Cuben Tarp. Which one?

[conburn]

Thanks for the input everybody, good to hear it from both sides.

[guySmiley]

I wish when I ordered my HG cuben tarp I had specified no cat cuts on the long edges. It's already narrower than my sil tarp the tiny bit of weight that the cat cut saves is negligible. The extra 1.5-2 inches on each side of coverage would be more useful.

That's not to say I'm unhappy with it or wouldn't recommend it. It's just a nitpicky small criticism I have.

[te-wa]

my argument: cuben does not sag or stretch so cat cuts are not necessary AND straight cuts give you many more pitching options, configurations.
that being said, Zpacks was the best price and lightest fabric I found at the time.
you can custom order his Black cuben (weighs more) but it is so, so cool!

[R00K]

I can only speak on the quality of the Zpacks cuben tarp. Made by an experienced UL long distance backpacker, it's high quality and light weight.

Both companies make quality gear and have top notch customer service.

[Dutch]

Honestly if I were to thru again I would choose a a 3 sided cuben. 3 sides really block the wind and if there is a storm you can close the doors on one side and get that hammock way up in the corner and stay nice and dry. Also I don't like dealing with a bunch of tie outs and 2 less doors are 2 less tie outs. I don't know of anyone selling 3 sided tarps but I bet Stormcrow would make one.

FWIW, GLP gets we in the rain.

[kobold]

i just seam sealed my 3.5oz sewn cuben zpacks yesterday. i used it in a few rainy nights previously with great success.

also, i think mld is worth a mention:
http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com...x.php?cPath=21

[conburn]

I do think I'll be getting the hammockgear tarp, so thanks for bringing that up Guysmiley. Something to think about when I finally drop coin on it. How long have you had yours?

[guySmiley]

A couple of months.

I've used it on about 6 nights. It's been really dry here in Minnesota lately so it hasn't seen any rain yet but I don't expect to have any problems.

The tarps that I've used in the past didn't have the door flaps but I've never gotten wet, and I've nearly always stayed drier than others that I've been camping with that slept in tents during storms. I only say "nearly" because some have managed to stay nice and dry in their tents too.

[stormcrow]

my argument: cuben does not sag or stretch so cat cuts are not necessary AND straight cuts give you many more pitching options, configurations.

I dont want to interject much into this thread since the OP is asking opinions and, well, I might be biased but I did want to make one comment on cuben fiber catenary cuts and why I use them..

Sorry, but cuben does have SOME stretch in it. It will not take on water the way that silnylon tarps do, but when it is pitched nice and taut, it is stretching a bit. You can actually see the force lines spread out along the tarp from each of the tie out points when you have it nice and tight. I will admit that the cat cuts do not need to be as radical as the nylon tarps but I find they DO help a little. Is it easier to get by with no cat cuts in cuben fiber?.....yes, it is.

Could I take them out of the long sides? Sure? Will I do it if you ask? Yep! Maybe I will make it an option. One place I think cuben fiber really benefits from a cat cut is the RIDGELINE. A straight cut ridgeline takes much more tension to get it tight then one with a 3 inch cat cut. Most of my tarps are straight cut but I am thinking of switching to cat cut. It is more work for me but I think it is an evolution I might make. It is just hard because the roll width limitation always has me fighting for real estate...

Just check out Hyperlite Mountain Gear as well. They deal almost exclusively with cuben fiber and pretty much ALL of their tarps and tents have a radical cat cut in the ridge line...But after you check them out, come back over to HG....

Seriously though. Sorry to for the hijack. I am sure you will get a great tarp whomever you choose to go with!

~Stormcrow