Zpacks < 2 oz Cuben Fiber Day Pack

Wow… can the 0oz pack be far behind?

The straps look wider than the usual Zpack straps — they look as wide as Gossamer Gear straps?!? Are they?

2.5" wide straps at the top.

Thanks, Roleigh.

The straps on my beloved Zpack Z1 are 2" in width. They are very comfy. Wonder why he chose to widen them when aiming for the lightest pack in the world?

The straps on all of the packs have been 2.5" wide for a few years now. Benjamin has one of the "original" packs, they have changed quite a bit over the years.

Cool. But why?

It's a stuff sack with shoulder straps.

Exactly, David. If you have an existing stuff sack you carry that is 1 oz, now you have the opportunity for an extra .9 oz to carry a real day pack you can use for side-ventures while on the trail without feeling super guilty for carrying extra weight.

Okay – except for water intensive foray's, I would expect. I wonder, can the fabric be dyed?

It's blue to begin with, if you want something darker, the silnylon version is $20 cheaper and is only 2 oz, and comes in 3 colors, all 3 darker. As for dying the Cuben fiber, I'd ask Joe that.

David… I've sealed both my Zpacks and MLD cuben stuff sacks and my MLD DuoMid with Seam-Grip and they are 100% waterproof except for the tiny opening where they close.

Also, I'll be attempting to dye some cuben fiber over the next few weeks and will post if I have reasonable success. The most promising chemical/dye I've found may not be the best for the fabric itself, but a bit of testing will tell.

John, out of curiosity, will the Henry Shires recipe for seamsealing tarptents (mix of silicone caulk II from GE plus mineral spirits at a ratio blended to make a thick paint), will that work fine on cuben fiber seams? I'm curious because I have some spare fiber and am thinking of making pant chaps like the MLD chaps for rain protection for the legs. What type of thread would you use for Cuben Fiber, would ordinary carpet/button thread be your choice?

Roleigh… Ron Bell told me to use Seam-Grip on the DuoMid seams, and not to use Sil-Net. To me that means that the Seam-Grip will work better, be stronger, and be more waterproof on cuben/Spectralite. I've never looked into sewing cuben, just taping, so I can't give a solid answer on that.

"Benjamin has one of the "original" packs…"

I see. I will reference this if ever I sell my Zpack collectors item. :)

"David… I've sealed both my Zpacks and MLD cuben stuff sacks and my MLD DuoMid with Seam-Grip and they are 100% waterproof except for the tiny opening where they close. "

Sorry John – I meant carrying water.

David:

I am confused by your questions. Were you really asking about using a 2oz pack on a "water intensive foray"? Or you were simply stating that a 2oz pack is fine — except for water intensive foray?

Yes…… ;)

It was suggested that this would make a good daypack. My comment was that it might (although looks sparse to me) but not for days in which you are carrying a lot of water. Just my opinion of course.

Yup. I see this pack as an added option to a hiker's "backpack arsenal". For a warm day trip where water is plentiful, why not enjoy using a 2oz backpack? My fanny pack weighs 8oz.!

Or perhaps as a summit pack.

Yes, you can add that to your arsenal as well.

Ben.
The Gear Enabler.

Heh heh.

What's your credit card number….

Thanks for the company reminder. I just ordered up a tiny (sub 1000 cube) pack for this summer's big trip. :)