MYOG Hexamid

theoctagon

Thru Hiker
Given I already own the finest cuben fiber shelter ever made ;) I guess the biggest question is why? I've always wanted to have a go at a MYOG shaped tarp/mid type shelter so I thought I'd finally have a go.

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I decided to make a slightly tweaked version of the Zpacks Hexamid as the design features very few panels/seams/cat-cuts etc etc to contend with, it also uses a lot less cuben (£) than the full mid I've got in mind. There's a few things I'd change if I was to make another, for one its a bit overbuilt for what will be used as a fair weather tarp but i'm pretty pleased with how well it's turned out, especially for a first attempt :)

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The main body of the tarp is made from Olive 17.4 g/m² cuben fiber whilst the peak and tie outs are reinforced with 99 g/m² cuben hybrid material (in a lovely shade of Orange - Cheers @paul :)). As I was using the 17.4 g/m² weight cuben I wanted to avoid sewing the fabric as much as possible so the tarp is fully bonded except for the tie outs which are sewn to the tarp using a short length of webbing.

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The perimeter tie outs feature a lineloc 3 adjuster and the front tie out has some plastic hardware to attach the front guy to. There's a short loop on the inside of the peak to attach an inner to should I decide to use one. It pitches using 6 pegs with a single pole adjusted to around 120cm. I used 25mm wide bonding tape throughout with all the seams being bonded and then over-taped. I'm aware some of the methods I've used may be considered not to be the strongest but I decided to use methods that were familiar to me from previous MYOG projects.

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Materials wise I used approx 4m of the lightweight Cuben, a narrow strip of Hybrid Cuben approx 60x25cm (kindly donated by @paul ), probably less than half a roll of 25mm wide bonding tape, 5 lineloc 3 adjusters, one other piece of plastic hardware, approx 50cm of grosgrain plus the lines. I've not added up the cost as I already had the lines, tape, adjusters, grosgrain, thread etc but if I'd needed to buy everything in then I'd estimate the total cost would have been around £160?

It's not had it's final weigh in yet but Tarp + stuff sack comes to 170g on my scales :biggrin:

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cathyjc

Thru Hiker
Nice shelter. Weight - very good :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

I made mine 'semi-hexagonal' too (tho' with full doors rather than a 'beak') - makes much better configuration for so many reasons. Square/rectangular shape for a mid is daft.

Comments - very light weight cuben for the main panels…. let us know how it wears.
- reinforcements quite heavy duty…..presumably what was available ?
- Lineloc 3 :thumbsup:
- you probably don't need to tape over bonded seams = overkill.
:)
 

Lady Grey

Thru Hiker
Fab Matt.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Give up the day job.:rolleyes:
Potential local Cottage Industry so we can all buy from you and no more customs bills:D:D:D
Nice wood also; do a test run one night.
 

theoctagon

Thru Hiker
Nice shelter. Weight - very good :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

I made mine 'semi-hexagonal' too (tho' with full doors rather than a 'beak') - makes much better configuration for so many reasons. Square/rectangular shape for a mid is daft.

Comments - very light weight cuben for the main panels…. let us know how it wears.
- reinforcements quite heavy duty…..presumably what was available ?
- Lineloc 3 :thumbsup:
- you probably don't need to tape over bonded seams = overkill.
:)

I've only ever used the lighter cuben for stuff sacks and always told myself it wasn't the right choice for a shelter, but I decided to give it a go... we shall see! Agreed re the reinforcements, this is one area I'd change next time, like I say it's a little overbuilt for what it is. I suspect the fabric will fail long before the seams or tie-outs... mk2 will see it right ;)

Fab Matt.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Give up the day job.:rolleyes:
Potential local Cottage Industry so we can all buy from you and no more customs bills:D:D:D
Nice wood also; do a test run one night.

Thanks Lady Grey :biggrin:

Wow. I always think 'wow' when people make stuff... most excellent.

Cheers Edh :)
 

murpharoo

Thru Hiker
Really really good work Matt. You look to have nailed the panel dimensions for a nice tight pitch :)
Will make a great mild weather shelter.

Don't think I'd have the skill or patience :confused:
 

Mole

Thru Hiker
Very impressive. Pitch tautness looks better than many Actual Hexamids I've seen photos of!

Interested in how you decided the cutting pattern layout and dimensions?
 

Meadows

Section Hiker
That looks fantastic☺
If you don't think it's too personal a question what are the material costs for such a project?
 

theoctagon

Thru Hiker
Really really good work Matt. You look to have nailed the panel dimensions for a nice tight pitch :)
Will make a great mild weather shelter.

Don't think I'd have the skill or patience :confused:

Cheers :) It didn't actually take long to make once I'd decided on the design and made the cardboard template. I could do with a slightly bigger lounge though, it was a bit tight for laying out/cutting the fabric, plus I had to try and keep the cat out :rolleyes:

Very impressive. Pitch tautness looks better than many Actual Hexamids I've seen photos of!

Interested in how you decided the cutting pattern layout and dimensions?

Thanks Mole, I was a little nervous how well it would pitch with the wrap around design but it's pretty good, a couple of panel tie outs (like on the solo plus) would probably help tighten it up even further but I'll leave it be until It's had some use.

Design wise it was based around the sizes I'd planned for this shelter I came up with in Google SketchUp, but adjusted very slightly, I also had some help from @Lady Grey who owns a Hexamid. I considered (and probably should have) making a silpoly version first to test the pattern but was pretty confident it would work so just went for it (Looking at the ripstopbytheroll site they do XL width silpoly which would allow you to cut the pattern out of one continuos length of fabric, there'd only be one seam from beak to peak to sew, the reinforcements to add, hemming it, and it'd be job done...)

That looks fantastic☺
If you don't think it's too personal a question what are the material costs for such a project?

Thanks Meadows, not at all, I'll add some more information to the original post to keep it all in one place but the biggest cost was the cuben for the main body, I used approx 4m at £25/m.
 
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theoctagon

Thru Hiker
That looks outstanding. Great work. How long did it take you to make?

Thanks Craige, ignoring the design and making the templates it didn't take too long. I had to do it in bits and bobs due to work etc so there was lots of messing around getting stuff out and putting it away again but I reckon probably around 8-10 hours ish. If I was to make another I think I could do it a lot quicker

Excellent piece of work Matt :)

Are you going to make some doors for it...;)

For us wusses...:oops:

Cheers :) I've already made a pattern, a kind of hybrid between the zpacks and tramplite doors. Not sure if I'm going to add any though, kind of like it how it is
 

Munro277

Thru Hiker
Expect nowt less,excellent work Matt ... ta for "bits " will have a play one night this week ..if I cut Cuben do I need to sew it over again ?
 
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