Dan,
That's a good question.
It’s not always easy balancing durability vs. weight. The netting on the cape is the heaviest component and we’re using the ultralight .7 ounce mesh. It’s 30 percent lighter than the standard No-See-Um we use. It’s also more prone to snags, such as with Velcro. If you’re careful and you don’t have anything that would likely catch on the material you may be able to get away with using the Serenity as both a bug shelter and ground cloth.
One other option to consider would be to take along one of the light Gossamer Gear ground cloths. These are incredibly light. I would expect that they weight no more than the difference in the fabric weight between the standard and ultralight netting. They are also pretty useful by themselves. When packing up camp, it’s nice to have something dry you can layout all of your gear on when packing your pack. And a light ground cloth works better than the Serenity. Also if stored in an outer pocket of the pack, it’s quickly accessible when stopping for a break.
Just a few thoughts to consider.
Ron