Durability of Cuben Tarps

[T-BACK]

I have a spreader bar hole in my cuben tarp also. I put transparent duct tape on it over a year ago. It blends in very well with the cuben since it is clear with fibers running thru it. I just left it on since it blended in so well.

I started to remove the tape and noticed the tarp starting to separate so I just smoothed it back down. I used clear duct tape too (that's the only type I carry in my repair kit) and you're right, it doesn't show unless you are really looking for it. The manufacturer claims that the adhesive on the clear tape is different and stronger than the colored tapes. I hope no one thinks I'm knocking Cuben because I'm not. I'm the first to say that alot of the gear we carry is pushing the envelope as far as weight vs. strength vs. abrasion resistance etc. and Those of us on the edge know that our gear must be taken care of or it will fail us. When I made my tarp, not many people were using Cuben except for sailing. With no durability tests to rely on, I decided early on that a thru-hike wasn't the time to test this material long term.

It seems to me that a lot of people are now using Cuben tarps. Considering how expensive they are, I'm sure we would have heard quite a bit of grumbling if they were not performing as expected.

[exup]

I know very little about spin and cuben. But so far I have known 2 people, rip waverly and tendertoe that have had holes in their spin tarps. Rip's was a pine cone, and tendertoe I believe was an accidental rock throw. To my knowledge they said it was very easy to patch and good to go.

I do plan on getting a cuben tarp, and I am nervous, but I feel any of the tarp fabrics we use are good canidates for holes and tears.

I think the best way to avoid it is to not use it if you don't need it. If you're not hiking to far and you have another sil tarp and 5-15oz won't break you back, bring it. I think pitching it not so taut could help too.

[Cranky Bear]

I have a spreader bar hole in my cuben tarp also. I put transparent duct tape on it over a year ago. It blends in very well with the cuben since it is clear with fibers running thru it. I just left it on since it blended in so well. If I get a 4season cuben tarp I will find something along the lines WV describes.

BTW is the OES tarp using the .5 or .7 cuben?

Mine is made from the .7 stuff (or 0.74??? whatever stuff) as far as I know that is all he is using at the moment!

[WV]

I am in the process of adding cat cuts to the sides of my tarp, so with the material I remove I can make some more DIY cuben tape. I always carry some in my first aid/tool kit (more remedies for gear than people in there ), but so far I haven't needed to do cuben repairs on the trail.

The tarp doesn't really need cat cuts, but I changed my tie-out points, and this will remove 4 of the vestigial ones ("no longer needed" - like your appendix). Besides it will look pretty in pictures.

There are ready-made single-sided tapes available, such as Quest Outfitters' 1 inch wide "Mylar Tape" (item #2308).

[Cranky Bear]

I am in the process of adding cat cuts to the sides of my tarp, so with the material I remove I can make some more DIY cuben tape. I always carry some in my first aid/tool kit (more remedies for gear than people in there ), but so far I haven't needed to do cuben repairs on the trail.

The tarp doesn't really need cat cuts, but I changed my tie-out points, and this will remove 4 of the vestigial ones ("no longer needed" - like your appendix). Besides it will look pretty in pictures.

There are ready-made single-sided tapes available, such as Quest Outfitters' 1 inch wide "Mylar Tape" (item #2308).

Mine has the cat-cuts and I find that they are not really needed as you don't have the stretch like sil, and you can get the tarp very taut as the material very much allows this to happen plus I find that the cat-cuts on a non-stretch material like cuben make tie out line position much more critical to getting the tarp taut as well as the edges taut! I found with the rectangle cuben tarps slightly easier to accomplish a less saggy edge when staking out the guy lines! This was just my experiences and seeing other cuben tarps in action!

Thanks for the link to the cuben tape you rock WV!!!

[Raul Perez]

www.hyperlightmountaingear.com has a one sided cuben tape. It only comes in white though.

[WV]

HyperliteMountainGear is easier to reach if you remember to spell "light" wrong. Their stuff looks pretty nice. I couldn't find the cuben bonding tape listed separately, but I imagine if you contact them they'd provide it. Do they include a repair kit with their tarps and shelters? If so, good thinking.

[Raul Perez]

HyperliteMountainGear is easier to reach if you remember to spell "light" wrong. Their stuff looks pretty nice. I couldn't find the cuben bonding tape listed separately, but I imagine if you contact them they'd provide it. Do they include a repair kit with their tarps and shelters? If so, good thinking.

yeah go with that link Ha sorry I went on memory I posted that from my blackberry.

It's not on their site. Contact them directly. It was $2.50 per foot last time I bought 4-5 months ago.

[gavinar]

If the holes people have seen are truly due to the tautness of the pitch, I wonder if some guyline tensioners would help to prevent these types of issues? I know the ones I use on my sil tarps allow a bit of "give", maybe this would be enough to prevent a hole/tear from falling debris?

[Gqgeek81]

Mine has the cat-cuts and I find that they are not really needed as you don't have the stretch like sil, and you can get the tarp very taut as the material very much allows this to happen plus I find that the cat-cuts on a non-stretch material like cuben make tie out line position much more critical to getting the tarp taut as well as the edges taut! I found with the rectangle cuben tarps slightly easier to accomplish a less saggy edge when staking out the guy lines! This was just my experiences and seeing other cuben tarps in action!

Thanks for the link to the cuben tape you rock WV!!!

No cat cut needed? A cuben tarp is sounding even easier to make then.
Aside from reinforcing the tie outs with a heaver material, it sounds like you can use the cuben tape and avoid the thread injector as well.