Seek DCF

[Bcoonce117]

Is it worth the price for the weight savings in redcliff if you’re on a budget or just eat the 2lbs and keep the standard light version?

 

[RyanSeek43]

To be honest with you, if you are on a budget, the sil nylon is the way to go. Dyneema wears out a little quicker.

 

[roosiebull]

Is it worth the price for the weight savings in redcliff if you’re on a budget or just eat the 2lbs and keep the standard light version?

For me, the thing that makes it worth it to me is completely being waterproof and not sagging, I will never buy another silnylon tent for hunting, I have the eolus and it’s great in nice weather, but I hate it in cold wet conditions

My go to tent is the DCF silex, I love it, and when it wears out it will be replaced with another small DCF shelter, the weight savings is just a bonus

I just spent a couple nights in it in crappy weather, it was windy and wet with rain and snow and everything stayed dry, and once the tent was pitched, I didn’t have to touch anything… only issue I had was realizing I need a new bag, my 4 year old slick bag has lost a lot of loft and is chilly in mid twenties, I would have been hating life in a silnylon shelter with everything damp on top of it

Another option is get a shelter made with silpoly, like Argali, it sounds like a better overall material than silnylon, though i admittedly have no experience with it. I will probably get one to try though and have a backup

I remember waking up one night to a really saggy tent, everything wet, and rain snow mix and having to go out and adjust my tent in crappy weather at 2am, and was unable to get my gear dry after that night, I ordered the DCF silex the day I got home from that trip

If you don’t deal with much moisture, I’m sure anything will work, but I think silnylon is old technology for shelters, especially trekking pole shelters

Silpoly options are same ballpark prices as silnylon, and sounds like a superior material

 

[huntingspice]

For me, the thing that makes it worth it to me is completely being waterproof and not sagging, I will never buy another silnylon tent for hunting, I have the eolus and it’s great in nice weather, but I hate it in cold wet conditions

My go to tent is the DCF silex, I love it, and when it wears out it will be replaced with another small DCF shelter, the weight savings is just a bonus

I just spent a couple nights in it in crappy weather, it was windy and wet with rain and snow and everything stayed dry, and once the tent was pitched, I didn’t have to touch anything… only issue I had was realizing I need a new bag, my 4 year old slick bag has lost a lot of loft and is chilly in mid twenties, I would have been hating life in a silnylon shelter with everything damp on top of it

Another option is get a shelter made with silpoly, like Argali, it sounds like a better overall material than silnylon, though i admittedly have no experience with it. I will probably get one to try though and have a backup

I remember waking up one night to a really saggy tent, everything wet, and rain snow mix and having to go out and adjust my tent in crappy weather at 2am, and was unable to get my gear dry after that night, I ordered the DCF silex the day I got home from that trip

If you don’t deal with much moisture, I’m sure anything will work, but I think silnylon is old technology for shelters, especially trekking pole shelters

Silpoly options are same ballpark prices as silnylon, and sounds like a superior material

That's a strong statement to make after having no experience with Silpoly. I am just curious to why Hilleberg, one of the most trusted tent brands in inclement weather continues to use SilNylon, you don't think they've tested Silpoly with all of it craze? https://hilleberg.com/eng/about-our-tents/materials-uncompromising-quality/

 

[roosiebull]

That's a strong statement to make after having no experience with Silpoly. I am just curious to why Hilleberg, one of the most trusted tent brands in inclement weather continues to use SilNylon, you don't think they've tested Silpoly with all of it craze? https://hilleberg.com/eng/about-our-tents/materials-uncompromising-quality/

A free standing shelter is a lot different than a trekking pole shelter when it comes to sag, it is a problem with a trekking pole shelter, not so much with free standing

I know silnylon is a never again for me, but silpoly sounds like a better material for a trekking pole shelter, free standing, I see why silnylon is still the better choice, sag doesn’t matter as much, has stretch, and is a more durable material

I personally have no use for a free standing for what I do, so I will almost certainly stick to DCF, but may get a silpoly shelter to try, just out of curiosity

 

[huntingspice]

A free standing shelter is a lot different than a trekking pole shelter when it comes to sag, it is a problem with a trekking pole shelter, not so much with free standing

I know silnylon is a never again for me, but silpoly sounds like a better material for a trekking pole shelter, free standing, I see why silnylon is still the better choice, sag doesn’t matter as much, has stretch, and is a more durable material

I personally have no use for a free standing for what I do, so I will almost certainly stick to DCF, but may get a silpoly shelter to try, just out of curiosity

I see it a little differently. I do have a lot of experience with silnylon non-freestanding and have put it through it's paces. The durability and strength of the material gives me more peace of mind when facing inclement weather. Sag has been fairly easy to manage I've learned, especially when using a stove. I see where you are coming from though.

 

[AK Troutbum]

For me, the thing that makes it worth it to me is completely being waterproof and not sagging, I will never buy another silnylon tent for hunting, I have the eolus and it’s great in nice weather, but I hate it in cold wet conditions

This is exactly what I thought when I read the OP's question. I bought my first DCF shelter about 12 years ago and after the first time using it goat hunting on Kodiak, I quickly realized all the other benefits besides just the wt. savings. Shelters made of DCF are the only thing I'll use anymore when spiking out.

