well, ygmir, that's because i ALSO live in nevada county. i wonder if i know you. what town are you in? i'm in grass valley / nevada city.

as for running, well, i'm planning on getting a secret head start.

-p.

I just bothered looking it up for the first time: 194 miles to Gerlach from here.

Sweet. I could practically run that far.

I think I'm just gonna take one for the team & try out the Reflektra for this year. If it works, awesome. I'll let y'all know what I think when I actually get a bunch of it & start testing it out.

EB wrote:Not to mention the "Down in Front!" bullshit that goes with it.

My favorite part is the laser pointers. Why, people, WHY?

This is why I watch the burn from something tall & far away. Also, I find the prospect of riding bikes on burn night terrifying in general--art cars everywhere, no landmarks, everything on fire, & everyone all fucked up on something . . . I prefer hoofing it, but that's just me. However: I don't rec...

Ah, yeah, for a big group thing, probably. I'm still thinking about just sucking it up for the more expensive, single-user quantity & have done with it. I looked into the silvicool a while ago--found a 9' x 12' that ran for about $90. I think I forgot about it because I haven't heard anyone talk abo...

I am also planning on double-layering.

Group purchase seems the most cost-effective option; I'll ask around & see if anyone I know wants some (though at the moment I can't think of anyone). I'll PM you with a tally/confirmation later.

I'm pretty certain tyvek is the material I have seen car covers made out of. Yeah, that seems to be one of the primary applications for this stuff. The only mention of the stuff I ever found online except for the manufacturer was about car & boat covers. If you test it for light, be sure to check w...

Hey, gyre, you get yer sample of that fancy Tyvek yet? Mine came in the mail today, & I'm not sure what to think. Seems surprisingly durable for being the same weight as paper, but I wonder if it'd be durable enough for playa conditions; it creases fairly easily, which doesn't bode well for standing...

Mystery solved! I was wrong--Reflektra isn't a discontinued product; it's actually manufactured by the Material Concepts people (they take Style 1460 UV soft structure Tyvek & metallize it). I should be getting a sample soon. (I hope that it's awesome!)

From what I can tell from the official Tyvek website(s) and the rest of the internet, this stuff basically doesn't exist. I'm guessing it's a discontinued product. But I'll pepper the distributor with questions and see if I can get any answers. If that fails I'll call Dupont and see if they still ha...

If you attach longer leads to each strand of EL wire, you could solder them in groups, which would afford you the opportunity of an irregular soldering pattern (might look more natural)--say, twist together and solder the leads for 3 strands in one place, 7 strands in another, &c.--and use irregular...

Picked up a bit of Reflectix to play with. We will see how it holds up. Had to ask around at several places for the fancy Tyvek and have been told that it is merely the old name for the ThermaWrap, but I am not sure that that is true, given that the latter is hard-structure home-wrap and the former ...

I've found the Reflectix for a fair price online, but not having had experience with insulation-abuse I don't know how much it can stand. I'd be interested to hear what kind of results you get from it. The Tyvek Reflektra option is looking very attractive but I'm wondering about its % of light-block...

True. I had just been eyeballing it online, which is stupid. After doing the math for some steelyards in our area we realized that by weight it's still price-competitive. The fact that it's less portable than soft paneling is still kind of an issue.

The car-roof dome sounds totally awesome.

How's the durability on the Reflectix?

Also, does anyone have experience with Tyvek Reflekta?

-piper

It's looking like pretty much any kind of metal plate is out of my price range (tho' flashing is still an option), and I worry about plastic degradation in the sun. Foam is an option. Yeah, most of this stuff wouldn't be too difficult to attach, given that the inside of the dome is accessible. And m...

If you're building a small dome, you might consider a solid panel dome. That maximizes the strength of the design, unlike the frame with fabric type. Also: hmm. A friend and I have been furiously tabling design ideas in the past 24 hours, and we'll think about this one. I did look into solid-panel ...

I've been living in SF for years (other parts of the bay area--like the peninsula--actually do get hot during the summer--in early June it was 103° in Palo Alto). I recently relocated for the summer back to where I grew up--the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. It's supposed to be 100° today and bo...

It does help! I think that I'll take these ideas and test 'em out here--it gets pretty hot where I am, & I'll try to fake some wind conditions.

-piper

I suppose I've been underestimating the degree to which air is always moving out there--all I really remember when I think about mornings out there is "hot and still." Thanks for the input, gyre, and for the links, too! & nah, TS, if it gets too bad, I'll just find the nearest freezer to crawl into,...

Thanks, guys! I think I'll probably try to go with an opaque system vented at crucial points (also I've been looking into venting and fan systems to help keep air moving without letting light in). And yeah, it does seem kind of time consuming, but I've been itching to build something anyway. Plus, i...

This is more of an "insulation" question than a "dome" question, so I'm posting it here. After years of dealing with that horrifying "it's only 0830 and I'm already awake because my tent has become an oven" problem, I decided that this year I'd build a small (4'-radius) dome to provide shade. (Perha...