Folks,
I've taken some time to look for differences in hanging a Silnylon and a cuben fiber tarp. I see:
Don't crank the ridgeline (the Superfly can take some impressive cranking!) to avoid long term damage to the taped cuben seam
...
That's it. Any other observations from those who have made this transition?
Thanks all,
RC
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“Stories set in the Culture in which Things Went Wrong tended to start with humans losing or forgetting or deliberately leaving behind their terminal. It was a conventional opening, the equivalent of straying off the path in the wild woods in one age, or a car breaking down at night on a lonely road in another.”
― Iain M. Banks, The Player of Games
From what others have said, the other difference between silpoly and cuben is that the rain can sound quite loud hitting a cuben tarp...kind of like a drumstick hitting a snare. I just own a silpoly tarp, so I haven't experienced the sound of rain hitting cuben fiber myself.
I was a bit critical of the dyneema tarp I purchased. Lots of little things in general I didn't like. I think a large part was me just being so used to silnylon after years.
But the overall quality was excellent and the camo looked amazing (and I'm not a big camo guy). Plus, the looks of the plain white/greenish material is an eyesore IMO. Like an old trash bag or piece of scrap plastic flapping in the wind on a chain-link fence along the LA river.
All that said, there is a chance I'll give it another go in the future.
I don't even like to call it camo, I refer to it as "woodsy blend" ;POriginally Posted by OneClick
Once you're lost in twilight's blue, you don't find your way, the way finds you.
Just to be clear, I'm talking about differences in how to string it up. When it comes to just differences, I've seen the whole "it's a drum," "it's a greenhouse," etc etc. Other than "don't crank the ridgeline (or end tie outs, whatever)," I don't see any differences mentioned....
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“Stories set in the Culture in which Things Went Wrong tended to start with humans losing or forgetting or deliberately leaving behind their terminal. It was a conventional opening, the equivalent of straying off the path in the wild woods in one age, or a car breaking down at night on a lonely road in another.”
― Iain M. Banks, The Player of Games
Good way of putting it! The HG camo (not sure if it's theirs or some copyrighted pattern) is great.
Regarding setting up - that was one of my small complaints. Since there is NO stretch, there's no forgiveness. Compared to silpoly/nylon where the whole tarp is sort of a self-tensioner. You pull the corners tight and they eat up the slack. With the dyneema, any little difference can cause ripples, loose edges flapping in the wind, etc. And it's not the kind of thing were shockcord will help.
But once it's set, you're in business.
Shock cord doesn't help? Interesting. I wonder why not...
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“Stories set in the Culture in which Things Went Wrong tended to start with humans losing or forgetting or deliberately leaving behind their terminal. It was a conventional opening, the equivalent of straying off the path in the wild woods in one age, or a car breaking down at night on a lonely road in another.”
― Iain M. Banks, The Player of Games
Some may see it as helpful, but not in the context I was describing. If you're pulling one side that is 2' off the ground and another corner that's 4', no amount of shockcord will "even" that out. Compared to sil where it sort of stretches and eats up the slack.
But shock cord in general may help get a nice taut pitch. I just never cared for using it personally.
I'm sure some can post photos "proving me wrong" but I can't really put it into words. It's just something I noticed the first trip out with my new dyneema tarp. It's not bad, just not for me.
There is an interesting effect where Cuben sometimes appears to stretch, which I first noticed with my Zpacks Duplex tent.
I noticed that I had to adjust the guy lines about an hour or so after pitching to take out some slack. The reason for this took a while to figure out, but it seems that when it is folded and stuffed it develops these little 'mircro wrinkles' and they require some time to 'relax,' which makes it appear that the material has stretched.
I do use shock cord on the ridge lines of my Cuben hammock tarps because I like to make them banjo-string tight so that I can use my trekking poles with the side pull-outs. It is sort of a safety measure because I want to make sure when pitching the tarp that I don't transfer that very high tension to the tarp itself. In the photo there is shock cord on the corners as well, but I have since decided I don't need it there.
tarp_with_trekking_pole_bungee.jpg
Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton
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