Silex in high winds/foul weather

[Looney]

Does anyone have much experience yet using the silex in pretty extreme conditions? I live in Kodiak and have had mine out a few times in 20-40MPH wind and rain and am not 100% convinced on the storm worthiness. Maybe I just don't have my pitch perfected yet or something. Also the guyout points don't seem to make a lot of sense to me with where they are located.

I'm looking to use this shelter for sheep hunting this season and am really hoping that it's up for the task. Anyone have any experience with it in rough conditions that can weigh in?

 

[Dos Perros]

I've had my Eolus (very similar design) in some pretty steady and gusty Montana winds. I'd guess gusts north of 40mph. I had it pitched pretty low and gusts big enough to blow shit into my oatmeal. I didn't use the additional guyouts at the top of the trekking poles but could have. My buddy's JimmyTarp got ripped up in that same weather. So, I think the Silex/Eolus geometry and design is pretty good. Probably not as good as a freestanding Hilleburg or something like that though.

 

[Kevin_t]

I've had a Silex in 40-50 , along with a Eolus and a tunnel style tent. The Eolus and Silex held their own very well. I also know several folks have used it on a sheep hunt in Alaska before.

It sounds like , perhaps your pitch isn't great, which would be best to send a photo or two to our customer support and get guidance

Regarding the guy out, they are located to do the following

1. Give you a proper set back for set up
2. Provide extra space at the head and foot
3. Integrated in with connection points on the nest to create extra space

Now, if you are referring to the extra perimeter tie outs, they are there for use in windy conditions to lock down a windward side more if needed.

If you are referring to the Drings at the top , that is for setting up in a hammock style way

If you really want a simple way to set up and test .. do this
1. Follow the setup video using the guy out point as a marker .. alternatively measure about 124 inches for the 3 seam to 3 seam stake outs.
2. Add extra Guy lines to the D rings at the top .. guy those out so you have a taught Ridgline
3. Adjust the door as needed. Sometimes you have to move that cordage slightly depending on ground levelness

Kevin

 

[Looney]

I've had a Silex in 40-50 , along with a Eolus and a tunnel style tent. The Eolus and Silex held their own very well. I also know several folks have used it on a sheep hunt in Alaska before.

It sounds like , perhaps your pitch isn't great, which would be best to send a photo or two to our customer support and get guidance

Regarding the guy out, they are located to do the following

1. Give you a proper set back for set up
2. Provide extra space at the head and foot
3. Integrated in with connection points on the nest to create extra space

Now, if you are referring to the extra perimeter tie outs, they are there for use in windy conditions to lock down a windward side more if needed.

If you are referring to the Drings at the top , that is for setting up in a hammock style way

If you really want a simple way to set up and test .. do this
1. Follow the setup video using the guy out point as a marker .. alternatively measure about 124 inches for the 3 seam to 3 seam stake outs.
2. Add extra Guy lines to the D rings at the top .. guy those out so you have a taught Ridgline
3. Adjust the door as needed. Sometimes you have to move that cordage slightly depending on ground levelness

Kevin

Thanks for the reply,

I did discover that I had too much cord pulled through the ridge line tensioners and wasn't able to stake the doors out as wide as needed. I've been using the perimeter guy outs as you mentioned on the upward side which has helped. I guess I'm not so much worried about the shelter failing me, rather it just seems a bit tough to keep the stretching/swaying/flapping to a minimum given how large the panels are on the tent.

 

[Kevin_t]

Thanks for the reply,

I did discover that I had too much cord pulled through the ridge line tensioners and wasn't able to stake the doors out as wide as needed. I've been using the perimeter guy outs as you mentioned on the upward side which has helped. I guess I'm not so much worried about the shelter failing me, rather it just seems a bit tough to keep the stretching/swaying/flapping to a minimum given how large the panels are on the tent.

It should stay pretty taught once pitched solid. If it is raining and windy .. the fabric will stretch a bit .. just up the length of your trekking poles or tension the Line Loc tensioners. If you have a prevailing wind, pitch the 3 seam corner into it.

I've been in it, numerous times when windy , and it did very well .

 

[Laned]

Thanks for the reply,

I did discover that I had too much cord pulled through the ridge line tensioners and wasn't able to stake the doors out as wide as needed. I've been using the perimeter guy outs as you mentioned on the upward side which has helped. I guess I'm not so much worried about the shelter failing me, rather it just seems a bit tough to keep the stretching/swaying/flapping to a minimum given how large the panels are on the tent.

You can also add some shock cord to your guylines to take up the slack when the tarp stretches. See, example, in this hammock tarp setup. Starts around 7:20.

Sent from my SM-G715U1 using Tapatalk

 

[cronsman]

This is an awesome thread. Was also wondering about using the Eolus for sheep. Looking to get the DCF. Thoughts on it vs the regular for AK sheep country?

 

[acgmoulton]

It should stay pretty taught once pitched solid. If it is raining and windy .. the fabric will stretch a bit .. just up the length of your trekking poles or tension the Line Loc tensioners. If you have a prevailing wind, pitch the 3 seam corner into it.

I've been in it, numerous times when windy , and it did very well .

Thats interesting Kevin. So you suggest pitching the 3 seam corner into the wind? I was under the impression you want to pitch one of your doors into the wind and stake it down. Seems to deflect less with wind pushing against the staked out pole vs that large Ridgeline that isn't really supported side to side. Could you elaborate on that please? I too have spent several nights in this shelter and don't trust it nearly as much as my cimarron for exposed ridges In high winds... I haven't had it in strong winds yet but the thought has me bringing my cimarron more often than not for security.

