Cuben Fiber, Anyone Using It?

[Jauwater]

Introduced to Cuben Fiber this weekend. Held up in a Cuben Fiber tent during a three hour thunderstorm. Very impressed. He also was using a Cuben Fiber backpack. Anyone else using it? Any disadvantages other then cost or possibly appearance? Any ideas why more companies aren't using it?

Thanks for any input

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[Matt21418]

I have no experience with it but have heard cost and noise. From others I have heard that it is quite a bit noisier when it moves. But the trade off is the weight.

Matt


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[mtwarden]

I've owned several cuben fiber shelters and tarps; also various dry bags- the stuff is pretty tough and resilient, especially considering the weight- none of mine have been very noisy; the only con I can come up with is cost- most shelters are close to double the cost vs silnylon

have never owned a pack in cuben however

 

[Jauwater]

I've owned several cuben fiber shelters and tarps; also various dry bags- the stuff is pretty tough and resilient, especially considering the weight- none of mine have been very noisy; the only con I can come up with is cost- most shelters are close to double the cost vs silnylon

have never owned a pack in cuben however

The one I stayed in seemed very sturdy against the wind. His didn't seem noisy, but his was very much broken in, and pitched very tight. You could pitch it with trekking poles, or with the carbon fiber poles to make it free standing. There not very appealing to the eye, but performance trumps.

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[Jauwater]

The pack was, I think, a 30L dump sack style that weighed 24oz. I'm not into light weight packs, but this guy was 70, and on the trail so whatever it takes.

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[mtwarden]

the cuben will definitely break in as it gets packed/unpacked, but even new I've never found much for noise

I do find that it's a little tougher to get a very taut pitch cuben vs silnylon, as sil will stretch- on the flip side, sil will often "wilt" a little through the night, cuben stays put

 

[charvey9]

Have had several shelters made from cuben fiber, aslo have some stuff sacks/dry bags, pullouts, a rain cover for my pack, and the bottom of one of my bivys. It is really popular in the high end backpacking/hiking community. You can find lots of products from companies like Zpacks and Mountain Laurel Designs.

Only downside, as far as i'm concerned, is noise and slight hit in durability. Its good for shelters, but I don't know how well a pack would hold up during hunting season.

 

[Jauwater]

Have had several shelters made from cuben fiber, aslo have some stuff sacks/dry bags, pullouts, a rain cover for my pack, and the bottom of one of my bivys. It is really popular in the high end backpacking/hiking community. You can find lots of products from companies like Zpacks and Mountain Laurel Designs.

Only downside, as far as i'm concerned, is noise and slight hit in durability. Its good for shelters, but I don't know how well a pack would hold up during hunting season.

Zpacks was the brand he spoke of.

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[mtwarden]

I think in the hunting realm- shelters, bivies, dry sacks you're good to go; I would also question durability for a hunting pack

 

[1signguy]

I have a cuben tent and large 13' cuben tarp that I use almost exclusively. It is expensive but much lighter and no seam sealing! I am am a big fan of it.

 

[mvmnts]

Lots of ultralight backpackers have been using cuben for quite some time. Any cuben used in a pack is going to be laminated with other materials to improve it's strength and abrasion resistance, but I personally do not think it's appropriate for a hunting back where you're blowing through brush a lot. If you're walking trails then it's fine, but honestly I still don't like the material for packs from a durability to cost perspective. I don't mind hauling a little more weight and getting more usage out of it and having a more durable product.

Stuff sacks and that sort of thing are just a huge waste of money if you ask me, but it will work. I tend to avoid most stuff sacks anyway if possible.

Shelters are a totally different story, and I think that cuben is an ideal shelter material if you can afford it. It is see through, kinda ugly, and it is much louder in the rain, but you get used to it. It also doesn't stretch, at all, so pitching it can be a little frustrating, but once it's tight, it stays that way, rain or shine. With silnylon and the like, it's easy to get a nice taught pitch because it stretches a bit into shape. Cuben doesn't and if everything isn't just right, it'll sag and flap. I normally don't like using pitch hardware, but for cuben I would recommend using linelocs so it's easy to tighten things up.

I have a hammockgear cuben tarp with doors and I call it my $400 trash bag, because it looks basically like a piece of garbage coming out of my pack, but it is a superb piece of gear.

Check out hyperlite mountain gear, they make solid alpine stuff from cuben, and people love their packs and shelters.

Fun fact, the sole producer of cuben fiber was purchased in 2015, and now the proper name for cuben is "Dyneema® Composite Fabrics" or DCF, but I don't know if that will ever stick.

 

[mtwarden]

stuff sacks in cuben work pretty nicely, price point is a little high, but they shave weight over other materials

I think I only have on stuff sack, for my cook kit- the pot is black from occasional Esbit and fire use, so nice to have in a sack

what's really nice in cuben are dry sacks- one for my clothing, one for sleep system and one for my emergency bits- basically anything I don't want to get wet; they come in a myriad of sizes

 

[JWP58]

I ran into a guy doing the continental divide trail a couple of years ago and he had cuben fiber everything. His pack was ridiculously light.

A tarp would be nice to toss in the pack just in case.

 

[durangobrad]

FWIW I am in the process of building a tarp out of .9 Membrane Silpoly. It weighs in at .93 OZ per square yard. It gives cuben a run for its money especially when you consider it is 1/4 the cost.

 

[Tod osier]

stuff sacks in cuben work pretty nicely, price point is a little high, but they shave weight over other materials

I think I only have on stuff sack, for my cook kit- the pot is black from occasional Esbit and fire use, so nice to have in a sack

what's really nice in cuben are dry sacks- one for my clothing, one for sleep system and one for my emergency bits- basically anything I don't want to get wet; they come in a myriad of sizes

Yes, we have food hang bags (zpacks) that are awesome too. They Velcro shut and roll like a dry bag. Work very well, waterproof, light and strong.

 

[AK Troutbum]

All my dry bags and stuff sacks that go into my pack are CF, as well as all my UL shelters, with the only exception being my 12 person tipi. I love the stuff. It doesn't stretch, doesn't soak up any water what so ever, seams come taped so no need to seam seal (which is a PITA and adds wt.), durable as hell, and is feather light. I've contemplated using a CF pack but I really like my Stone Glacier and I don't know if a pack made from CF would really hold up all that well in most of my hunting scenarios. So for now, I'll just deal the my 4.5 lb. SG pack.

 

[Tim M]

The only real issue for me when I made a shelter out of Cuben Fiber is that it is highly recommended not to put a stove jack in it because of how easily it burns, even from sparks.

 

[Tim M]

FWIW I am in the process of building a tarp out of .9 Membrane Silpoly. It weighs in at .93 OZ per square yard. It gives cuben a run for its money especially when you consider it is 1/4 the cost.

how big of a tarp are you making out on the membrane? One of my friends and I were doing some messing around with it and finding the failure point. He has already made a larger shelter out of it so am curious what you see for results.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

There are advantages and disadvantages to all the ul fabrics. I've messed around with going as lightweight as possible and have come full circle, I would now prefer the extra weight of a good silnylon (they are not all created equal) than most ultralight fabrics. Cuben has its place but is cost prohibitive. The other fabrics have their place as well but you need to know and respect their limitations.

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[durangobrad]

how big of a tarp are you making out on the membrane? One of my friends and I were doing some messing around with it and finding the failure point. He has already made a larger shelter out of it so am curious what you see for results.

9x9. From my research this material is not recommended for shaped tents and mids that have uneven load pressures, but with a straight cut tarp the pressure is more evenly distributed.