Cuben Tarp Designs?

[eviscerate3]

Hello, i am looking at making a cuben fiber tarp for my AT thru hike next year. I have been looking at different designs and have come up with the idea of an 11 foot ridgeline x 8.5" with no doors. I am also making a silnylon rain skirt for the trip. i would like to integrate the skirt into a "door" for one end when needed. i think i could add attatchment points on the tarp once it is finished and measured for placement. I think if i ran shock cord down to the corner tie outs and have two attachment points on the tarp itself to attatch the other end of the skirt it would work out. Has anyone tried this before and if so how did it work out? Any thoughts or suggestions as i can only do this project once with the high cost of cuben. Would I be better to just build it with the doors in place? My thought was this idea would save a little bit of money and pack space and i really like having multi use items. I appreciate any thoughts or tips. Thanks!

[WaffleBox]

What shape will the skirt be?

[eviscerate3]

What shape will the skirt be?

i havent determined the actual size yet but it will be flaired out a bit at the bottom for walking. im not sure how to do the fancy drawings to post on here but it will be about 40" wide on the top when it is layed out flat. i have a 34 inch waist. the bottom would be flaired out to allow for walking but when layed flat it would be approximately 50" wide. I just looked it up and they call it a trapazoid. I realize that the skirt would not be a "tall" as the tarp but it should cover just less than 3' of the opening on the end from the ridgeline towards the ground. Am I crazy thinking here or does this seem reasonable? Thanks!

[SilvrSurfr]

A silnylon rain skirt on a cuben fiber tarp sounds somewhat ridiculous. The skirt could weigh more than the tarp, and probably will. You may as well just make a cuben fiber tarp with doors.

I have never heard of a rain skirt for hammock camping. If splashing rain is an issue, most people add doors or have a wider tarp that can be pitched lower to the ground. The last few years, underquilt protectors (UQPs) have become a bit more popular.

[ccolclou]

I think he's asking about a rain skirt for the human, which transitions to doors for a tarp. Is that correct eviscerate3?

[SilvrSurfr]

I think he's asking about a rain skirt for the human, which transitions to doors for a tarp. Is that correct eviscerate3?

I think you're right, now that I re-read it. I still think the rain skirt/kilt should be cuben fiber. It would just bother the crap out of me that my rain skirt weighed more than my tarp.

[eviscerate3]

I think he's asking about a rain skirt for the human, which transitions to doors for a tarp. Is that correct eviscerate3?

That is correct, a rain skirt during the day for me and possibly a door for the tarp for nighttime. i am kinda leary about making the skirt itself out of cuben with it being so noisey and seeming kinda fragile for that purpose.

[eviscerate3]

I think you're right, now that I re-read it. I still think the rain skirt/kilt should be cuben fiber. It would just bother the crap out of me that my rain skirt weighed more than my tarp.

If I use 1.1 sil the skirt should weight approximately just over 1 ounce, at most 2ounces with the attachment points added on.

[WV]

I made a cuben rain cape that can be used to fill the end triangle of my more-or-less rectangular cuben tarp. Works fine. As a cape it keeps the top half of me dry, and I now need a rain kilt. Pleats work better than a tapered skirt-type rain garment, I think. Reading thru-hikers' posts elsewhere, I hear that rain kilts have been very popular on the AT.

I agree with SS about the choice of material. Rainwear is often heavier and bulkier than it should be.

Eviscer83, I don't find cuben to be very noisy, especially when it's not stretched taut. It's pretty tough, too. Of course, I work with it fairly often, so my attitude may be influenced by my experience with how easy repairs in the field would be compared to sil. I once spent the better part of an afternoon trying to hand-sew a patch on a torn silnylon G4 pack, then had to redo it when I got home. Cuben repairs for a similar snag would take 5 minutes at most. I carry DIY cuben repair tape, but have only had to use it once (see thread about Little Gray Cloud cuben down insulated hammock).

[eviscerate3]

I made a cuben rain cape that can be used to fill the end triangle of my more-or-less rectangular cuben tarp. Works fine. As a cape it keeps the top half of me dry, and I now need a rain kilt. Pleats work better than a tapered skirt-type rain garment, I think. Reading thru-hikers' posts elsewhere, I hear that rain kilts have been very popular on the AT.

I agree with SS about the choice of material. Rainwear is often heavier and bulkier than it should be.

Eviscer83, I don't find cuben to be very noisy, especially when it's not stretched taut. It's pretty tough, too. Of course, I work with it fairly often, so my attitude may be influenced by my experience with how easy repairs in the field would be compared to sil. I once spent the better part of an afternoon trying to hand-sew a patch on a torn silnylon G4 pack, then had to redo it when I got home. Cuben repairs for a similar snag would take 5 minutes at most. I carry DIY cuben repair tape, but have only had to use it once (see thread about Little Gray Cloud cuben down insulated hammock).

WV - Thanks for the input. maybe i will go ahead and try to make the skirt or kilt out of cuben and see how it goes. I have just worried about the durability of it. Any thoughts on if making it more like a kilt how the pleats would affect the availability to use it as a "door" for the tarp? I know I am putting way too much thought into this butI cant think of better things to think about than gear