Cuben Tarp Owners and Former Owners, Your Experience?

[dirtwheels]

My comment is concerning sound pressure levels only. The sound pressure basically doubles for every 3 db if increase. 6 db is 2x as loud as 3 db, 9 db is 4x as loud as 3 db. I did state "nearly".

Doubling of the volume (loudness) should be sensed as a level difference of +10 dB − acousticians say.
Doubling the sound pressure (voltage) corresponds to a measured level change of +6 dB ●
Doubling of sound intensity (acoustic energy) belongs to a calculated level change of +3 dB.

+10 dB is the level of twice the perceived volume or twice as loud (loudness) in psychoacoustics − mostly sensed.
+6 dB is the level of twice the (RMS) value of voltage respectively sound pressure − mostly measured ●
+3 dB is the level of twice the energy or power respectively intensity − mostly calculated.

For voltage and sound pressure in acoustics the measured RMS value (root mean square) is usually specified.
For sinusoidal AC signals, the peak value V0 or p0 is denoted by the term amplitude. VRMS = | V0 | / √ (2).

So decibel levels are not linear? My example of 65 versus 70 decibels implied that cuben might be 8% louder, but you seem to be saying that if silnylon is 65 decibels and cuben is 70 decibels then a difference of five decibels is four times as loud? Who knew?

[ouroboros]

I have the standard Hammock Gear Cuben Fiber Hex Tarp.

It's my go to and I love it. 7.5oz with all of the guy lines included.

So far, I haven't felt the need for the doors.

[Rouskof]

I have both HG standard with doors and HG cuben palace. Only used the cuben palace until now. It seems huge on the picture, but if you pitch it high, it is actually just what one needs to be at ease and not worry about a capricous weather.
I personally love the transparency.
Just the ultimate joy of weighting the package from time to time and feeling nothing in your hand while you know there is a huge tarp inside that will keep you out of any trouble is worth the investment ! It is like a godgiven bonus to the backpacker.

I ordered a special mod, with some underside the ridgeline D-rings, that allow me to rig it folded for a better view. In the picture I have the side where the wind is coming from fully deployed whereas the one with the view is rigged folded in half. It makes like a small porch mode without poles.

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[Foxpoop]

I own 3 cuben tarps (my whole family hammock camps). Here is my perspective after a ton of use:

Noise-doesn't bother me, but that is purely subjective.

Durability- not an issue. In 5 years of use with three tarps, I have had exactly one small hole (happened this week). It took me 10 seconds to patch it with cuben repair tape and now that 1/2" spot is stronger than the rest of the tarp. I see this as a huge advantage over sil tarps.

Privacy- go with the Camo is this bothers you. I have two Camo and one regular. I prefer the Camo because it blends in better, but he regular green would be fine with me if Camo was not an option or I was an ultra gram weenie.

Pack size- all of mine (including winter palace with skins) fit in the outside pocket of any of my packs, which is all I care about.

Cost- for me, justified because I hated the sag, weight and water retention of sil nylon.

As an aside, my three cuben tarps are:
11' standard hex green
11' Winter Palace Camo
11' Winter Palace Camo with doors only on one end and no pull outs.

#3 is my favorite. I found after many trips that I usually didn't deploy the doors on the foot end of my WP and never used the pull outs, so I decided to have a custom made exactly like I wanted it.

Hope that helps.

[NickTx]

I have heard that they are noisy, is this a truth?

[hawghangar]

I have heard that they are noisy, is this a truth?

only in the rain...

[MSUFIJI]

Just ordered a green cuben with doors. (I need to lighten up my pack for SAR work.)
I've read that shock cords on tie outs are not "required" due to lack of material stretch. Anyone use shock cords anyway to help with noise, or ??

Mahalo

[Rouskof]

Just ordered a green cuben with doors. (I need to lighten up my pack for SAR work.)
I've read that shock cords on tie outs are not "required" due to lack of material stretch. Anyone use shock cords anyway to help with noise, or ??

Mahalo

Some people advocate that it is risky to use shock cord with cuben, because of the puncture possibility if you have a stack bouncing up in the air at some point. I tend to agree. I don't use shock cord. It doesn't sag at all. I don't see how shock cord would reduce the noise (?)

Tie-outs are essential to me in windy weather.

[kitsapcowboy]

Still hanging on to my HG 11-foot CF hex because I have accepted that it really is a niche tarp for specific applications.

One aspect to get used to is its geometry. With a rather narrow 8.5" width, the CF hex still seems to have standard cutbacks approximately 30" deep on each end. At around a 30-degree angle, that's about 8 degrees sharper of a "point" at the ridge line vertex, losing some critical coverage compared to a typical coated fabric tarp that is made using the full width of a roll (60" on each side compared to 53"). It's not a huge deal over a gathered end hammock, but this means the only way I can get the CF hex to work over my DIY bridge hammocks is to pitch it very, very, VERY wide -- not just to keep it away from the spreader bar tips but also to cover the corners of the hammock -- eschewing any wind protection or privacy. It also means I have to carry significantly longer guy lines to flare it out properly.

[sqidmark]

Used my Standard w/doors at the Lower Forge hang Sat night. Because I haven't spent a lot of time hanging in cooler weather, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from my insulation, so I carried one 20* Habanero, one 3/4 CDT clews uq and two CDT tq's. I'm not sure of the temp but I assume upper 30's. With all that insulation I brought the CF to cut weight as much as I could, but I didn't anticipate how windy it would be. Who'd-a-thought that there is actually a ridge twenty feet or so above the river in flat-as-a-pancake south Jersey?

I used a mini-ucr crl as well as mini-ucr's on the tie-outs. Everything was just as tight in the a.m. as it was in the p.m.

I mounted the tarp as low as I could get it to minimize effects of the wind sneaking underneath. I had it pitched fairly taut, with the doors closed at both ends. Not even close to a full moon but when I turned in I could see it shining through the CF. Inserted my earplugs and apparently passed out quickly. Awoke for the 4am break and discovered that I was hotter than hades and the top surface of my tq was wet from my breath. Upon return, I left one head end door loose to allow some ventilation. I also peeled a bit of clothing. It wasn't enough, I should have fully opened both doors, especially given that I was overheating anyway. Lesson learned.

This was only my second night under this tarp. I have no complaints about it what-so-ever. Both times I could see the moon through it, but this proved to be a non issue for me. With the tarp mounted so close to the hammock, I'm pretty sure my insulation would have stayed dry short of a monsoon. That said, manuevering around under it at that height was not a pleasant experience, even for me at 5'4". I do aniticpate getting the palace sometime in the future.