http://locusgear.com/items/djedi-dcf-ev ... e/?lang=en

https://gearjunkie.com/locus-djedi-dyee ... ering-tent

Comes in at 980g including the mesh panel using DCF. I have never heard of Dyneema until today.

Any thoughts? Opinions?

I'm using the S2S Duo with WE UL tarp which makes the total weight roughly 1.5kg The Duo doesn't hold up too well during downpours.

[Zapruda]

This tent design has been used for years in the Mountaineering world - look at the Bibler I-tent and black diamond first light. It is really for fast and light alpine ascents in environments that are really cold and dry. By that I mean it doesn’t rain, it snows instead. Not great for a place like Australia where we have so much condensation. Despite the claims made about the fabric I doubt it would be any better than any other single wall tent in dealing with condensation.

It has no vestibule so where do you cook when it rains?

I love anything made by Locus Gear and have been following the creation of this tent for years but this is really a niche product.

There are a myriad of lighter single wall tents you could get that are cheaper and more practical.

This is what Locus Gear made me as an example, it’s under 900 grams https://imgur.com/a/egazV
Although I have recently sold it as I have moved back to tunnel tents.

[Franco]

DCF : Dyneema Cuben Fiber
Dyneema bought out Cubic Tech (makers of Cuben Fiber) sometime ago.

[Orion]

DCF : Dyneema Cuben Fiber
Dyneema bought out Cubic Tech (makers of Cuben Fiber) sometime ago.

It's actually "Dyneema Composite Fabric".

[Orion]

I ran into the Japanese guy who is the founder of Locus Gear while we were both walking in the Sierra of California. He was quite excited about this material, the breathable version of DCF. He said you could zip it up and cook in it and there would be no condensation. That sounds pretty good but it's not the same as sleeping in it and getting no condensation.

I have a Black Diamond tent that is essentially the same design: single wall WPB material, double crossing poles, no vestibule. I've been using it for a decade in a variety of situations. It's been our go-to summer tent in the California Sierra and I've used it on solo ski touring trips in the winter and early spring. We used it on the Larapinta Trail last year. I keep meaning to replace it with a newer tent but the darn thing just won't wear out.

The lack of a vestibule would be an issue in some conditions, so I sewed one, a simple 200g clip-on silnylon vestibule. Sometimes we take it, sometimes we don't. I've cooked inside the tent during snowstorms on solo trips and it's been okay. The tent cost about 1/4 what the Locus gear tent costs but it weighs about 2/3 more.

You can buy a lighter shelter AND save money. But I hope you buy the Locus Gear tent because I want to hear reports from someone about it.

[legend]

A question with a non vestibule tent - can you get in and out of the tent in bad weather without getting rain into it it?
This is a serious question, as everything inside can get wet especially when the wind changes and it is bucketing down.

[Franco]

Zapruda had it right already.
It is a very clever design IF used for it's original intended use and that is for mountaineering as an alternative to a bivvy.
No tent design works well in all situations, it can't be done...
Note that the same does apply for cars, shoes and dogs (OK, pretty much everything)

[nezumi]

A question with a non vestibule tent - can you get in and out of the tent in bad weather without getting rain into it it?
This is a serious question, as everything inside can get wet especially when the wind changes and it is bucketing down.

This was my first thought looking at this tent - in the event of rain/snow you need to be very luck that the sky is clear and gives you a window to pack up the tent, otherwise everything in that opening is going to get wet - and with a bathtub floor it won't be an easy task to get it out either.