Big fan of the silnylon Deschutes.
I'd too fancy the cuben version (for little practical reasons though), but it wasn't available at the time and now... can't quite justify it...
A friend makes shelters and I got to use two cuben ones and well... special. I've seen how fast they get punctured (though fixing holes on cuben is dead easy) and can't see myself taking care when packing it or pitching it (flapping in wind), on the other hand much like how taught cuben shelters pitch and how light they are. Packing size is indeed about the same to silnylon.
Whilst I agree with Stu about the benefits of higher flexibility in pitching sil nylon - I more often would prefer more taught seam lines and panels.
A well made cuben shelter pitches very impressively. They cope better with wind.
I've made some attachment points to my silnylon Deschutes inside and out, changed a few tiny things like better handling for the front line/closure and larger loops for the stakes and all in all with all lines it's very close to 400 g but holds up really well in the wind. I'd do the same mods on the cuben version.
Quite a few nights out skimo this winter and in autumn I took it to a Munro bagging trip, going over ridgelines for 10 days, just when Helene (and the even fiercer gale afterwards) struck.
Not always I found a well sheltered spot but the Deschutes was quite alright.
Bearbonesnorm wrote:As for reproofing, there's no good reason why you should ever need to reproof a sil' shelter really.
There is. After 2 - 3 years of intensive use (>100 nights) some sil shelters will let spray pass the fabric during a thunderstorm or in wind driven rain.
I've had to reproof two shelters so far.
Best part is, you only need silicone (diy store), solvent (pure benzine) and a paint roller and/or brush. Dilute the silicone to about 1:20 in the solvent and off you go.
Ours were as good as new.
Silicone lasts much longer than PU but especially high altitude sun and generally lots of use will break down the coating eventually. By that time I can imagine a cuben shelter will have needed quite some patches - at least how I use shelters, packing in wind on abrasive surfaces (hard and rough snow, volcanic surfaces etc.).
The cuben used for the Deschutes will definately not be more robust than the silnylon Deschutes.
More stable in the wind likely, but quite surely not as robust longterm.
That said, if you treat cuben with care it may well give you many happy nights.
) and am hoping it might even be big enough for one of the little ones to fit inside aswell (so essentially it would be doing the job of a Gatewood/Zpacks and a standard tarp...
