Tarp Opinions Please

**SC_Dave** · 09-05-2011, 20:14

Lightening my pack as much as possible. Bad knees. So I'm looking for the strongest lightest material I can find. I want a rectangle either 8x8 or 8x10.
Sil nylon? Cuben Fiber? Other? Thanks in advance for your ideas.
David

**Bubba** · 09-05-2011, 20:50

Cuben would seem to be your lightest choice. Try contacting Adam at Hammock Gear to see if he'll make you a rectangular tarp.

**SC_Dave** · 09-06-2011, 11:25

Thanks Bubba!
David

**Fronkey** · 09-06-2011, 11:28

+1 on the cuben. They're incredibly light and the fabric is used in sailing, so strong as well. I would suggest looking at Hammock Gear as well and I'm sure Stormcrow will whip you up a rectangle tarp if you ask.

Fronkey

**Cannibal** · 09-06-2011, 11:30

Yeah, cuben is mighty light.
Jury is still out on it's durability, but other than the odd fluke, not a lot of negative has been posted yet.

I think that folks that are willing to spend that kind of money on a tarp are aware of it's fragility and handle it accordingly. I've had my cuben (OES MacCat) in some fair winds and I've snagged it on a couple of branches, but so far, it is holding up marvelously. I was a slow transition from Spinn, but now that I'm on the other side of the fence, the grass really is greener.

**SC_Dave** · 09-06-2011, 11:37

Thanks guys!
David

**SC_Dave** · 09-06-2011, 12:19

The price of Cuben Fiber may be too stiff for me. Would you guys say SpinnUL would be my next best bet?
David

**default** · 09-06-2011, 12:25

come the midstate hang and check out some sil Superflys, i like mine and its not too bad on weight, especially for its size

**Oms** · 09-06-2011, 17:37

Originally Posted by SC_Dave

The price of Cuben Fiber may be too stiff for me. Would you guys say SpinnUL would be my next best bet?
David

Before I purchased a cuben tarp from Stormcrow I was looking into a Spinn tarp from OES. He was having trouble getting Spinn fabric that was a decent quality. Apparently it was not water proof enough. I know the cuben is very expensive, but it is really great stuff. If you don't like it, it would re-sell very quickly. Sil tarps are fine as well and seeing that everyone is switching for cuben there are lots of used ones for sale.

**PDA** · 09-08-2011, 09:15

An asym tarp would weigh 9 or 10 oz. and cost a lot less than a cuben tarp. Good for backpacking when you don't intend to spend a long time just hanging out under the tarp.