Cuben Tent Owners - Fabric Weight Options?

[firesign]

Cuben Tent Owners,

I am looking at cuben fabric weight options for a tent for the AT next year. I only want the tent to last the thru-hike with a few minor repairs acceptable during the trip.

Fabric weight options available are:

Flys:

0.51oz/yd
0.75

Sewn in ground sheet:

0.95oz/yd
1.20
1.48

What is the minimum effective weight that would be workable for a cuben tent for an AT thru-hike?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

[leaftye]

The floor is going to be the biggest issue. The floor doesn't need to be strong, it just needs to be durable, and that's going to depend on the thickness of the mylar. Here's an old copy of the codes for cuben fiber.



The number after the decimal point tells how thick the mylar is. Contact whoever is making your tent to find out the product codes of the cuben fiber they use.

Personally I'd rather use silnylon for the floor, if only because it'd pack smaller.

[firesign]

The full cuben fibre stats are:

CT1K.08 - 0.51oz/yd
CT2K.08 - 0.75

CT2K.18 - 0.95oz/yd
CT3.5K.18 - 1.20
CT5K.18 - 1.48

[Zippy Morocco]

. 51 oz shell
1.0 ounce floor

This is what ZPacks uses for most shelters and what I used for my through. With most nights spent in the tent I finished with a tent that still has plenty of life.

[Kerosene]

I'd go with what zPacks uses. It's worked great for me so far.

[Coffee]

Another vote for zPacks. The 0.51 oz/sq yard used for the shelter canopy has proven very resilient for me, surprisingly so given how thin the material is. As for the groundsheet, the 1.0 oz/sq yard material has been totally impervious to abrasion from rocks, small pine cones, etc. I've been very impressed although keep in mind that I've used my Hexamid a total of 25 nights so far so I cannot vouch for how the materials would fare over a 4 or 5 month thruhike - although others can and I've seen very positive comments.

[Dogwood]

Wow. Some of us are obviously financially better off than others if they can afford a CF tent and only have it last 2200 miles before they intend to trash it.

One big thing you leave out are your priorities especially as it may pertain to finances and being a gram weenie because the only real reason why I see someone opting for the lightest wt CF in both the floor and shell is because they are trimming off grams HARDCORE. I can't say what is right for you BUT IF I wasn't trying to be the biggest a-hole gram weenie(I used to be like, actually still am at times but it's much less often) I would go with .75 for the main body and perhaps a 1.2 for the floor and try to get more than 2200 miles out of it and/or have less potential for shelter failure along the way that is beyond repairing with duct tape and take the knee jarring back breaking 2 oz wt penalty.

You may simply be fielding opinions on what others do but I'll add this. Decent question but no right or wrong textbook universal answer which IMO too many people seek. They want to be told and convinced of what to do what is right what is acceptable what to believe. And, there are many people always lining up to do that exact thing for them to influence them. Backpacking tends to be an activity that requires a good amount of independent thought, individualistic approaches, self reliance, and consequently taking responsibility for those actions; IMO, this is at the core of HYOH. Yet, some aspiring hikers haven't realized this yet. They are still seeking a guideline/plan/philosophy/process/method/etc telling them what to do this is how it's done. You have to be responsible enough to find your own way and with the consequences of those decisions.

As some of the SUL cuben shelter manufacturers say you'll know if .51 CF is right for you. You shouldn't have to ask if it's right for you! If you do than than.....

In the end I think it still comes down to enjoying the journey. And, if you can do that with a 2-3 oz heavier CF shelter than the oh so slightly lighter wt CF option umm........

[ChinMusic]

Id consider a sil floor like I did for my cuben tent. IMO it packs better, is more abrasion resistant and worth the minor weight penalty.

[MuddyWaters]

Another vote here for what Joe uses.

The .51 is fragile. I had a kid throw a small sharp rock that hit my hex and it went THRU both sides. However it is easily and permanently repaired with cuben fiber tape.

Normally, the canopy isnt a wear item. Its not subject to abrasion.

For the floor, I have had no problems with the 1.1 Joe uses. I have heard of pine needles putting holes in a .74 floor before. Keeping in mind that the mesh on a hex actually protects the cuben fiber floor to a large extent.

Mesh will get snags, zippers will gum up with dirt and fail. Everything fails eventually.

All gear are wear items, even expensive gear. It wont last forever. Even if it did in a few yrs it becomes worthless because no one wants to buy it. Coatings degrade, features become outdated, etc.

[mondayheadache]

+1 for Zpacks

[Malto]

I made my new shelter .75 cuben. My logic is that the weight penalty is minor for the tarp and the strength increases for the .75 over .51. If your shelter uses 6 yards of material then there is a whopping 1.5 oz hit. The floor of the inner is also uses the same material. I will normally use a seperate ground sheet when using the inner, it is my rain gear and if needed I can also patch or replace a section, it is super easy to work with.

as with any gear selection it is trade offs. In my case I plan to subject my shelter to some pretty tough conditions. The thought of tie out ripping off at high winds or moderate snow loads were what I am trying to avoid, any material will work in good weather.

[Starvin Marvin]

. I will normally use a seperate ground sheet when using the inner, it is my rain gear and if needed I can also patch or replace a section, it is super easy to work with.

What type of rain gear and material do you use for this set up? How does it work for setting up in the pouring rain?

[Malto]

What type of rain gear and material do you use for this set up? How does it work for setting up in the pouring rain?

It is basically a poncho. When raining during setup I would not use the ground cloth/rain gear.