The fabric formerly known as Cuben Fiber

[Gqgeek81]

I always found Cuben Fiber to be an awful name. Every single person you talk to assumes you mean carbon fiber. The new name really rolls off the tongue

It sounds like they are trying to convince everyone they have this shiny new thing you've never heard of before.
So when you see a new product that's more expensive than the old CF stuff you'll think, "ohhhh its got that new DSM stuff in it, I gotta have it"

[OCDave]

No offense meant, but whoever is doing their marketing must have never gone to school for marketing. They wanna call cuben fiber Dyneema Composite Fabric? What a half-baked marketing concept.

Not so half-baked if your intent is to build a Brand. Think of how many hard-shells have a GORE-TEX tag attached and how that tag effects your perception of that product. Marketing, Branding, what ever you want to call it. It looks like DSM Dyneema intends to take a niche product and BRAND it for mass market appeal.

With mass market appeal, the price will drop. Remember the first fleece product you purchased? Thirty-five years later that product is likely 1/5th the actual price paid, 1/10th if you account for changing value of the dollar.

Despite the current spike in the price of the product, the efforts of DSM Dyneema will benefit us all in the long run. I wish them luck.

[novasquid]

Price drops come with patent expiry... or Chinese piracy! (and that will only happen if the market for it expands significantly)

so when does the patent expire? anyone know?

[flatline]

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet"

[Ozipit]

Just ordered a camo Winter Palace from HG.. Glad I did before the price increase.. If there will be one at all..

[DrPhun]

Improved can mean anything and doesn't have to mean improved to the customer. Sometimes an improved product means easier/cheaper to produce, such as 90% as good, costs half as much to produce and can sell it for 70% of the old price, and make more money. And sometimes it can mean new more expensive machinery, that allows a more consistent product at a tenth the price, but you have to make a lot more of it.

[MrJames]

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet"

How about Koban fabric from Shanghai, made from pure Denyma?

[Canahang]

With mass market appeal, the price will drop. Remember the first fleece product you purchased? Thirty-five years later that product is likely 1/5th the actual price paid, 1/10th if you account for changing value of the dollar.

Despite the current spike in the price of the product, the efforts of DSM Dyneema will benefit us all in the long run. I wish them luck.

I agree with this. If they can build a brand and take it main stream. "Ultralight" is definitely becoming much more important to people and CF is obviously the choice material for that. If they can bring it to the mass market it could drive prices down due toss production. Just hopefully that doesn't drive down quality (although it almost certainly will).

Maybe we can get to a point where there's CF products that are like the mainstream REI type hammock brands (generally lower quality) and then the cottage vendors can still put out the higher quality products at a reduced cost to them (and therefore us)

[Five Tango]

No offense meant, but whoever is doing their marketing must have never gone to school for marketing. They wanna call cuben fiber Dyneema Composite Fabric? What a half-baked marketing concept.

I TOTALLY agree.Dyneema Cloth,Dyneema Line,Rope,Tarp,whatever,gets the job done for those of us who think simpler is better and easier to remember.I always thought Cuben Fiber was a poor description of that expensive tarp I bought btw but I do like the weight savings and no seams to deal with is a huge plus.