NEW!!-Gossamer Gear CubicTwinn – 5.5oz

Very nice……….so when are you going to get one?

So what variant of cuben is CTF3? Is that the 0.33oz stuff? That doesn't sound right.

The most recent product list I have from CT is 11/10, and does not have anything like this. It does note that "F" denotes "flouride film."
Maybe someone will have to contact GG for an answer.

I'm not getting one Ray, but a CubicShelter or a Cubic One perhaps! I do want to move to Cuben Fiber from Spinn as it is mist free (Sil) and quiet (Spinn) not to mention light! It sure is pricey though.

Dan,

CTF3 is just another name for Cuben Fiber that manufacturers have been using. That is what Granite Gear calls it anyway…

CubicShelter, CubicShelter, CubicShelter!

Waiting, Watching, Wanting.

I don't know anything about thier spec sheet but I est. the weight of fabric at ~2/3oz per sqyd (.63 outta the calculator) assuming:

1)they use the same amount of fabric in all three 'twin shelters
and
2) non-fabric components weigh same (tieout reinforcements, grossgrain…) in all three

James

"CTF3 is just another name for Cuben Fiber that manufacturers have been using."

I remember now that Granite Gear is calling their drybags CTF3, and I know they are using 0.51oz CT1K.08, so presumably Gossamer Gear is using the same variant.

I too would love to see them do the SpinnShelter in cuben. There are already quite a few cuben tarps on the market, but there's not anything quite like the SpinnShelter.

Oh man… I want a cuben tarp. Hard to justify buying one when I already have a silnylon tarp that refuses to die.

I think it would be helpful to compare the CubicTwinn with the MLD Grace Duo and BPL Stealth Nano. Here are some quick numbers from their websites:

Dimensions (ridgeline, front width, rear width)
CubicTwinn: 117", 110", 83"
Grace Duo: 111.6", 108", 93.6"
Stealth Nano: 108", 102", 68"

Weight:
CubicTwinn: 5.5 oz
Grace Duo: 7.7 oz
Stealth Nano: 4.95 oz

Price:
CubicTwinn: $335
Grace Duo: $275
Stealth Nano: $330

MLD and BPL claim no need for seam sealing, GG… I don't see anything about that yet (I'm in a bit of a hurry, so maybe I just missed it).

The dimensions are all reasonably close between the three. Looks like the deciding factor would be price (MLD the winner), weight (BPL the winner, but not by much over GG), and how much you want to seal the seams.

Ryan, you left out zpacks.com cuben tarps.

http://zpacks.com/shelter/tarps.shtml

Ryan,

I may be comparing apples and oranges here but consider the 100% bonded 9’x9′ 7.65oz cuben fiber flat tarp from Mountainfitter. It uses CT2K.08 .75oz cuben fiber. The tarp has a flat ridgeline with catenary cut edges to keep everything tight. It has military grade spur grommets and grosgrain at all the tie out points. Being 100% bonded it shouldn’t require seam sealing.

It sells for $279.95 and is currently out of stock but so is the BPL Stealth Nano.

The Mountainfitter Paklight tarp has a ridgeline of 108″ with a front and rear width of the same 108″ dimension.

If my math is correct the CubicTwinn covers 78 square feet, the Grace Duo covers 78.12 square feet, The Stealth Nano covers 63.75 square feet and the Mountainfitter Paklight covers 81 square feet.

It is lighter than the Grace Duo, 7.65 oz vs 7.7 oz. It costs $4.95 more than the Grace Duo but $50.05 less than the Stealth Nano and $55.05 less than the CubicTwinn.

Also FWIW on Gossamer Gear’s site for the CubicTwinn it says, “5.5 oz. (156 g.) – tarp before seam-sealing”. Look for it under the specs column on the CubicTwinn Tarp page.

Party On,

Newton

Cubic Tech is trying to get manufacturers to use the CTF3 name since they don't own the cuben fiber name anymore. I don't think its catching on too well because people ask me all the time why I use CTF3 instead of regular old cuben fiber. I suggested they start using the name "Cubic Fiber" since it actually sounds pretty close to the same maybe even better. I hope this sheds some light on the CTF3 name.

Thanks Lawson. That does shed some light.

Regarding the other competing tarps available, I believe the MLD one appears heavier because the weight includes a bunch of LineLoc3's, which add weight but are quite nice to use and they can be user deleted to save an ounce or so. The other portion of the additional weight is due to the stronger 0.74oz cuben (rather than 0.51oz). I believe this heavier cuben is used by MLD, BPL and MountainFitter and it contains twice the spectra that the tarps from GG and Zpacks use. Which fabric is right for you likely depends on your intended use. Personally I think the extra spectra is a good use of an ounce.

Another competing tarp is the HMG Echo II Tarp which is $300, 7.1oz and 102" x 102" x 78" and uses 0.74oz cuben. This tarp is a good one to consider if you might possibly be interested in additional components of their Echo system down the road.

the brooks range rocket uses CT3 … any relation?

hmmmmm

"I believe the MLD one appears heavier because the weight includes a bunch of LineLoc3's, which add weight but are quite nice to use and they can be user deleted to save an ounce or so."

Joe Valesko at zPacks was kind enough to make me a bunch of linelocs on a light grossgrain loop so I could add the linelocs (which I really like) to any shelter/tarp that didn't have them (including his). I find them invaluable! I just slide the grossgrain attached to the lineloc through the shelter's guyout loop, run the lineloc through its own grossgrain, and voila!

.

The GG weight includes linelocks according to their site.

Doug, that is a great idea! Joe ought to make those a regular item.

me likes that idea :)

The idea was entirely Joe's! I wanted linelocs on my Hexamid Twin. He recommended these instead. Fortunately I recognized the brilliance of his suggestion!

That really is a great idea. I will have to remember those next time I place an order with them…

is there only one size for the lineloc3 style tensioner? where can i find these for purchase?

“where can i find these for purchase?”

Here

-John and John, thanks for pointing those out. I was in a hurry and on my way out the door when posting that, and I didn't know of the mountainfitter and zpacks tarps. I'll have to take a look at those, too. Zpacks seems to be the one with the most inexpensive cuben stuff these days.

My point was just that there are a bunch of options now, but most of them only differ very slightly. Makes the decision making process a little harder, I think. That's good for people like me who want to put off spending money as long as possible :)

Before the christmas, i had order three tarps, two 9' X 9' and one in 11' x 9' from Lawson.
They are using 1.4oz cuben in black color, using lineloc, all materials are bonded together so no need to seam seal.

The total weight of the 9' x 9' tarp is about 15oz, i believed that if using 0.75oz cuben, the weight will cut in a half.
Excellent craftmanship and reasonable price.

Thanks Lawson.

Photo taken by: Cheng Wing Hoi

"where can i find these for purchase?"

Here"

ah thanks doug. they hid those pretty well. but ah yes.. gossamer gear and their unreasonable shipping prices. I remember this from when i bought a 1/8 pad and polycro groundsheet. They want $9.50 to ship a $2.50 and probably .5oz set of lineloc's.. ridiculous..