Cuben Fiber Tree Straps?

[Fire-Bug]

Thanks for the feedback, northermark. Thought you might find this interesting as well, it was posted under a different, but similar thread by FLRider...

The dyneema fibers in the Cuben fiber are sandwiched between mylar films. The mylar holds them in a particular orientation, which is what gives the material its strength. Mylar is notably not abrasion-resistant compared to a (relatively thick) polyester strap. Once that mylar is damaged, the fibers may wind up going in any direction, causing a catastrophic failure.

Which is what happens most often with Cuben tarps, stuffsacks, and packs: it isn't a burst-style failure from overloading the material's tensile strength, it's an hole or holes rubbed in the material from abrasion causing the fibers around it/them to go every-which-way. Now you're talking about putting this material into an high-abrasion environment (think about it rubbing on rough bark every time you get into or out of the hammock, or even when the wind blows and rocks the hammock). Plain and simple, I wouldn't. Cuben is a wonderful material in pull strength and waterproofness for weight. It isn't a cure-all, though.

TL;DR: Don't use Cuben for this application. It ain't suited for it.


Maybe. The nylon shell will be more abrasion resistant than the Cuben, for sure. On the other hand, it won't be any more abrasion resistant than a (relatively-thick) polyester strap, it will stretch at a different rate than the underlying material, and may very well wind up being heavier on the whole than a straight poly strap.

This is one of those things that would need to be tried somewhere with a decent landing pad, and won't be cheap (considering the cost of Cuben, especially hybrid Cuben, versus polyester). I'd look forward to seeing the results of it.

[Rain Man]

Give some consideration to skydiving harness webbing. 1 to 3 inches wide, and takes the opening shock of a 200 lb body falling at over 100 mph!

Ahhhh, now you raise the whole issue of intended uses of "dynamic" lines vs. "static" lines. What works in one usage may totally fail in another. Just be aware.

Rain Man

.

[DemostiX]

I was just in climbing gear store. I saw nothing that has changed my comment in this thread found in #3. If you are willing to spend, then Dyneema slings can be found in the market, at a price, and offering more strength than needed. Maybe someone like Dutch could be persuaded to get a strap maker to sew them, 1-2" wide from Dymeema strapping thin enough to reduce strength, weight and price.

18 months into this thread, I still don't find such UHDPE strapping, which would save about 2oz / 50g compared to polyester.

[QiWiz]

Cuben is irrelevant to this. It is a dyneema-fiber reinforced thin film. Pick your favorite fiber from which to weave straps. The only ones to consider are those cordage is already made of, since tensile strength is the primary parameter.

Actually, the right thickness of cuben would be quite tear-resistant and strong, though abrasion might still be an issue. Joe at ZPacks has some video that demonstrates how hard it is to tear (not puncture) the thicker cuben material. You can buy some thicker 1.4 oz/yd2 and even 2.9 oz/yd2 from him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gfcu...eature=channel