cuben fiber, is it worth the extra money.

Agreed, if you're limited by money, save it for trips rather than gear. But if you have other options, there's no sin in buying cuben. After all, if you have the money, lighter gear can make the trips more fun. It certainly means my wife and I, with our aging bodies, can do longer trips thanks to cuben.
By the way, we get to the trailhead by bus, including 5 bus journeys of more than 12 hours already this year; it saves money for more expensive gear.

if you can afford it and want to buy (insert the latest and greatest) … all the power to you … in life though people often have competing priorities with mortgages, kids, payments, etc …

there is nothing wrong with spending $$$$$ on something as long as you use it well and it doesnt detract from you going out and using it …

but then one does have to realize that having $$$$$ gear doesnt make one any better, stronger, faster, etc … when you compare it against someone who spends less but goes out more to train … and im quite sure that there are other elderly gentlemen/women on this site who have a lot of fun without cuben gear …

"there is nothing wrong with spending $$$$$ on something as long as you use it well and it doesnt detract from you going out and using it …"

There are requirements that dictate whether spending more money is right or wrong?

well if you dont use it much in the closet and keep on posting it on gear swap when the next greatest thing comes along … thats up to you ;)

I suspect we're more in agreement than disagreement. I know that "$$$$$ gear doesnt make one any better, stronger, faster, etc … when you compare it against someone who spends less but goes out more to train". For me (and my wife, fortunately), it's about getting out into the mountains and having fun, and the lighter our gear, the more fun we have, particularly as we prefer multi-day trips. I've always been a skinny runt and don't like hauling a heavy load. Others are different.
I also agree that "people often have competing priorities with mortgages, kids, payments, etc". My wife and I chose not to have kids, we don't own a car and we didn't buy a house until we were in our 40s, so a mortgage wasn't a problem. We also both work. These choices mean that although our wages are below the equivalent of the minimum wage in Britain, we have the money for both cuben and as many trips as we have time for. Other people chose other lives and other sacrifices.
It just seemed to me that your initial post was being rather absolutist: you can spend money on gear and still have money for trips without being loaded. Cuben gear is much cheaper than a car , for example. As you say, it comes down to priorities.

Eric, do you ever get tired of posting the same thing in every thread? It's either:

1. "Get the pack the fits you best"
2. "Don't spend money on lighter gear."
3. "I got my puffy jacket at Old navy."

Seriously, It's good advice, but you aren't really contributing much when your post history is the same thing over and over on a site that is about lightweight backpacking.

I suspect we're more in agreement than disagreement.

i dont disagree with you there … if you choose to give up other things then buy away … as long as gear is used well, thats what matters

there does seem to be a relentless buy the new shiny gear and then post it on gear swap latter on this site though … personally the people who do the most outside that i know tend to just use their gear till it goes poofy or gets very well worn … unless they are sponsored ;)

one question which i think would help greatly is to ask yourself how many trips are you giving up because of a new piece of gear? … maybe its none, maybe its alot

my approach shoes have been well loved for the last 3 years, and i was in MEC the other day looking at a new pair, but then i told myself that i can make these last the rest of the season … and that it was equivalent gas money for a weeks worth of climbing …

who knows, maybe i wont be able to climb as hard as someone with shiny new gear because of it

what does this have to do with cuben? … to the OP are you giving up anything because of it? …

Eric, do you ever get tired of posting the same thing in every thread?

nope because its often … what is the best pack for me that i have never tried on … how much warmer will a minimally different down jacket be … how much better will a tarp/bag/pack that weights a few oz lighter be …

its the person that matters … the gear is secondary

You can pay more for a dyneema x gridstop pack that weighs 4 times as much, you just have to be aware of companies that offer good deals (like Zpacks).

Cuben is minimalist, it might now last you the rest of your life but those few seasons you get out of it you may enjoy.

Now the cuben hybrid stuff should last a longgg time as long as you are somewhat careful.

