Is Cuban Fiber delicate?

**leaftye** · 01-12-2014, 02:04

Did the tear happen at a seam? That's likely to happen if the seam was sewn too close to the edge.

**SoundWitness** · 01-12-2014, 10:14

Cuben is a laminated fabric that was marketed for the yachting and sailing industry. Although it is rip resistant, it is not rip proof. I would be interested to know what weight your tarp is. Obviously the lighter the weight, say .34 oz/sqyd, it doesn't take much to puncture it.......

**OutandBack** · 01-12-2014, 12:50

Did you take picts of the damage? I'd love to see it.
Have you contacted the vendor?

**lazy river road** · 01-12-2014, 16:24

I'd say yes its delicate. However ive been using cuben tarps for a few years now and my only tear was when I tore it accidentally at one of the corner tie outs. But Ive rubbed against it with my back several times when and never had any problems. Can you post a pic and or give some more details on the spot where the tarp ripped? Would cuben tape fix it?

**lazy river road** · 01-12-2014, 16:31

P.S. I know some do however IMHO I would never use a cuben tape over a bridge. Seen and heard of the spreader bar tearing through a side wall again not saying people don't don't do it successfully just to risky for my likings.

**SilvrSurfr** · 01-12-2014, 17:28

I've been using cuben fiber tarps for two years. I treat them as if they're delicate and have had no issues. There was one night in dime-sized hail that really gave me the pucker factor, but the tarp came through with flying colors.

**packdaddy** · 01-12-2014, 19:05

I will post some pics once I speak to the manufacturer. I pushed against it with the side of my face and the corner of my glasses popped right through. It was not on the seam. As for the weight, it is one of the heaver ones.

I was also kinda pissed to have the plastic ring attached to the ridgeline break as I was securing the last tie down. But it is replaced easy enough. And there is a spot that was discolored on the tarp also. Not a real big deal but It just all added up to not a very good experience for a tarp that I have been waiting over a year to pull the trigger on.

**hangnout** · 01-12-2014, 21:42

I have had a cuben tarp since 2007 and it is still going strong. i have learned a few things by trial and error

On a silnylon tarp you usually crank the heck out of it because it is going to stretch and then you get it even tighter. With the cuben tarp it just needs to be tight enough to take the sag out and stop. If you stretch it real tight it is prone to "slicing" easily like it did with your glasses. You need a little give in the setup. Since the D-ring broke also I would say it was pretty tight.

The good thing is that it can be field repaired easily but a silnylon tarp is hard to fix in the field.

**Acer** · 01-12-2014, 21:53

I melted my cuben tarp twice in the hot summer months and Adam fixed it once,,the second time, it was so separated due to delamination at the RL tie outs and side tie outs even, that it was beyond repair. Both times sent it back to Adam of HG,,and he was fantastic about working with me on it. But..in my honest opinion, you need to keep cuben out of the direct hot sun during a sunny summer day with it pitched and hung tightly. I also rubbed small pin holes in one side with my BMBH UL spreader bars once, and repaired it that time with some tape from Zpacks, then covered the ends of the spreader bars from then on out with some ethafoam protecting pads on the ends, then later Paul of AHE made rubber pieces for placing on spreader bars ends of which I now use on all 3 bridge hammocks I own. Cuben has to be babied in my book but I am still using it and swapping out to silnylon in the summer months if in direct sunlight and heat. .51 is delicate in my book,,not sure about .74 weight.

**Cranky Bear** · 01-12-2014, 22:18

Originally Posted by Knotty

I consider it fragile. The first time I hiked with someone with a new Cuben tarp I was concerned about his bridge hammock spreader bars. Sure enough, next morning there was a hole in it. Yes, we had a bad storm that night but that's when you need your tarp the most. Not saying to stay away from this material. You just need to understand what you're working with.

Ha I remember that.....it was my tarp on the pre-hike into Mahha. That was the same pre-hike that I set my tarp up waaaaaaay wrong and the entire end of my hammock and foot-box of my quilt got soaked. What a awesome hike that was, the folks I got to hike with were truly awesome, that was one of my most memorable hikes...I sat back down in my GrizzBridge after getting up to water the bushes and at the same moment I sat down back in the hammock a huge gust of wind hit my tarp broadside and I heard a loud "POP".

Duct tape was my friend and worked great. That was until WV (one of the most awesomest people ever) gave me some cuben repair tape that he made himself, after I taped it up it was hard to find where it happened.