Observation blind low-vis shelter that I made.

[CamoDeafie]

So.. used 5 yards of 1.9oz Ripstop fabric in A-Tacs FG camo, also called "Endor camo".... sewn up an asymmetric pyramid shelter, with no floor.. in my attempt to go for as quiet a closure as possible, I put the elastic loops too close to the edge...so I have a significant gap for the rain to get in..whoops.

Progress pic, pieces cut out, and folded in half along the main seam; white tape measure marks 60 inches, the shelter folded halfway is just about 60 inches wide after all seams and hems are done.

front view with doors closed as much as possible; may swap out the bungee cord loops for paracord.


side view of the shelter, there is a loop halfway down the back triangle that can be used to raise and increase space in the shelter, or as a point for another side to make it a sit-up blind or something like that. The bottom edges of the sides have additional tie outs in the center, for additional staking or arrangements

Back view of the shelter; the center seam has a tie out in the middle, and then at the back edge is another tie out.

With the doors folded back, showing the interior space. It is almost 8 feet long from the front to back, and 4 feet 7 inches wide, the army poncho is wider than that, but not as long. The height is right at 50 inches. Would be ideal with either a bug bivy or a bivy sack in there.


All rolled up, with the single peak tie out line wrapped. Next to it is the 10x10 Bushcraft USA tarp in Coyote, made of the same 1.9oz PU coated fabric.


Unfortunately, I am going to have to redo the elastic loops and place them further inboard of the edge so I can have a reasonable overlap...or cut them all off and sew in a zipper...although I liked the idea of being almost silent for very little weight

Read More

 

[DB is Here]

I usually just stay in a Holiday Inn...What?

 

[johnny bob]

I usually just stay in a Holiday Inn...What?

That comment reminds me of the Soldier, Sailor, Marine and Airman response to the question: What would do if you found a tarantula in your tent? Soldier-I'd smash it with my helmet. Sailor-I'd smash it with my brogan. Marine-I'd smash it with my bare foot. Airman-I'd call room service to find out why there was a tent in my room. JK JK

 

[DB is Here]

That comment reminds me of the Soldier, Sailor, Marine and Airman response to the question: What would do if you found a tarantula in your tent? Soldier-I'd smash it with my helmet. Sailor-I'd smash it with my brogan. Marine-I'd smash it with my bare foot. Airman-I'd call room service to find out why there was a tent in my room. JK JK

Hella funny, I was in the USAF...

 

[CamoDeafie]

Update; I fixed the door problem, without needing to attach a zipper
I removed the elastic loops, and then proceeded to cut slots and melt slot edging in 1" US OD herringbone weave tape, and then sew the tape to the door panel... it works pretty good. I set it up by staking the back corners first, and then the door center down, then raised with the crossed poles... then staked the final two corners down..this resulted in a slight slacking of the door corners..could be solved by first staking the front 2 corners and raising..oh well I might add a couple center of panel pulls to the side panels if I feel it would help with making space inside the tent...but I do think using the center pull out on the back panel would work better...and would be able to shed rain better by having a steeper angle on the sides.
On to the pics!

Quarter views

Side view of the shelter

front view of the shelter with the doors closed up

With one door folded back; it does look like there's just barely space for 2 skinny dudes..but realistically, 1 dude and his gear is more like it

close up of the tape buttonholed and with overlap

Yes. those are US Military BDU buttons I used. They're pretty dang light and very easy to come by...I used my machine to sew them on...but I didn't machine sew them. There are a couple pieces thats for buttons, a riser plate to prevent moving the button, and a special foot plate that allows me to align the buttons...but because I don't have the proper Fashion Disc for the 1960s Singer 328K, I manually stitched them by moving the wheel, and using the L and R Needle Positions on the machine (it has 3 needle positions, L, C and R).. this worked faster than trying to find my old hand needle and cussing myself out trying to hand sew without the machine
Anyways! without the poles, the whole thing fits in a BDU pants pocket....or a 100rd SAW pouch..or one of the US ALICE medium pack outer pocket.... or a MOLLE Nalgene bottle holder pouch....which is pretty dang compact for a shelter without poles.

 

[s1xty7]

That's a pretty slick setup. Back in my search and rescue days, I ended up with a 8x10 blue tarp and a single hiking pole. The hiking pole acts as the shelter center pole and the tarp has a bunch of uses, such as gurney, etc. Not as light though and light wins.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I have one stupidly light hammock tarp that fits in a M16 triple ammo pouch....but it is pretty handy for the ultralight camper. Made of silicone waterproofed 1.1oz nylon ripstop. Its a mix of grayish "woodland" pattern and olive green fabrics... although it is pretty old and may need refreshing on the silicon coating, especially on the seams.

I chose the 1.9oz PU coated nylon because of its balance between being lightweight, and having just enough durability. As an aside, the USGI ponchos are made of either 1.5 or 1.9 oz fabric with a ton of coating applied to it... and lots of metal hardware on it which brings its weight and bulk up quite a bit.

 

[Geardo]

Man this is a great idea, although I am too wimpy to use something without a floor. I usually sleep in a hammock with a rain fly. Keeps the bugs off.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Man this is a great idea, although I am too wimpy to use something without a floor. I usually sleep in a hammock with a rain fly. Keeps the bugs off.

I have a bivy sack on top of sleep pad for the floor...or I can use the USMC IBNS (Improved Bug Net System) instant bug net tent that has the same weight fabric floor.....

 

[The Heretic]

 

[CamoDeafie]

View attachment 558459

That stuff is SPENDY
By the way, the successor to that specific thing is the Freedom Shelter from Wiggy's.
Freedom Shelter

 

[Certaindeaf]

I used a hefty bag once but forgot to cut holes in it and died. lol

Nice work!

 

[The Heretic]

That stuff is SPENDY

Tell me about it.

But it works

 

[oli700]

awesome

 

[Mister Bisley]

Nice fabrication! You could make it even lighter if using it for backpacking or bugging out by removing metal poles and just crafting the pole out of sticks when out and about.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Nice fabrication! You could make it even lighter if using it for backpacking or bugging out by removing metal poles and just crafting the pole out of sticks when out and about.

Or hang a ridgeline between 2 trees or boulders and hoist the peak to the ridge line... which would be a good option in areas that have trees or at least boulders high enough

 

[cigars]

Pretty sweet!

 

[bbbass]

Watch the History Channel's "Alone" series... pretty impressive what survivors can do with a tarp and some branches!!

 

[Certaindeaf]

Yule Gibbons ate a whole pine tree.

 

[No_Regerts]

Is it sound proof? I snore. Dead giveaway.