Not only are they lighter but they are more comfortable in my opinion. Cuben hammocks lay flatter which keeps your back flat. I get a much better night sleep in one plus they don't put pressure on your shoulders..
I hope all of you have better luck with your cuban hammocks than I've had.
I converted a Cuben tarp (0.58oz material) into a double bottom hammock, and loved it.
But- after a couple of dozen nights in the woods, it started getting abrasion
holes in the top layer. So I patched the holes and turned it back into a tarp.
So waht caused the holes? your pad or quilt or clothes inside the hammock or the 2 layers rubbing together or a rough surfaced pad between the 2 layers?
What could you have inside the hammock that would abrade holes in the bottom/ I've read that cuben is subject to abrasion.
"Hanging in the balance of a perfect finished plan"
Ya, I'm interested in the rest of the story. You may be doing something that I do, and that would be a bad thing if I did decide to get a cuben hammock.
I suspect it was my cloths rubbing on the Cuben as I move around.
Especially getting in and out, as that involves sitting, swiveling on my
butt, then lying down, and then sitting up, swiveling on my butt,
and getting out. It may also have to do with the top layer gripping
(to some degree) the foam pad, and the sheering force generated by
my movements.
Hopefully it is a personal problem and others will not have the same issues.
Last edited by Oh-No; 04-13-2010 at 18:20.
I think there are a few places cuben work and hammocks are one of them. I have absolutely no abrasion on mine but I also used a heavier weight cuben for durability reasons..... I was going to use the .50oz stuff but then I thought why push the envelop when the .75oz stuff works so great... Are you sure you don't have the .48oz stuff....They make a .33oz, .48oz, .50oz, .75oz and many more heavy weights..The really light stuff feels like a grocery bag...How many nights do you have in it?
It's been 5 or 6 years but IIRC when I weighed it before I made a tarp out of it, it was about 0.52 oz/sqyd. I said I had about 12 nights in it, but after thinking about it some more, I probably have 20-25 nights in it.
On another note- I read where duct tape is recommended to patch holes.
That will work but it's heavy (hey I'm a gram weenie) I have found that
for small punctures scotch tape works great. Just don't try and apply it if
the Cuben is wet. As a test I put a piece of scotch tape on a scrap piece of
cuben and submerged the whole thing in a glass of water. A week later the
scotch tape was still stuck on. It was easily pulled off but was still sticking.
Just a thought here about the issue of abrasion you had on the converted cuben tarp hammock..
You said it was double layer right? Wouldn't any dirt/grit/sand that got in between the layers be a big source of abrasion under the stress of laying in it? Grit sandwiched between two taunt layers of cuben would wreak havoc on it if you moved around.
That would be my guess. I'm no hammock expert, but I wouldn't think making a double layer cuben hammock would be a good idea unless it was completely sealed.
To all the back sweaters out there.... You know who you are.... Especially those who tried to make pads work and got tired of the clammy and or down right wet back sides... There is a darn good reason for breathable bedding material.
But hey... YMMV.
Pan
Ounces to Grams.
www.jacksrbetter.com ... Largest supplier of camping quilts and under quilts...Home of the Original Nest Under Quilt, and Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock. 800 595 0413
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