Cuben shelters or what.

[AXEL]

I have enough highend 4-season expedition grade mountain tents for my remaining years of use; but, I am interested in the lightest possible shelter, preferably that will accept a Ti wood stove, for an auxiliary shelter in a base camp and for emerg.*use should my Hille. or ID tent puke on a trip.

I have used a lot of gear, but, my last purchases were a few years ago and new fabricsédesigns are flooding onto the market, so, WHAT is THE best one for my needs.

What fabrics are the lightest, the strongest and is Cuben REALLY as storm proof as some say or is it just a gimmick.

Is Cuben stronger in actual use, under lots of wet snow than Silnylon, what issues does it have and who makes shelters from it.

Thnx. all comments welcome!

 

[go4thegusto]

I do know that the cuben fabric is used on the Americas Cup sails so that says something. I have only a ground cloth so far so am on the fence myself. Super light, dry so far, and compact. Tends to get a wrinkled look over time compressing. I wonder what the long term durability is. The melt temp is low. I see some makers won't recommend cuben with a wood stove. Good luck, I will be watching the feedback here also.

 

[snowcamoman]

The cuben MLD Duomid I have is pretty bomber as far as material goes. It's super light and has zero stretch. If you pitch it good and tight, I cannot imagine a big enough snow load damaging it. You're likely going to have to shovel snow away from the sides at that point, which you'd need to do with a standard 4 season moutaineering tent anyways. You won't get any sag in the cuben since it's zero stretch. The only downside to the stuff so far that I've noticed is that it's expensive. I'm not certain how long term durability with UV exposure is with the Cuben fabric. I use mine for my mountain hunts, so it sees less than a month a year of true exposure, and even then it's typically not set up as a permanent base camp. I keep it in my pack and move most of the times, which is great, since it's so light.

 

[DaveC]

The two salient considerations/downsides with cuben are the low abrasion resistance and almost total lack of stretch. The tear strength of cuben is more than adequate for any force you'd put on it in a tent.

The abrasion resistance issue just demands a little more care in packing, handling, and setup. Relative to conventional tent fabrics, it's pretty easy to put a hole in cuben during un-careful packing. You'll also put holes in it if you let a stiff branch or rock rub against it all night on a windy night. Repair is easy with duct tape or aquaseal.

The stretch issue is more complicated. It removes almost all margin for error in construction. If a seam is bonded unevenly there's nothing to mitigate the extra stress at the point of variation. If edges are done unevenly there is nothing to mitigate the resulting uneven load on stake points. Cuben is also less slick than sil and seems to shed snow less readily.

Overall, I think the 20-30% weight reduction doesn't justify the vast increase in cost.

 

[snowcamoman]

AXEL,
What kind of use do you intend to use this for? Solo, mountain hunting? If you're above tree line, I'd go with the Cuben, since like DaveC mentioned abrasion can be an issue. There's nothing abrading my Duomid in the mountains, except whatever is in my pack, and I pack it carefully into another stuff sack and have had no issues. If you're going to be in the trees or brush, you'll definitely want to use a little extra care to cut or break off any branches that might rub in the wind.

You want to use the companies who have been dealing with Cuben and who have a good track record. MLD and HyperLite Mountain Gear are two of the best from what I could find in my research.

 

[AXEL]

Most of what hunting I am still, at 68+, really capable of is in places with typical heavy, wet BC forest cover and while careful with gear, I am not going to pamper it.....my wife wants all of THAT!!!

Sooo, for me, perhaps the most versatile and simple option IS the SO shelter I have been drooling over, probably the Cimarron.

Where, I grew up and now prefer to hunt in my old haunts, the annual snow fall-load is among the heaviest in North America and the snow is wet. I actually prefer winter-snow camping and have done lots of it, usually alone.

This means that I am better served by a more carefree rig, but, the weight of Cuben does intrigue we old, gimpy geezers!

 

[charvey9]

Second on the MLD cuben Duomid. Although I ended up getting rid of mine because I did not like the tipi design with the pole in the middle of such a small shelter, the material worked great and it was a 13oz shelter suitable for one person and gear. I did not run a stove in it, and am not aware of any cuben shelters that have a stove jack.....probably because of the lower melting point. I camped in it down to the low 20's without a stove, and was comfortable. Woke up one morning with wet, heavy snow last spring piled up on the sides. Sides bowed in pretty good by morning, but shelter held just fine.

All my stuff sacks and many pull-outs, and pack cover are made of are cuben fiber. Its noisier than silnylon, but durable and light. I think it also sheds water better, kind of like a plastic bag, when compared to silnylon that stays wet to the touch when it has been doused.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I really like CF, so much so that, I have sold all of my sil floorless shelters (with the exception of my tipi). I used a BPWD CF shelter for a couple seasons then, sold it and just purchased a HMG Ultamid 2. I haven't used it yet but, it is a much better built shelter than my old BPWD. My only uses are above tree line, sheep and goat hunting.

 

[Huntfun]

This is an interesting thread...just do not see much on cuban fiber out there. I am having a Cuban Fiber 8 man tipi made for me with a stove jack. I have several samples in fabric weights from 1oz to 2oz. I would really like to hear from those out there with cuban experience on what weight you would suggest and why. Also, as long as the stove jack is insulated properly do you feel it is OK or a bad idea?...and why. Also, do you think the stove ash that may get out and hit the cuban fiber will do any more damage than what is done to a silnylon fabric? Any suggestions would be greatly appricated!!!!

 

[snowcamoman]

Huntfun,
From what I've read, Cuben is not recommended with high heat. I know John at Bearpaw Wilderness Designs, who builds shelters in cuben will not make one with a stove jack in cuben, due to low melting point of cuben. Might want to get a silnylon version, they've been used for awhile now with stoves.

 

[Ramshead]

Axel (aka Kute)

As an older BC boy too, I understand what you are up against. My recommendation would be silnylon, although I use the cuben Ruta Locura Lone Peak with a small Wifi Stove. The sil is more durable and abrasion resistant, and if a branch falls on your shelter the sil won't puncture. I only have about six nights in the Lone Peak running a stove, and did burn one small hole from an errant ember out the pipe. I also had to repair my cuben Duomid after some relentless winds abraded one edge against a rock, something that I have not done with some 16 years of sil shelter use. However, it was easily patched with some Zpacks cuben repair tape. IMO cuben shelters simply require more care and attention than sil shelters.

 

[Jeff Martin]

AXEL,
What kind of use do you intend to use this for? Solo, mountain hunting? If you're above tree line, I'd go with the Cuben, since like DaveC mentioned abrasion can be an issue. There's nothing abrading my Duomid in the mountains, except whatever is in my pack, and I pack it carefully into another stuff sack and have had no issues. If you're going to be in the trees or brush, you'll definitely want to use a little extra care to cut or break off any branches that might rub in the wind.

You want to use the companies who have been dealing with Cuben and who have a good track record. MLD and HyperLite Mountain Gear are two of the best from what I could find in my research.

@ Snow - I am glad you and Chevy chimed in. I am a few days from pulling the trigger on a Duomid for Solo above treeline Aug/September hunting. I was pondering Cuben or Nylon..I think you made up my mind ! I wanted the Cuben but was nervous.

 

[Ramcam]

Another exceptional mid is made by Locus Gear http://locusgear.com/?lang=en
Can be had in Silnylon Event or Tyvek