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Has anyone made a Cuben Fiber VBL suit?


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Home Forums Gear Forums Make Your Own Gear Has anyone made a Cuben Fiber VBL suit?

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  • #1260062
    Rusty Beaver
    BPL Member

    @rustyb

    Locale: Idaho

    I'm wondering just how light the simplest zip hoodless shirt/jacket and pants could be. Any guesses?

    I realize a simple Cuben Fiber VBL sack would be far easier to make but I want the ability to wear the VBL under my down jacket and pants while in my sleeping bag.

    #1620036
    drowning in spam
    Member

    @leaftye

    Locale: SoCal

    Just a wild guess, but my VBL suit is 3.2 ounces for the shirt and 3.0 ounces for the pants, so I'd guess about 1 ounce each for cuben fiber.

    #1620058
    Lynn Tramper
    Member

    @retropump

    Locale: The Antipodes of La Coruna

    Not including the zipper, for 1 oz you can use up to 3 yds of 0.33oz/yd cuben, which should be plenty.

    #1620099
    Rusty Beaver
    BPL Member

    @rustyb

    Locale: Idaho

    Eugene,

    What material is your suit made from?

    Lynn,

    Are you saying the jacket & pants combined would only require a total of 3 yards?

    Thanks,
    rusty

    #1620104
    drowning in spam
    Member

    @leaftye

    Locale: SoCal

    Mine is silnylon. Since cuben fiber is less than 1/3rd the weight of silnylon, it bears to reason that a cuben fiber suit would be about 1/3rd the weight.

    #1620151
    . .
    BPL Member

    @biointegra

    Locale: Puget Sound

    I don't think this isn't too far outside the spirit of this thread…

    Have any of you ever tried turning your rain gear inside out to use as a VBL? +0 oz. weight penalty and bonus points for multiple use, but I don't know how well it would work. It probably depends largely on how effective your DWR finish is.

    #1620156
    drowning in spam
    Member

    @leaftye

    Locale: SoCal

    It might work a little bit, but probably not in the way that you think…unless you have nonbreathable raingear.

    #1620259
    Sam Haraldson
    BPL Member

    @sharalds

    Locale: Gallatin Range

    Bill patterned and sewed some cuben vapor barrier booties some time back.

    http://ultraliteskunkworks.blogspot.com/2007/06/cuben-footies-vbls-022oz-pair.html

    * edited : I had spelled Bill's name wrong *

    #1620415
    Bill Fornshell
    BPL Member

    @bfornshell

    Locale: Southern Texas

    Thanks Sam for posting the link to my Blog.

    Here is the BPL thread for the Cuben Footies:

    Cuben FootiesCuben Footies Link

    I also made a pair of Cuben Rain / VB Pants:

    Cuben Rain VB Pants

    I made a Vest also out of Cuben but it turned out to tight and I recycled it into something else.

    #1620566
    Sam Haraldson
    BPL Member

    @sharalds

    Locale: Gallatin Range

    For some reason I was incapable of typing "Bill" and typed "Build" in my post – – a freudian slip perhaps?

    I didn't have a link to the cuben rain pants, thanks for posting that as that's a far closer response to the O.P.'s request.

    #1620741
    Rusty Beaver
    BPL Member

    @rustyb

    Locale: Idaho

    Thanks for the replies, everyone. And Bill, those pants look great! Thanks for the link. Question though. With no shoes on, can you get the pants on when the legs are buttoned up? For simplicities sake, and to save weight, I'd prefer to not have a zipper or buttons down there.

    #1620813
    Bill Fornshell
    BPL Member

    @bfornshell

    Locale: Southern Texas

    Hi Rusty,

    With my low hiking shoes I can get the pants on or off with the snaps closed if I take my time. You should make the legs just a bit wider if you don't want snaps or zippers

    The snaps are for more then one reason. I can unsnap a few of them to vent my lower legs as well as pull them up and sort of turn them into a pair of long shorts.

    If you recall from the "Pants" thread, Jhaura, offered to put snaps on something for me. Then within the last year he offered his snap machine for sale and I bought it. The next time I come across my Pants pattern I am going to make another pair and use those type of snaps. I will make the Pants so I can roll them up above the knee and use them as a pair of shorts.

    #1623982
    Sanad Toukhly
    BPL Member

    @red_fox

    I have a Silnylon VB suit. I think Silnylon is better suited for the job because it has some stretch, which allows for a bit more freedom of movement. A Cuben VB suit would probably be more awkward to move in.

    -Sid

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