New Member a bit confused about the vast variety of fabrics used in tent/tarp construction.

30D ripstop nylon, coated/impregnated with silicone (usually on both sides) is THE standard tarp and tent material among weight conscious companies.

It's pretty strong, fairly durable, fairly light weight, can source it cheaply, and the waterproof coating can easily be renewed.

Cuben fiber can be good too, but much more expensive. With cuben, i personally think .74 and 1 oz per sq/yd material are the safer bets if you're looking for more long term durability. Part of cuben's problem, especially in the super light weights, the films they use is very thin and easily punctured or degraded by abrasion and even some by just folding. The good news is that it's easy to tape patch.

I *think* the films used in .74 and 1 oz are slightly thicker, and so a bit more durable, but that just may be the case for the 1 oz which i know for sure uses a thicker film. But then again, if you use 1 oz cuben, you're not saving much weight over silnylon which typically weighs somewhere between 1.3 and 1.5 oz per sq/yd, but spending A LOT more if you make your own tarp or tent.

However, cuben does have the nice property of not soaking up water and getting heavy like silnylon can do, nor does it stretch, which can be both a good and bad thing depending. When silnylon gets soggy, it can over stretch to the point where you may have to readjust guy lines.

For a tent, or tarp, 1 oz cuben will be pretty bomber, won't ever have to re waterproof it, most likely won't have to patch it, and will stand up to UV damage better because the film they typically use is mylar aka polyester which is significantly more UV resistant than nylon. Cuben fiber was oriignally created and designed specifically for use as sail material for super expensive racing yachts, and so it needed to be able to take a lot of sun without degrading over much.

It's hard to say with any certainty, but a 1 oz cuben tarp or tent should last one a very long time while being waterproof the whole time. In the rare case of a possible puncture, as mentioned that can easily be patched with cuben tape.

But most around here like to go to the lighter weights of .54, .74, and sometimes even the .3 stuff (which i personally wouldn't ever use, not being a "gram weenie" as is the common term).

There are other fabrics sometimes used, such as EPIC, or in cheaper tents PU coated polyester (tend to be quite a bit heavier).

Yes, this site really should have the feature of sticky notes with all this general information outlined well in detail, at the top of the forum.

Justin – .74 cuben has the same Mylar layer as .51. Think it's .08, while 1.0 cuben uses a .18 Mylar film. If memory serves, the 1.0 has the same spectra content as .74 only the film is different. I would have to dig out my spec sheet from CubicTech to verify.

Either way, Justin is right that Silnylon("ripstop") is what most folks use.

Ryan

Justin, you broke down the spectrum perfectly. This is exactly what I needed and I agree completely about the sticky. I'll look into pricing for the Cuben but will more than likely settle on 30D ripstop until I have a pattern that I'm really satisfied with. Thanks again for clarifying everything.

Ryan, thanks for the added insight and the tech specs!

Steven, the material page is a great resource. I'll be bookmarking it !

Here's MLD's page about fabrics with photos and good explanations:

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/fabric.php

Thanks for the correction Ryan. I wasn't sure about the film thickness on the .74 stuff. Having a Solomid, i'm thinking i might want to invest in some cuben tape.

Not that you asked : )

but, if you want a tarp with two beaks, maybe a pyramid would be better – more protection against the elements

I wrote an article. There are good directions on the internet…

just a thought…

Ryan, and Justin, and company,

Since we're on the subject…

Is the thickness of the mylar layer the main determinant of a given cuben fabric's abrasion resistance, while the spectra content is the main determinant of the tensile strength?

In other words, is .74 cuben not much more abrasion resistant than 0.51 due to it having the same thickness of mylar layers even though it has substantially more spectra?

Thanks for any clarity on this topic!

"Is the thickness of the mylar layer the main determinant of a given cuben fabric's abrasion resistance, while the spectra content is the main determinant of the tensile strength?

In other words, is .74 cuben not much more abrasion resistant than 0.51 due to it having the same thickness of mylar layers even though it has substantially more spectra?"

I can't say for certain, but that's what makes sense to me. However, there might be some cases wherein a higher spectra count could possibly contribute to higher abrasion resistance, but only in the sense of the film already being abraded through in a certain area and whatever abrading it is now abrading the spectra… but in such a case, obviously that area is not completely water proof anymore and needs to be patched ASAP.

I hope someday to see a fabric that is woven out of dyneema, spectra or similar, in a simple, very tight weave, with microfiber dyneema/spectra/whatever brand, and then calendared to slightly fuse the fibers (with UHMWPE, you have to be very, very careful and specific with heat applied–just a little too over warm past a certain temp can really weaken it's properties).

Or, non calendared and treated with some kind of coating or bonding treatment. Actually, very little sticks to this material, but there is a non glue type bonder that can work with it, it's a polymer that fuses it together molecularly. Usually there is a two part process involved with these bonding agents.

Anyways, once something like this is created, say good bye to cuben fiber because cuben fiber will be pointless with all it's issues (which are all due to the thin films used). This stuff would be amazing and durable beyond belief. Would likely need some extra UV inhibitors, but other than that, could you imagine a material that weighs .5 oz per sq/yd that you will never need to patch, or worry about at all?

Jerry,
Could you send me a link to your article? I briefly searched your comments and was unable to find a link. Love to hear your thoughts on pro / con of pyramid vs tent tarp patterns and construction. It's my first shelter build so I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thanks again for the tips.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/myog_silnylon_floorless_2-person_tent.html

I've got a lot of feedback from people who have successfully done this like http://chrisroane.blogspot.com/2011/02/myog-10×10-pyramid.html

With a mid, all the edges are close to the ground so you get maximum protection from rain/wind

Center pole gives good headroom, like if it's raining a lot and you need to do stuff like arrange gear and cook. If you want to sleep next to a partner not so good, although you can tilt base of pole a bit to one side or you could make tent wider on one side.

Now, I just run zipper all the way to the top and cover the top with the peak reinforcing piece. And I just fold over the fabric on both sides and sew onto zipper – easier.

Jerry,
I checked out your pyramid tent, and I'm amazed. Thanks so much for sharing, I think I'm going to try and construct one for myself. It's elegant and simple, yet roomy and it looks great. I need to read over your articles again and draw up some plans. I might message you if I have any questions, thanks again!

Great! Like I said, quite a number of people have done that.

I think it's Ryan that uses a mid.

Oh, if you're doing a solo, I'm currently using a "half pyramid"

There's a rectangular area 9 feet x 4 feet on one side of the center pole, and on the other side of the pole I make it triangular to save a little weight.