View Full Version : Cuban cloth
Trail Trooper
11-11-2007, 18:53
I herad Cuban Cloth is 1/3 lighter than sil nylon. Do they make packs and sleeping bags out of this stuf.
Samurai Joe on the PCT this year had gear made out of Cuban fiber. Claimed it was lighter and tougher than sil, but more expensive. He makes custom packs out of Cuban or Sil. Try zpacks.com
Frolicking Dinosaurs
11-11-2007, 19:41
The spelling is Cuben Fiber - might help if you are trying to Google up info.
Gear has been made by DIYers some, but the only commercially available products I know of are from Oware (http://www.owareusa.com/) & MLD (http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/index.php?osCsid=e1402d4617d7f1fc00cde4168df17851)
For more info on DYI uses, go to the site of the very talented and innovate designer - Gradenville - http://ultraliteskunkworks.blogspot.com/. I'd strongly recommend checking all of the photos in Gardenville's gallery here and his post if you are interested in using cuben fiber for gear.
vaporjourney
11-11-2007, 19:46
I'm nearly certain that Cuben fiber is most certainly NOT as strong as silnylon, no matter what the grade is. Mountain Laurel Designs makes a ponchotarp in both silnylon and cuben, and they say that cuben is for experienced UL hikers only, and that it's durability is much less than that of silnylon. That said. Lots of people use it, and I believe that Francis Tapon used a Cuben tarp on his CDT yoyo and it lasted the entire time.
I herad Cuban Cloth is 1/3 lighter than sil nylon. Do they make packs and sleeping bags out of this stuf.
I had a site saved showing tarps and such, but I don't remember a pack from this material. Spell it with an 'e' and do a search as I deleted my link.
(cuben)
Tom
(this is to a thread on the hammock forum)
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1423&highlight=cuben
SGT Rock
11-11-2007, 19:49
I found it listed here: http://www.questoutfitters.com/Lightweight.htm
bullseye
11-11-2007, 20:06
Cuben fiber is 100% waterproof, so it would make a lousy sleeping bag, unless you're looking for a vapor barrier. The lightest stuff weighs something like .37 ounces per yard, so it is only minimally lighter than other materials like pertex, momentum, etc. The weight savings are negligable considering the care needed. Also, cuben is noisy. You'll crinkle all night until the material gets it's "hand".
On the other hand, cuben is great for tarps and packs in the SUL world. It requires more care in use as an improperly pitched cuben tarp could tear and packs shouldn't be overloaded. My MLD Revelation weighs right around 3 ounces and is more than sufficient for sub 3 and 5 pound loads.
In the end, if you are particular about caring for your gear the minor savings between sil and cuben might be worth it, but if you're a toss my pack on the ground kind of hiker, stay far from cuben and silnylon or bring lots of duct tape.;)
Trail Trooper
11-11-2007, 20:07
I am looking to hike lighter then air
bullseye
11-11-2007, 20:10
I am looking to hike lighter then air
Then you might want to try this:
http://www.markbarry.com/amazing/lawnchairman.html :D
Does anyone have any firsthand experience as to how much ultraviolet light weakens the cuben fiber cloth with time? I'm considering getting a new tarp for my hammock and am weighing the virtues of cuben fiber vs. spinnaker cloth (which should be more uv. resistant than silnylon, since it's made of polyester).
As highlighted by the female Dino, Bill Fornshell (aka Gardenville) is the one to look up when researching Cuben fiber cloth applications for the outdoor use. Cuben is mostly used as sailcloth material, Bill has made several items out of it , possibly more than anyone else. He is a forum member.
Franco
Tinker: Gardenville used to post fairly regularly on BPL MYOG forum and there are quite a few cuben devotees over there, so that might be a source for uv degradation issues. Or contact Ron Bell @ http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/info.php?p=a He's a good sport about answering questions and sharing his experience/knowlege.
Tinker: Gardenville used to post fairly regularly on BPL MYOG forum and there are quite a few cuben devotees over there, so that might be a source for uv degradation issues. Or contact Ron Bell @ http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/info.php?p=a He's a good sport about answering questions and sharing his experience/knowlege.
Good tip. I'll drop Ron a line. I've ordered a couple of things from him (poncho/tarp and ul bivy, just before he moved to Maine, and he threw in a nice overnight silnylon pack). He's a good guy and pleasant to deal with. (He also thinks outside the box). I just visited his updated website tonight and he has some nice new stuff.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
11-12-2007, 00:18
Does anyone have any firsthand experience as to how much ultraviolet light weakens the cuben fiber cloth with time? I'm considering getting a new tarp for my hammock and am weighing the virtues of cuben fiber vs. spinnaker cloth (which should be more uv. resistant than silnylon, since it's made of polyester).There is a lot of discussion of this in forums that discuss racing sailboats. The gist from what I saw is that it is about as good as Spinnaker cloth in this respect. I have never seen aspect of cuben fiber's durability discussed on backpacking forum as tarps generally are not deployed on sunny days while backpacking.
Dino, you're close enough for backpacking purposes in regards to UV damage and the cloths.