Is cuban really "worth it"...

[jcreamer]

Thanks for all the comments guys. Guess I'm off to shop for a CF tarp. Don't tell my wife.
Jeff.

[1camper]

I would say cuben is worth it. I have a cat cut MLD hammock tarp I bought used here of this forum. I've used the thing extensively in some really heavy rain, some really prolonged rain, and just as a precaution. Its so light and easy to carry that I take it along more than I used to take others. Last summer in AK we camped in a three man tent during a visit to Denali. It rained for 30 hrs straight. The tents sil nylon fly wetted thru and started this annoying drip over both vestibules. Pulled out that cuben, simply laid it over the wet tent and viola, no more leaks at all.
Even dayhiking with my wife when short thunderstorms are possible, I'll carry that 6oz tarp instead of two sets of raingear. It also covers a standard picnic table perfectly.

[HappyCamper]

The weight savings is worth it to me. I'm older and need to save every ounce to keep backpacking. If I was only car camping, I'd stick with the lower priced tarps.

[J.Andersons]

If I had more spare $$$ I probably would hit that trigger but at the time I'm lucky enough to buy silnylon tarp, MacCat on the way across the pond.
If I could run trial hang with one or another tarp, it probably could influence my decision but I'm little bit unlucky with such gear availability in Latvia.
As for weight, my current hammock are much heavier than MacCat Ultra but I chose specially to be able to use with current brazilian hammock but those cottage vendor hammocks seems nicier than cheap commercial ones.

[heyyou]

Same story, different poster. Cuben is better than silnylon but not by the dollar amount, so it is a luxury item. I have to be careful about what luxuries I purchase. BPing is cheaper than some hobbies but more expensive than some others that are more practical. That said, I own a Cuben tarp.

[enyapjr]

I too, haven't had any durability issues with it...yet.
Cuben is worth it if you have to carry it long distances. It's worth it in spades when you have to carry it long distances for an extended period. I still own more sil tarps than any other material and use them, or lend them, often. Nothing really wrong with sil if you're a weekend hiker or camper. Cuben is a specialty material at this point, not a 'must-have' IMO.

+1 to all of Cannibal's comments...
I waited quite a while to pull the trigger getting a Cuben tarp - was somewhat unsure of the durability issue... Not having heard of any 'bad' reports in that regard, I bought a HG 4S Cuben for future thru-hikes (having great weather protection at a very low weight is well worth it when one is going to be carrying and calling it 'home' for a few months! )...

If you do quite a bit of backpacking (multi-day), Cuben is well worth it IMHO... If I was only a car camper or weekend backpacker, I would have stayed with sil or the 'older' spinn tarp fabrics - but now that I have the Cuben it is my 'go to', always used tarp...

[sawgrassbrothers]

I have a Warbonnet Superfly and its a great sil tarp adn it was much cheaoer than cuban. just my $.02

[J.Andersons]

I'm little bit scared how could I lose that small stuff sack with cuban fiber tarp in my messenger bag because I found silnylon MacCat Ultra in stuff sack actually smaller than I initially thinked.
Really happy with this tarp.