 

[RyanSeek43]

I see it a little differently. I do have a lot of experience with silnylon non-freestanding and have put it through it's paces. The durability and strength of the material gives me more peace of mind when facing inclement weather. Sag has been fairly easy to manage I've learned, especially when using a stove. I see where you are coming from though.

It is very different in freestanding tents compared to something like a hilleberg, like roosiebull said. I will say here at Seek we are experimenting with silpoly. We just released a DST in Silpoly and may make it an option for smaller shelters as it does have some benefits especially for 3 season and smaller shelters.

 

[Dos Perros]

Silpoly is absolutely inferior to silnylon.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Silpoly is absolutely inferior to silnylon.

As someone who doesn't know much about the two but am curious to learn more, can you expand on that?

 

[Dos Perros]

As someone who doesn't know much about the two but am curious to learn more, can you expand on that?

Silpoly is lighter sure, but it is not as durable. And when it rips, it RRRRIIIIPPPPPPSSS! Big catastrophic failure type rip. Then your buddy is looking at your shelter, doing math, forgetting to carry the 1, thinking we can fit two dudes in there.

People talk about silnylon sag...I just don't think it's a big deal to walk around a shelter and adjust taut line hitches every day. Most of the time I do nothing because the weather is consistent.

And then in regards to DCF: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/i-got-the-but-ill-probably-never-buy-a-dcf-shelter.274940/

 

[roosiebull]

Silpoly is lighter sure, but it is not as durable. And when it rips, it RRRRIIIIPPPPPPSSS! Big catastrophic failure type rip. Then your buddy is looking at your shelter, doing math, forgetting to carry the 1, thinking we can fit two dudes in there.

People talk about silnylon sag...I just don't think it's a big deal to walk around a shelter and adjust taut line hitches every day. Most of the time I do nothing because the weather is consistent.

And then in regards to DCF: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/i-got-the-but-ill-probably-never-buy-a-dcf-shelter.274940/

I think it comes down to the conditions you spend time in and the type of shelter you use. I was fine with silnylon for a long time, but a couple trips I started doing on a regular basis changed that. One of my most anticipated hunts every year always had a mix of cold rain and snow, it pretty much never fails, and that’s where I started hating silnylon

Cold rain/wet snow with a trekking pole shelter is a bad combo, especially if the weather comes in during the night like it often does that time of year, waking up to a wetted out dripping sagging shelter that’s trying to fall over (starting with a tight pitch) all of your gear wet by the time you wake up and notice, and having to crawl out of your bag, go outside and get more wet to get everything back situated is not something I will do again

The year before I had a similar experience, but it was morning rain, so I came back to camp late morning and was already in proper gear to be in the weather, and after that day it cleared up and I was able to dry my bag the next day, and luckily the nighttime lows were not below freezing.

A lot of my sleeping in the woods is in wet conditions, and it’s not a good compromise for me. DCF is great in crappy weather, and once you get the initial learning curve of pitching them, it’s just as easy to get setup quick and easy, and you don’t have to worry about any of your gear under it, your pitch won’t change unless you have stakes coming loose in soft ground, and nothing gets wet

Everything is a compromise, and I still like my silnylon shelter in September when the weather is nice, but I will probably use the silex DCF for everything until it wears out because it’s a great all around shelter

A lot of hunts, the decreased durability of silpoly would be a fair compromise vs silnylon, where I always camp for my mountain turkey hunt is under a canopy of young pines, and there isn’t much risk of tearing a tent, the wind does blow in there, but usually not crazy hard, and it’s a pretty clean floor (stuff isn’t getting blown out of the trees)

I still keep an extra shelter in my pickup just in case, but that’s just to rule out anything ruining my hunt that’s in my control (I have spare lots of stuff I leave in my pickup)

Getting everything under your shelter wet in cold conditions can be a problem, especially if it’s early in the hunt and the weather stays bad, I’m not going to invite that scenario again

I believe the right or best shelter material has a lot more to do with the conditions you are camping in vs The material itself. I will probably stick to DCF going forward because I have liked it a lot in all conditions, but especially in bad conditions, and it’s proven durable so far, but the ease of patching and complete dry shelter is a significant pro for me, and the only time I’ve had to patch DCF was using my DCF ground sheet to protect my pack from blood and had a piece of broken bone on a front quarter jab through, and I have used it for a meat tarp and covering quarters in my pack a lot

 

[Dos Perros]

Oregon cost is admittedly a lot different than mountains of Montana, or the Kansas prairie.

 

[S.Clancy]

Silpoly is absolutely inferior to silnylon.

That's pretty much my thoughts too. My brother and I have had silnylon shelters for years with no failures. I have seen several silpoly/DCF shelters fail. No stretch is no bueno in bad conditions.

 

[roosiebull]

We just released a DST in Silpoly

I did not realize that was in existence, that sounds like a good way for me to check out sil-PU, I need a new tarp anyway. I like the dimensions of the DST also

I considered a DCF tarp, but I feel that they would lose some utility just due to the amount of noise DCF makes when I just want to set up a glassing shelter for a weather break

 

[AK Troutbum]

That's pretty much my thoughts too. My brother and I have had silnylon shelters for years with no failures. I have seen several silpoly/DCF shelters fail. No stretch is no bueno in bad conditions.

I think quite the opposite. DCF is Muy Bueno, especially in bad conditions.


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