I am sorry for not responding but my dang in-laws are in town this weekend and been having a hard time getting away lol. I didn't get to read everything on the 2nd page I will do so later and respond better, but just skimming over it and responding now.

Right now I have a gregory baltaro 75 which weighs close to 6 lbs I think so I definitely need a new bag. I am not giving anything up by getting cuben i just want to make sure im getting what i pay for. Like I don't want to pay a premium to buy something that will only last a year. Thanks to all your help I think I did decide on getting a cuben fiber tarp just trying to figure out about the pack now. I will read everything later and get back to you all, thanks for all the advice and words of wisdom.

I think its best designed for tarps since its lightweight, strong, and doesn't stretch. Its down fall is that its translucent and turns your shelter into a greenhouse.. Tarps are not as bad, but fully enclosed shelters feel like sauna's and its actually hotter inside then out during the middle of the day. So if you hike all day and only rest under tree's you will love a cuben tarp/shelter but never plan to take a nap under one unless its winter.. For backpacks, I am not a fan of standard cuben fiber. The hybrid stuff is ok.. If you were to compare Weight vs. Durability vs. Cost, my current thinking is Xpac is the best backpack material and a 30d Silicone Coated Polyester is the best shelter material. At the end of the day though, who cares what you have as long as your out there enjoying the great outdoors.. If you can afford it and it suits your needs buy it, if not don't worry about it.. I hope this helps.

"Its down fall is that its translucent and turns your shelter into a greenhouse."

That may be a bad thing if you are in Florida. It may be a good thing if you are in Fairbanks or even Seattle.

–B.G.–

Cuben fiber, is it worth the extra money

Who can say. To some people it seems worth it, to others it doesn't seem worth it. One thing I can say though, is a thread like this, is shark bait for the bearbreeder.

"One thing I can say though, is a thread like this, is shark bait for the bearbreeder."

Ya gotta admit it's fun to chum him in and then sit back and watch him do his thing. Wait until the middle of winter, when people get bored and seasonally disaffected. Like clockwork, about once a week someone'll toss a herring(red) in the water, just to get him going. Very predictable. ;0)

"…a 30d Silicone Coated Polyester is the best shelter material."

Lawson,
Please tell me where one can buy 30d silcoat polyester that is not crinkly sailcloth.
Thanks,
Sam

"IMHO Cuben fiber is for gram counters who have better than average income and hike trials only. They buy new equipment every year. Their the super ultra light backpackers who get caught up in the whirlwind of hype."

I make about $.75 above minimum wage working seasonally at a park, and I'm a welder for a railroad construction contractor in winter making barely double that (in horrible conditions). I work in a brewery making minimum wage to fill in the rest of the season.

The only cuben fiber I use are stuffsacks and a 7×9 tarp, and I'm still at a 5.4lb baseweight. Can't lump everybody into one category.

I have a tarp and tent stake bag. Other than that I don't own anything cuben and to be honest the tarp stays at home most of the time. I may sell it.

For me… and my priorities it is overpriced and it isn't necessarily better than nylon. Nylon stretches better which has some advantages under load.

I have 10 stuff sacks, 2 food bags, a backpack, 2 tarps, and a bivy- all made of cuben. I made them all and they are working great and are super light and durable, nothing has any wear or damage. I love the stuff, and my gear was made for very reasonable prices. The only thing I bought that I didn't make out of cuben is a hexanet, expensive and I think a silnylon floored hexanet would be just as good or better due to puncture resistance. It all comes down to money, weight, durability and opinion when choosing gear, if cuben was cheaper per yard than sil, than silnylon stuff sacks would be extinct.

KC have I please take a look at your gear list.

Like really man, link? ;)

I have 4 Tarptent tents and one Gossamer Gear tent. And I have always been going to the Hexamid tent. I keep taking it for the following reasons:

1. Mine is 8.0oz with my seam sealing and no extended beak. That’s an ‘average’ of 20oz less than other one man tarp tents.
2. It packs so much smaller. That’s a big help.
3. In those high condensation situations, the cuben attracts/holds much less water on the walls than silnylon.
4. The cuben dries faster than silnylon.
5. It is so nice not having to worry about stretch. In humidity-laden nights (which I get a lot in the Rockies), silnylon sags and lays on the bag.
6. This is related to the above but it is much easier to sop up the morning dew on cuben.

