Z-packs Blast 26

Steven,
You BETTER show us some pictures of your fully loaded pack next time you head out !!!
Can't wait to see it in action!

Thanks !!!
Kevin

there was some discussion (and complaints on my part) that Zpacks didnt make the article.. even tho Joe has been making them for what, 4 years?
I talked to Joe and he told me its 1oz/yard cuben. He also said that the durability is jeopardized at lighter weights. My blast has survived tons of Catsclaw Mimosa and Shrub Wild Oak with minor "shedding" I patched a hole with duct tape miles ago and its fine. I think the average hiker who doesnt bushwhack for a living should fare quite well with this pack. (plus, Joe will do custom work, like cuben tarps and odd sized packs – he made a blast 16 that i use for sub 4 hikes)

Mike, you said –
"I talked to Joe and he told me its 1oz/yard cuben."

From his web site under Materials –

"~1.5 oz/sqyd Cuben Fiber fabric. This is the material used in the "Blast" backpacks. It has more than twice the spectra thread count of the .6 oz version, and has a thicker membrane as well. It has high tensile strength, and very good abrasion and puncture resistance. Much stronger than sil-nylon or the .6 oz fabric."

And before I found it on his site I emailed about weight to which he responded "1.5, not the lightweight cuben of the stuff sacks."

the blast 26 and the z1 are identical. neither comes stock with a waist belt. so the weights for each pack sans waist belt (all other things being exactly equal, besides the fabric) is:
z1 – 4.2oz
blast – 3.9
this means that if the sil is 1.3, there is no way the cuben can be 1.5
he told me in person it was 1oz/yard. maybe this has changed and his website needs to reflect this. I dunno. call him to be sure.

Being the gear junkie that I am, I actually have some 1oz/yd and some 1.5oz/yd cuben. While I agree with Michaels logic (because it makes sense), comparing the 2 fabrics to the fabric of the pack, it seems that the pack is 1.5oz/yd…but really it's tough to tell. Does Joe post on these boards to resolve this great mystery?

Zpacks website says it's ~1.5 so that was estimated. It's probably a little less?