Tight pitched tarp with no stretch fabrics?

[Caminante]

I agree that tarps can be fiddly. I've only worked with silpoly as I appreciate that it is less stretchy and more UV-resistant than silnylon, and it's 25-30% the cost of CF. I made an 11' 1.1 silpoly hex tarp with cat cuts that pitches really well. The side panels are very taut, I really like the way it pitches.

Encouraged, I made a 12' MEMBRANE silpoly winter tarp without cat cuts - only to find that it really needs cat cuts. I've learned through trial and error (trail and error?) the best way to pitch it and configure the doors so that it is taut and not flappy, but the side panels don't get enough tension on them in the middle so they tend to "bowl in" in the center. I could totally solve it with panel pull outs, but I wish I had put a slight cat cut on the sides and will do so next time.

[Kalle Mandelstam]

Well i make all three types,

Silnylon it can be any shape, straight cuts and will pitch tight and will stretch.

Silpoly does stretch a bit so a tight pitch with straight cuts is just fine but not as for giving as silnylon.

Cuben is no stretch, so you can pitch a tarp or shelter with no cat cuts nice and taught, bit its a very specific pitch where only a single configuration in terms of guy line and pole placements are critical to the ones it was designed for.

Most cuben tarps and shelters have cat cuts so you can move the guy lines out a lot more and still have a nice pitch.

Thats why a trailstar with very shallow cat cuts in cuben only really pitches well in a single precise pitch configuration.
But the cuben tarps with deep cat cuts are pretty easy to pitch taught with a variety of guy lines positions.

Thanks for the explanation and input!

It's hard to look past the big price difference between cuben and the rest of them, but would you say, just from a pure performance/spec point of view that the pros of cuben is greater than the cons (less flexibility and forgiveness etc)?

[Kalle Mandelstam]

I agree that tarps can be fiddly. I've only worked with silpoly as I appreciate that it is less stretchy and more UV-resistant than silnylon, and it's 25-30% the cost of CF. I made an 11' 1.1 silpoly hex tarp with cat cuts that pitches really well. The side panels are very taut, I really like the way it pitches.

Encouraged, I made a 12' MEMBRANE silpoly winter tarp without cat cuts - only to find that it really needs cat cuts. I've learned through trial and error (trail and error?) the best way to pitch it and configure the doors so that it is taut and not flappy, but the side panels don't get enough tension on them in the middle so they tend to "bowl in" in the center. I could totally solve it with panel pull outs, but I wish I had put a slight cat cut on the sides and will do so next time.

Yes, silply seems to be the golden midway between nylon and cuben. I'll probably end up choosing that. WITH cat cuts!

[OneClick]

I learned this when I first bought my cuben tarp. For me, it comes down to the hardware used on the guy lines. Knots and line locs work OK, but I find the small plastic Nite Ize Figure 9s work perfect....for any tarp or material.

I started with line locs on my tarp, but switched to the figure 9s like all my other tarps and I got it nice and tight. The mechanical advantage of these figure 9s let you get it as tight as you want, then lock it in without adding any slack.

I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but will be taking it this weekend for sure. As of now, only a test in the basement but I really like it. But honestly, looking back I might have went with a silpoly instead.

[Tacblades]

Thanks for the explanation and input!

It's hard to look past the big price difference between cuben and the rest of them, but would you say, just from a pure performance/spec point of view that the pros of cuben is greater than the cons (less flexibility and forgiveness etc)?

Well i always say its about value not price.

If you are a regular hiker going out monthly or going on long hikes then cuben is robust, totally waterproof, but does degrade over time, i know people that have used it for 5 years on a regular basis depending on the thickness of the cuben. I have also seen some cuben delaminate or become brittle over a very long time.
But for a lot of trips its worth it as you have the weight benefits.


If you are hiking less often, short trips just a few nights every couple of months or so then maybe silpoly or silnylon might be better value for you. It does last a long time. The new silpoly is very lightweight and highly water resistent 4000hh at least and lower price.

It all depends on the value to you and how you hike.
A lot of people start with silnylon or silpoly and use for a while the upgrade to cuben it they feel its worth it.

[Kalle Mandelstam]

Well i always say its about value not price.

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I hear what you're saying, thanks! Good input!

[Caminante]

If I didn't have three daughters, I'd have a CF tarp. Maybe two.

[sidvicious]

shug has great videos on the subject.

tarps really aren't all that hard. the biggest fiddling relates to your tie-out material and method.

i use cuben all the time. i'm in the rain alot this time of year, and cuben is frog-butt water tight. some of the woven fabrics can mist in a hard rain. they can also retain water. still; i use them, too. i'm notoriously lazy and i prefer stuff that requires the least amount of attention AFTER an outing.

once you get going with your tarp, shock absorbers on the corners are probably a good idea. not a necessity, but can reduce the need to fiddle. it depends on your tolerance.