I have a Duplex of about your vintage. It doesn’t have quite the trips on it as yours. Mine got a significant abrasion hole in it during an extended Sierras storm with high winds. Slacks did the repair for me. The patch has held fine. Great tent, great service.?
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On Sep 2, 2024, at 8:53?PM, Greg <greg.r.ford@...> wrote:
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Regarding durability of DCF tents vs Sil-nylon, look at the buyer's guide Tarptent's website () They estimate that DCF has 2/3 the life of Sil-nylon.??
My own experience with DCF has been with a Zpacks Duplex, which I started using in 2019 and currently has 60-80 nights of use. I have patched it numerous?times due to pinhole abrasions.? There has also been a slow tear coming down from the apex that I have
patched but it keeps on spreading.? I will continue to use this tent for shorter trips but due to concerns about wear and tear of the Duplex I ended up buying a Durston XMid Pro 2 (DCF tent with the sil floor option) for a JMT through hike that I just completed
with my wife.? Despite concerns about durability, I still like DCF due to the low weight.??
The Durston has some nice design features but be aware that it requires a big footprint due to the design of the vestibules.? The 2 person is bigger than the Duplex, which is not a small tent.? There were a couple tent sites I had to pass on because of the
Durston's size.?
I have used three different trekking pole tents on granite and have not had any problems, although I will admit I haven't had to set up in high wind situations.? I usually set a stake through the guy line and lay it down on the ground like a dead man, then
place large rocks on top of the stake.??
Greg
I just had the X-Mid Pro 1 out on the JMT. Had no trouble pitching it.? Leave initial slack at all four corners with the pegs at 45 degrees. Easy to adjust from there. Wasn't easy, but pitched it in high winds with little rock big rock in Dusy
Basin. Big rock needed to be very big/multiple rocks since tent was still dragging rocks on first corner secured before reinforcement added. Happy with tent overall. I had the footprint and wrapped it around the rest of the tent when rolling it up. Still fit
in bag.
On Tue, Aug 27, 2024, 8:16 AM Tom Kennefick via
<tomkennefick=
[email protected]> wrote:
I make all my gear and have no opinion on makes or models, but I am very interested in outdoor fabrics.? DCF. is the gold standard for shelter material.? If you can afford it, buy it.? You won’t regret it. ? Silpoly does not absorb water and
stretch like silnylon and is more abrasion resistant than DCF.? I believe Dan Durston uses it as the floor material.? I have made a bivy with a silpoly floor and aside from being very slippery it is working out great. ?(Seam sealer fixed the slippery problem.)
Re: pack material.? In my opinion, abrasion resistance and waterproofing are most important.? Look for taped or sealed seams.? Packs take a lot of abuse and have a shorter life expectancy than shelters. ? I have no experience with Ultra fabrics, but they
are well reviewed.? My next pack will likely be made with Ultra.
?I find noise from my pack usually comes from something inside (e.g. my foam pad rubbing on something). ? If a pack is loaded and tight, I doubt the fabric will make much noise.
My 2p.
On Aug 27, 2024, at 7:27?AM, Ian Goldsmith <ian@...> wrote:
?DCF is very strong.? I have a ZPacks Duplex and it’s very hard wearing.? It is a bit plasticy and can be noisy in the wind.
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Ian Goldsmith - +1 310 612 5649
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It seems the zPacks Hexamid was also DCF??? I googled it and found an old review that mentioned "cuben fiber." ?According to google (again), cuben fiber is the same as DCF.? Since you had a DCF tent, did you find it super noisy or plastic-y?? When I read
Lange's and your descriptions, I imagine a fine, thin material that will need to be babied, but that will also shave off a good pound of weight compared to the non-DCF version. ?
?
As an aside, when we first got our Copper Spur UL, we thought THAT was a light, thin-walled tent.? Now, that is too heavy!
?
CJ
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Mike McCormick