I'll mostly be using this tent for fall and early winter solo camping. There's a real risk for 1-2 feet of snow, so it needs to be able to deal with that. Having a little bit of extra headroom would be nice, too, in case I need to hang out inside during a day of heavy rain. I'm 5'11"/181cm. Bug netting is not needed. Was thinking of just using some polycro for the floor.

Maaaay use this tent for a CDT thru-hike next year, but we'll see. That is not a high priority in my decision-making right now.

I've been looking at the Cuben Haven, but I want to make sure I've considered all the options before plunking down that kind of money. Ron has suggested adding a couple of tie-outs on the long wall of that tent to help with snow.

How about a cuben MLD Duomid?

How about a cuben Trailstar?

Is there a particular reason for wanting cuben for this shelter? Weight reduction vs sil, strength, appearance, cool factor...? Ron Bell does not recommend his cuben shelters for winter conditions, and steers his customers to the sil versions. Part of it is how snow bonds to cuben - it doesn't slide off like on sil; and part is the stress on the seams - as cuben doesn't stretch. The latter could cause the shelterto fail.

If you are gung-ho about cuben, you'd be best served with a steep pitch - a DuoMid over a Trailstar, for example.

Edited by lotuseater on 08/01/2012 23:16:09 MDT.

Lawson had a prototype cuben tent that was similar to a Golite Shangri-la 2. I think that would be perfect. I'd ask Lawson if he'd sell a pattern or cut a kit.

Thanks for the replies!

Andrew, the Duomid looks nice, but it seems like the Cuben is more spacious for less weight and with no trekking poles to maneuver around?

Stuart, this is very good info. I was not aware of the limitations of cuben in snow, especially in regard to how the snow sticks to the fabric. I was on a trip last fall in Idaho and got stuck in some heavy rain. My old Virga leaked badly enough to make me nervous which is why I committed to changing it out this year. I blamed the leaking on silnylon but perhaps I just need to re-seam seal and re-treat the fabric with new silicone. I am still in the market for a roomier design, but maybe the Sil Cuben would be a better bet for me? I did mention snow, but I would say that I am 80% worried about dealing with lots of rain and 20% worried about snow. Cuben is better in rain, right?

I would say that cuben is better in the rain. Being essentially plastic, it's perfectly water proof unless damaged. I've used cuben tarps in the snow, but not the DuoMid. My tarps did fine. The snow stuck a bit but it was still easy to knock off and that was sticky snow. With steeper sides, the DuoMid should do better.

A MLD DuoMid is quite spacious for one, while still being smaller than a Haven. A DuoMid seems quite generous, while a Haven seems to be a little too big to be cozy for a solo hiker. I haven't used the Haven, but my somewhat similar TarpTent StratoSpire 2 would be massive for a solo hiker without the inner net tent. Bigger isn't always better. You need to find larger spots to pitch it and I don't like that cavernous/empty feeling of a too large shelter.

If you're looking for more options, Bear Paw Wilderness Designs has quite a few neat shapes they make in cuben.