Lately I've been having a battle with myself and my Wallet. I currently have an eno profly rain tarp but I'm looking to cut some weight and also increase the size. When I found hammockgears cuben fiber rain tarps I instantly fell in love. I thought I would post and get some opinions! Should I spend the money on them or maybe go with warbonnets cloudburst or superfly?
Just looking at your equipment, I'd say you have a lot of weight loss to do. I'm not sure the HG would help much right now.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Just my personal view, as a backpacker, oh yes. Every time I pick mine up I giggle. Also the no stretch factor. If my house was burning down my priorities for saving would run in the order of wife, dog, winter palace.
The tarp itself would probably be the most expensive piece of gear to reduce some weight. Make sure this fits your budget in weight loss ratio.
Also your camping style needs to be addressed. The Cuben Tarps let in a lot of light. If you're under the tarp well into the daylight, this may not be the best choice if you're sensitive to the bright light above your face while in the hammock. You can reduce a lot more weight for the same price changing your other gear.
If the daylight is of no concern, go for it. This way, you're done with the most expensive aspect of weight reduction. Try out a few different size tarps at group hangs to see if you still want the large coverage. If so, just get the largest Cuben Tarp available to make sure you're absolutely satisfied with the coverage.
Enjoy and have fun with your family,before they have fun without you
I don't own cuben, so I might not be the best to respond, but here's my thoughts. I love a lot of gear I see. But I don't buy (most of) it.I think that if you you backpack far enough distance over a period of time longer than one or two nights on a regular basis, you'll see the "need" to justify the cost for the weight savings and it won't even be a question for you. Otherwise, there are many other lightweight fabrics that will leave enough change in your pocket for other gear. That being said, if you already have a complete set up your happy with and just looking for new things to try out, go for it. If you find that it isn't as necessary as you thought it would be, you'll be able to recover almost all your investment if you sell it in the FS section here.
That may be your serious face, but I can't take you seriously with it on. -- Puppet, The Upside Down Show
how often do you backpack? how far do you hike? I haven't purchased cuben yet because I don't hike very far nor very often. If I found myself going out more often and for longer distances I might spring for the cuben.
I jumped from an ENO ProFly to a HG CF Stnd with doors. This was super satisfying... for a while. Eventually, I bought a Superfly then later an Edge for my sons. I found I preferred their tarps to my own. Neither was willing to trade away their Warbonnet tarp for my CF forcing me to buy my own Superfly. At 2x the $$$ for Cuben Fiber, consider what other gear you'd have if you bought Silnylon. Either will leave you asking why you used the ProFly for so long.
Good Luck
Questioning authority, Rocking the boat & Stirring the pot - Since 1965
Personally i would only go cuben if i'd already trimmed everything else down.....its got a high dollar to gram ratio
How's your pack, body and sleep insulation, boots, hammock, cook kit, water bottles, spare clothes, and how much gear you carry generally?
Also as said above, do you go far enough to need it?. My winter tarp is comparable to a winter palace, maybe a bit bigger....it was around $120 (with snakeskins) and weighs 480 grams
Chaps, what the weight of a 12ft winter palace?
Just had a look on HG's site but didn't see it
8.6 ounces according to HG's siteOriginally Posted by Sunndog
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