 

[Kevin_t]

My experience is pitching the 3 seam side in the wind and it did very well when using the added guy out .

This was both fabric options


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[tdot]

I used my DCF Silex last year on my sheep hunt in Northern BC, every day/night there was some stormy weather passing through, nothing above 40knot gusts. The Silex handled it well when I was able to get the setup perfect. But due to the terrain I was in, it sometimes took longer then I would have liked to get the tent setup as good as I wanted. It flapped and did not give me confidence if there were any loose panels. But once set, I never had to reset anything.

 

[Geewhiz]

@Kevin_t


Bought a silex earlier this year and now have some thoughts.

In good weather it's great, but what isn't. 4 stakes and you've got a sweet little 1 lb shelter. Bring on the wind and you've got a different story.

I've taken it out a few times this year and have mixed feelings. This past weekend I pitched it in a wind tunnel of a bald saddle at 8500 ft. I brought the kestrel and can verify wind speeds. 35-45mpg sustained and gusts of 50+. It was really blowing.

Figured 8 stakes would be enough, nope. Got myself a nice tight pitch with the triple seam into the weather. poles set @ 120. The whole panel bowed in and caught the wind like a sail, pulling the poles together and leaving next to no room inside. I then staked out the 2 loops on each side of each triple seam point to keep the edges tight against the ground and stop the flapping (8 stakes). Then I ran cordage from each of the D loops on top straight out to the sides and anchored to big rocks (10 stakes). Then I ran cordage from each of the loops above the triple seam points straight out the front and back and anchored to more rocks.

At this point I would have been at 12 stakes (if I had them)

I should have been able to play a fiddle on it but that silnylon stretches and flaps when its stressed and wet. I had to restake and tighten guyouts several times as the fabric stretched. One thing that really bothered me is the linelocs on the door panels. The linelocs are clearly designed to be used for traditional guyouts, meaning a line run through them and then doubled back to promote friction at the right angle. They are not designed to hold well on a taught cord, and they don't. Every time I would attempt to tighten the linelocs on the door panels they would slip back up 2 or 3 inches which is the difference of having a nice taught panel and having a panel that flaps like crazy with every gust.

Another thing, and I'm not sure of the solution but I'm going to whine anyway. There is a good distance between the additional edge guyouts on the sides of the triple seam points and the door lineloc, which is obviously necessary to be able to open the door, but it allows that stretch of fabric to flap like crazy in the wind. It would help for sure if the door linelocs could actually be tightened.

On a side note ventilation was great and didn't have any issues with condensation.




All that being said, I was on a wide open saddle with zero cover, and any other tent I've ever owned probably wouldn't have been any better. Just some thoughts for others to take into consideration.

 

[SanJuanCutthroat]

All that being said, I was on a wide open saddle with zero cover, and any other tent I've ever owned probably wouldn't have been any better. Just some thoughts for others to take into consideration.

Good info from the field, thanks for sharing. A couple more questions for you based on this trip. Aside from the fabric blowing in on you did the shelter seem structurally sound in the wind? Were you worried about stakes pulling out or a pole breaking or anything? The fabric blowing in on you definitely sucks, but a shelter failure is another thing entirely. Maybe a DCF version would have been better for the sag factor?

Interesting on the line locs. Not ideal but in the case of a 50mph storm I wonder if a taught-line hitch tied above the locs would keep them in place.

 

[Geewhiz]

Good info from the field, thanks for sharing. A couple more questions for you based on this trip. Aside from the fabric blowing in on you did the shelter seem structurally sound in the wind? Were you worried about stakes pulling out or a pole breaking or anything? The fabric blowing in on you definitely sucks, but a shelter failure is another thing entirely. Maybe a DCF version would have been better for the sag factor?

Interesting on the line locs. Not ideal but in the case of a 50mph storm I wonder if a taught-line hitch tied above the locs would keep them in place.

I think a dyneema model would definitely help with the sag, although I believe they are a bit smaller. I'm just trying out this whole floorless game so at this point I'm trying not to drop a bunch of coin into it just yet.

As far as the construction of the shelter itself, it does seam fairly tough if you can get it pitched right with enough tie downs. The stitching, fabric gussets, cordage and pole pockets seamed to hold up just fine. I don't think poles breaking or stakes pulling out would be a mark against the tent itself, but I did not have any issues along that front. I stacked rocks on top of each stake so as to avoid them pulling out.

I was thinking of how I could attach a clip/carabiner to the bottom loop on the door to directly guy it to the stake and avoid the lineloc issue, but of course I didn't have anything like that with me at the time. If you could have a guyout tied to a clip that could easily clip on or off of the bottom door loop you could get it a lot tighter and still be able to use the door. I think something like that would help a lot.

 

[sndmn11]

I think a dyneema model would definitely help with the sag, although I believe they are a bit smaller. I'm just trying out this whole floorless game so at this point I'm trying not to drop a bunch of coin into it just yet.

As far as the construction of the shelter itself, it does seam fairly tough if you can get it pitched right with enough tie downs. The stitching, fabric gussets, cordage and pole pockets seamed to hold up just fine. I don't think poles breaking or stakes pulling out would be a mark against the tent itself, but I did not have any issues along that front. I stacked rocks on top of each stake so as to avoid them pulling out.

I was thinking of how I could attach a clip/carabiner to the bottom loop on the door to directly guy it to the stake and avoid the lineloc issue, but of course I didn't have anything like that with me at the time. If you could have a guyout tied to a clip that could easily clip on or off of the bottom door loop you could get it a lot tighter and still be able to use the door. I think something like that would help a lot.

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