HMG

That is great customer service, but the issue you describe is unfortunately normal for cuben including hybrid cuben.

Cuben’s inner mylar layer simply isn’t that tough and does degrade with use. Once the mylar fatigues/cracks/bubbles/delaminates after 200 or so days of use, then the spectra threads unavoidably snag and tangle everywhere.

FWIW, my wife’s Windrider did the same thing as yours, but it was about 2 years older. There may have been a batch problem where this was worse, but it’s a fact of life as cuben nears the end of it’s lifespan. The roll top design of HMG packs exacerbates this issue, because rolling cuben under tension is the quickest way to delaminate the mylar.

The spectra in hybrid cuben doesn’t add much to the fabrics utility in a pack (like it does for tents/tarps) because abrasion is ultimately what does in most pack fabrics. Xpac fabrics lack this spectra, but have a tougher inner plastic layer and this is optionally protected by a 50D nylon lining (on the VX fabrics). Thus, a fabric like XPac VX07 provides similar abrasion resistance as the hybrid cuben HMG uses, but will last longer on the inside as it has thicker plastic with a nylon protective lining. It’s a better and cheaper pack fabric.

which is exactly why I have modified my Terra Nova Ultra 20 cuben pack with a nylon inner liner (just used a stuffsack/pack liner :p )

Cuben requires a lot of care and planning imo. The liner in my pack, and the fact that I never plop my bags directly onto the ground, should keep my delicate cuben pack in nice shape. When sitting down, I throw down a Matador mini blanket that hangs on my pack strap and sit my bag and my butt down on that. never scuffing my pack on the rocks. When hiking I have a small ripstop nylon pack cover for bad areas, I added velcro for slippage issues.

with all this my pack is still super lite. The pack itself weighs an insane 3.9 ounces for 20L capacity (this is my hammock setup, overnight bag, good for 2 days and one night)

I love it. but I have to treat it really nicely, since a, they dont even make this bag anymore, and b, I resell a lot of my gear and want it to be in near new condition.

I used some cuben tape to reinforce some of the areas along the hip belt and straps as well. I can carry ten lb loads with comfort in an otherwise flimsy bag by adding an inflatable pack frame. and adding little pockets and other expansions

I had this happen to a cuben hybrid pack after about 4 months hard use. Not the right material for packs IMO. HMG does have great customer service though.