Optimum Denier for lightweight tents

[Robatman]

Hi all,
I am interested in the new One Planet Gunyah's for NSW camping (not snow touring), but noticed that the material is 15D and 20D. Obviously this is where the weight benefit comes from, but how "thin" is too thin?

I think the microlight uses 30D, Aarn pacer 30D and floor 40D, and MSR Hubba HP uses 40D on floor and fly.

Will the Gunyah be a little prone to tearing? I have used a Sierra Designs tent for everything over the last 15 years and never had a problem/tear.

Thanks
Robert

[Ent]

Assuming you can take Hilleberg spiel as fact the denier is not as important as the type of weave and quality of the material but they are not prepared at this stage with current material technology to go below the 1200 strength material which I believe is 30 denier. Noticed that Hilleberg material just feels stronger than MD material in the same weight so tend to agree with Hilleberg on this. Tarptent use 20 denier and are happy with that but again they have probably sourced the best and strongest of that weight material. One Planet tend not to be extreme so probably for 3 season use it would do the job as well as any other brand but I too wonder if it is a bit too light. One thing is their tents are small or as I prefer to call them "under sized".

Cheers Brett

[blacksheep]

Denier is the weight of the yarn, and has a relationship to tear strength, but so too does the composition (PA or PES?) of the yarn (especially over time as UV exposure plays a part), the thread count (how may threads per square inch) and finishing treatment (SI coated? PU coated? SI adds tear resistance and helps a PA fabric resist UV effect).
Also consider seam construction as this is a common failure point of light weight fabrics- if it is a flat felled seam it should give best seam strength.
all that being said, I've tested many lightweight fabrics, and haven't seen a 15D fabric that I'd put on one of our tents..it will be light, but you are right to question the trade offs...

[Robatman]

Thanks guys- this place is a great source of info!

One thing is their tents are small or as I prefer to call them "under sized".

Cheers Brett

I know you have looked at options for tall people (i'm 6'6) so i need at least 220cm floor length if not more... It's actually the size that draws me to them- the floor plan for the gunyah 1V says 2750! It's this as much as the light weight that attracts me.

Thanks
Robert

[Franco]

looks to me that there is somewhere between 60 to 80 cm (total) of unusable space at the ends, so it may work for you but provably it isn't as long as it appears.
Franco

[Ent]

Thanks guys- this place is a great source of info!

One thing is their tents are small or as I prefer to call them "under sized".

Cheers Brett

I know you have looked at options for tall people (i'm 6'6) so i need at least 220cm floor length if not more... It's actually the size that draws me to them- the floor plan for the gunyah 1V says 2750! It's this as much as the light weight that attracts me.

Thanks
Robert

At just under the magical 6'4" mark I fit within the Hilleberg Akto length range (just) and as Franco points out it is not the stated length but the effective length, ie height above the floor and this is a battle to get hold off from most manufacturers. Quoting floor length is very misleading. Tarptent's website gives the best graphic for estimating this by using a box within their tent so assuming you fit within the "coffin" dimensions you should be right. What tent manufacturers forget is tall people can also have big feet so as the height drops at the end feet can touch the material and wick condensation down. The Nallo in the Hilleberg range is a classic example of this issue with Petra Hilleberg recommending longer users of the tent wrap their coat around the end of the sleeping bag to counter this. But as one of the sites more notorious wits commented that your jacket might actually be drenched from the rain

I wish you luck as once pass 6'2" there is precious little gear that fits and no doubt you are feed up been told by a shorter person that there is plenty of room in something. I would think the Akto would not be long enough nor high enough at the ends nor in the middle for sitting up. Sure you would "fit" but as said its model was 6'4" and the tent was designed to be a lightweight as possible so not much slack in the dimensions. The Scarp from Tarptent is often stated to be bigger but actually it is only taller for sitting up but shorter lengthwise and more a bathtub where the Akto gives a bit more floor space in the middle but is narrower at the ends. It is the floor space in the middle that I find more useful.

Cheers Brett

[rcaffin]

Hi all,
I am interested in the new One Planet Gunyah's for NSW camping (not snow touring), but noticed that the material is 15D and 20D. Obviously this is where the weight benefit comes from, but how "thin" is too thin?

I think the microlight uses 30D, Aarn pacer 30D and floor 40D, and MSR Hubba HP uses 40D on floor and fly.

Will the Gunyah be a little prone to tearing? I have used a Sierra Designs tent for everything over the last 15 years and never had a problem/tear.

I have never had a well-pitched tent shred any modern fabric. I've seen poles break and tear the fabric, but that's all.
I guess if you take a 15 D fabric to the Antarctic you can expect the inevitable. But apart from sitting on the Main Range in a 100+ kph storm (and the silnylon fabric and carbon fibre poles survived that with flying colours) ... most modern fabrics are adequate for the task. Ah ... UV degradation excepted.

Cheers

[One Planet]

The Gunyah tent series have been designed for 3 season use; a single pole tent, for the weight conscious bushwalker, amongst the lightest tents by size on the market. I can understand people may question the strength of a 15D fabric, as we did with 40D, 30D and 20D.
We cannot make a tent around this weight without some sacrifices, i.e. size, small vestibules, mesh inners and this may not suit some people or some environments and there is no doubt that some care and common sense should be exercised when using.
We have tested, produced and sold the Gunyah series over 2 years; I am yet to see anything to suggest we should move away from using 15D. We will continue to use 15D Sil/Pu fabrics in our ultra light tents. Having said this I anticipate that 15D fabric will deteriorate at a slightly higher rate than higher denier fabrics when exposed to UV, along with Humans one of the biggest killers of tents. So don’t leave it in the midday sun, but that goes for all light weight tents.
Cheers
Andrew King

[Robatman]

Thanks Andrew
Its great to get feedback from the manufacturers themselves, as well as user reports from the rest of us. I appreciate how people like you and Cam are able to provide some insight into the process behind the products, (as well as when you are having sales!).
Robert

[Franco]

Hi Andrew
Nice to see you here , we dealt a long time ago at Camera Action in the MD/Aking days...
Had an enquiry the other day from Canada for one of the OP packs, the Grampian( old version) , sounds like somebody there was able to help. Small world...
Franco