Other items I noticed:
1. I don’t see cost as that big of an issue. You’ll be spending $10 to $100 more for all the bonuses above.
2. Wear and tear has been nil on dozens of nights out (I lost track).

-BarryP
-The mountains were made for Teva’s

Thanks to plantar fasciitis keeping me off the trails this summer, I won't know the answer to this question until this time next year (Lord willing–gotta add that caveat at my age). I do plan to do some late-fall camping (I've just started short dayhikes, so don't want to backpack for a while yet) and early spring backpacking in my brand-new, as yet untried (except in the back yard) Hexamid Twin to test it out.

Guest Post: Cuben Fibre – cracking stuff? By Keith Foskett

I agree with Jacob D and Nick, and focused first on eliminating all extraneous stuff from my kit. I am not SUL, but cut the load by well more than 1/2 doing this alone.

Now I play. I just got my firt cuben piece, an MLD bivy with cuben bottom. It is a nice piece of gear and shaves a couple ounces off my last bivy (got a new bivy because I am now sleeping on the large neoair and it wouldn't fit into the old one) but not sure I get much else though I like it alot and there is a wow factor among our little cadre of gear heads.

But should it come down for to $$ to go on more trips or $$ for another piece of cuben gear, then I am going on trips.

That said, my wife asks "what do you want for Christmas?". And since I asked for (nearly 10 years ago) and received a lifetime "kitchen pass", true to form I start thinking of a new piece of gear…been eyeing the cuben version of the MLD poncho tarp.

There seems to be an assumption that the only lightweight choice is between Cuben and silnylon. But Cuben comes in different thicknesses of mylar, and the quality of silnylon is all over the lot. Assuming, if you can, comparison of the Cuben and silnylon materials that are the best and most suitable for a particular use, there are a host of pluses and minuses for each that have been discussed at length on this and many other threads. The feeling seems to be that these can be weighed, the trade-offs considered, and a decision made.

However, that ignores that there may be more choices to be considered, and I'm not thinking of sailcloth with a 'hard' finish. There is no reason why low denier Dupont 6,6 nylon cannot be given a softer finish coat that is highly water resistant and will also resist sag, nor should polyesters that do not sag be ruled out just because they are not quite as strong as nylon. Nor is it impossible for more high tech fibers to be woven into fabric.

So there may well be excellent materials available or in development that will be superior to both Cuben and the current 30D silnylon for outdoor use. Keep this in mind before laying out a bundle for a Cuben item, particularly one that will be more subject to abrasion and/or elongation of stitch holes in seams. Moreover, there are silnylons already currently available, like that sold by Thru-Hiker, that are much more water resistant, sag less, and can be incorporated in tent designs that make it easy to tighten the canopy and/or are framed in a way to reduce the effects of sag on the occupant.

So this is a website about a gear-intensive activity, and a forum about that gear. Aren't we supposed to be talking about the latest and greatest thing we want and may (or may not) be able to buy or make? Or how to find a cheap puffy at wal mart? But we're nerds here…goodness gracious we sew our own stuff and make stoves out of cat food cans!!

So what's wrong with debating the pros and cons of different materials and their worth and their benefits and faults…

I'm learning a ton hanging out here trying to lighten my pack (and, ahem, my bank account), but it's fun. What's wrong with that?

And even if the gear hangs in the closet never to be used, to be sold to some lucky sod such as myself in mint condition on gear swap, who cares? Maybe that person just likes the stuff. If it's so offensive, pick a less gear-intensive sport and stop being a Luddite.

So there.

Cheers!

I don't own Cuben kit, I do plan to buy it at some stage.

Have a read of this

http://terrybnd.blogspot.com/2012/09/guest-post-cuben-fibre-cracking-stuff.html#more