Cuben fiber in sub freezing temps

[sophistihip]

I have read some worrying information about cuben fiber performance, in particular the bonded and taped seams in sub zero temperatures. Can anyone share their experience in these conditions? I am planning a trip this fall that may have have sub zero nights and I'm wondering if I should stick to silnylon or forge ahead with my new cf tarp.

What's the community's thoughts on this issue?

So I paid 3M to test the problem. Well they found that ALL roll adhesives loose about 50%- 90% of their bond strength under 0F. Put it this way. 9485PC which is the adhesive that Cubic Tech use to recommend before selling their own, and most likely the adhesive most companies are still using has a T-Peel bond strength of 90.4oz/in at room temp and 12.5oz/in at 0F..

So the problem can be fixed by sewing the seams after bonding, BUT then your sewing through a non-woven material which creates a whole set of new problems.....

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-...474&startat=40

[WaffleBox]

I'm not sure how useful this will be, but I've had my Zpacks cuben tarp out as low as 23* F and had no problems. Now Zpacks sews and tapes their ridgelines (or at least they did when mine was made - not sure if they still sew or not) but I never had any ridgeline issues as a result of the sewing.

Regardless, if you are going to opt not to do CF, I think that SilPoly is better than SilNylon in every way.

[sophistihip]

Not familiar with silpoly, I will check that out. I mention silnylon because I already have one.

I went ahead and emailed HG as well, even though I already ordered, to see if they have any experience with this. If there are any issues, maybe they can do something custom, stitch and bond it or something like that. We'll see, and I'll report back.

[Floridahanger]

Check out the Frozen Butt Hangs from Minnesota. I believe they may take their CF tarps and they regularly go well below 0*F. If they don't go CF in those temps, they probably will have info on that.

[Flounder]

Had my HG CF tarp in single digit temps several times and have had no problems.

[SilvrSurfr]

I've had my CF tarp down to 0* F and didn't notice anything.

[sophistihip]

That's good news. I don't do a lot of cold weather camping so this is all new ground to me. Still waiting to hear back from HG.

[SilvrSurfr]

I've read those BPL reviews before and they're a) old and b) not particularly helpful when it comes to cuben fiber. I'm definitely interested in how CF performs below freezing, though.

[sophistihip]

Sorry, I can't edit my post title unfotunately, but I meant sub-zero. But I mean really, I am interested in its performance at all different temperatures.

[JEB]

I've used my Hammock Gear cuben in sub-freezing and sub-zero temperatures, sometimes with high winds, in the White Mountains (NH) without any problems.