Cuben for a Asym Diamond Tarp

[Tobit]

Well, I just gave Joe @ ZPacks the go-ahead in the form of cash to go ahead and begin work on my 11' x 6.5' modified diamond tarp made out of his .51 oz. cuben material in Olive Drab color.

I can't share his early prototype photographs of it yet but I really like it for all of the ~3 oz. (minus lines) it weighs. Unlike diamonds with the sharp sides coming down straight down to a single point, the sides on this will have multiple angles resulting in 3 tie downs per side. The ends also have a small beak to them which are tied off to the hammock suspension.

Joe has done some initial testing in strong winds and rain downpours but not any serious wind driven rain yet. He reports it does quite well in the wind and no problems with downpours either.

Joe, a hardcore ground dweller, has been playing with hammocks quite a bit lately and he might have some other hammock related items in the near future but I can't comment on those yet.

[warbonnetguy]

It depends on how strict a gram weenie you are, as far as waste when making a tarp for an asym hammock. There is no waste if you just take a rectangle and hang it on the diagonal from opposite corners. That works pretty well with silnylon that's 65" wide, but cuben is only 54" wide, so an asym rectangle over the hammock is not going to give you much side protection. Still, it would be bigger than the tarps that used to come with Hennessy hammocks.

don't think so, i believe the hh diamond uses a full piece of 60+" fabric

best bet would be to have a rl seam and make the tarp the size you need

[NCPatrick]

Yeah but even as a near gram weenie myself... so what if you add another 0.21 grams or so for seam sealing it... your still talking about a hammock tarp that is under 4-oz... that puts it nearly 50% lighter than anything WB has (and well over 50% savings if you don't factor in the most recent WB version) and nothing from OES can even come close to being a 50% savings for the same size tarp. MLD (the unquestionable leader in CF gear) does not even have a sub-5oz hammock tarp.

So, yeah, I think it's safe to say you shouldn't cry too much about having the seam sealer weight to factor in.

Never heard of seam sealing a cuben tarp... What would you seal it with? Oh and I'm sure these other manufacturers could come up with something to compare if pressed to do so.

[fred1diver]

never used cuben but I guess you could seal it with the cuben tape they sell!!! would probably even save you from making a seam!!!

[jhunt87]

dare I ask how many $ your custom tarp is going to cost?

[NCPatrick]

With taped seams you won't need to seal it, so there's a weight savings of some extremely small magnitude.

[Tobit]

Never heard of seam sealing a cuben tarp...

Not everyone bonds/tapes their cuben seams. Some manufacturers still sew their seams. Bonding is indeed a much stronger solution especially where high sustained winds are always expected. However, a sewn seam, even with cuben is fine for my needs so long as it is done properly. Any silicone based sealer actually works fine with cuben.

dare I ask how many $ your custom tarp is going to cost?

$170

[NCPatrick]

I'm just wondering if taped seams would be the easier, cheaper, lighter and stronger way to go... sounds like you've got a good plan anyway.

[Redwood Guy]

@Tobit,

Great to hear that you and Joe hooked up!

John

[Tobit]

Joe just informed me that my minimalist cuben tarp has been completed and shipped. Again, this is a 11' x 6.5' modified diamond constructed out of .51 oz. cuben material. The tarp also features a slight beak on the end. Final weight before seam sealing came it at 3.5 oz. without rigging. Again, this probably isn't going to be bomber proof in heavy wind blown rains but I didn't want it for that. It should be fine, however, for downpours and rain without a lot of wind and should cover most of my needs for early spring through late fall. It should also serve as a sufficient ground tarp should I need it.

Here are some pictures taken by Joe while he was seam-sealing it for me.