cuben fiber, is it worth the extra money.

So his two big complaints on why cuben is inferior to silnylon is 1) it's loud when it rains, and 2) the mylar shows wrinkles from use. Also, it's more difficult to get a tight pitch than silnylon. Really?? That has not been my experience.

Ryan

Keith's a thoughful and humorous writer. I give him kudos for admitting that he uses cuben fibre for its weight benefits, but that he doesn't particularly care for it out of usability concerns and aesthetic considerations. His snare drum and worn out jeans analogies resonated with me.

As for ease of pitching, it depends on the shelter. Take a look at Chris Townsend's comparison of cuben and silnylon Trailstars. The latter has far more flexibility, which is one of the Trailstar's biggest selling points.

http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2012/03/trailstar-wars.html

There are a lot of factors that you must consider in the cuben vs silnylon debate. In my experience cuben has always been easier to pitch no matter the shelter. Tarps, hexamids, mids, etc. Different users will get different results. And I will put up with a loud 8 hrs of sleep for 14-15 hours of lighter hiking every day of the week. Either way, this debate is a pretty tired topic.

Ryan

Compared to spinnaker, both cuben and silnylon are like sleeping in a tomb. You can argue cuben is louder than silnylon – I'm sure it is a little – but the difference isn't minor unless you're a really light sleeper. When I've used spinnaker, I've thought 'geez this is loud' whereas when I use cuben (my solo shelter) vs. silnylon (my 2 person shelter) the thought of noise never occurs.