Hi,

When ever I get a new batch of Cuben Fiber I cut a piece 36 inches square and weight it on a triple beam gram scale. Then I do the math to see what it weighs vs what I bought. That is the only way you will know for sure what the true weight is.

The only Cuben I ever bought that was not very close to the weight I thought it would be was the Blue Cuben. For some reason it was just a bit heavier than the product information said it would be.

I don't know how many folks know but you can buy Cuben Fiber with 4 cords running all a different way. North / South - East / West and corner to corner. This 4 cord Cuben is super strong. My lightest 4 cord Cuben is 0.66 ounces per square yard. I have some other 4 cord Cuben that is 0.99 ounces per square yard. The problem with the 4 cord Cuben is a much higher price.

Bill,

I've never heard about 4 cord Cuben. Thank you for the information. Besides where can we get it?

>>>Zpacks also has .60 oz/sq.yd. cuben. Does anyone has idea how much it really weighs?<<<

I'm nearly certain the Zpacks .6oz/sq.yd cuben is the CT1K.08 listed at 0.57 oz/yard because when I was working with Joe on a custom tarp he used .6 per yard for the raw cuben weight for his estimate, and the finished tarp came in within a couple of grams of his estimate.

Ron (MLD) posted on here before that what he calls .6 really weighs .75 and what he calls .45 is .51, or .57 something like that.

Bill, I wish i had the bank, or could sell product at the high cost required to use the High Bias stuff. I am sure it is much stronger. Is the HB stuff in the .9 what you make packs with?

When i convert the CT1K.08 i get .51oz yd2. How are others getting .57? I am multiplying the gsm by 0.02948 *as suggested by Jon from Cuic Tech* When i do this for the other weights the answer i get is very close to what others report, .33 and .75 but i get .51 and others report .57, am i doing something wrong?

-Tim

Edited by MarshLaw303 on 11/16/2009 22:53:57 MST.

Tim,

I got that same formula from someone.

My spec sheet from Cubic Tech lists CT1K.08 at 19.3 g/m2.

19.3 x 0.02948 = 0.5689 oz/yard2 although I've heard it's often closer to 0.6/yard2 in reality.

Isn't there something funny about how this is sold though? If you bought a yard long the roll is actually wider than a yard, so you're getting more than a square yard...??? Maybe Ron is weighing a yard in length at the standard roll width so it weighs more than an actual square yard of fabric? It's also possible he ordered the wrong stuff or they sent him the wrong stuff. There always seems to be massive confusion around the part numbers and weights so it's certainly possible. These are just wild guesses on my part, I don't really know.

Edited by JohnnyBgood4 on 11/17/2009 07:32:56 MST.

there the difference...

The spec sheet i have from Cubic Tech lists ct1k.08 at 17.4gsm. That explains how my num is always a little lighter.

this is the one i have
*CUBIC TECH PRODUCT INFO PACK 090720 v3*
If there is a newer one could someone send it to me?

-Tim

http://www.cubictechnology.com/Product_Information_files/Cubic_Tech_Product_Line_Specifications.pdf

This is the "HBK" stuff. Available through Cubic Tech, 9 yard panel min IIRC. About $35 USD per yard. It is very strong.

Cool. The HBK part numbers are also listed in the spec sheet I linked above. I wondered what those were.

Non-nautical fabric weights are advertised per square yard (36" x 36"), often before coating.

Nautical fabric weights are per "Sailmaker's Yard", which is 28.5" x 36" or 0.792 square yards. Fabric that weighs 0.60 ounces per sailmaker's yard would weigh 0.76 ounces per square yard. (This is consistent with the MLD references made in posts above).

Then of course the SI units are different as well- one square meter would be 1.20 square yards or 1.51 sailmaker's yards. (I sure hope there isn't a "sailmaker's meter")

From Sailmaker.com:
sailmaker's yard:
An English/American unit of area for measuring the weight of sailcloth. It is 28.5 inches wide by 36 inches long. To say a piece of cloth is 6.5 ounce means a piece measuring 28.5" by 36" would weigh 6.5 ounces. This rather strange "yard" seems to be a remnant from the days when it was universally agreed that no one would ever be able to build a loom wider than 28.5 inches which would weave sail cloth. (Today 54 inches is common.)

Some other internet references mentioned an older width of 27".

Edited by jimqpublic on 11/17/2009 10:34:45 MST.

The product sheet I have has prices on it, the one from their site doesn't. IS there an updated sheet that includes pricing?

-Tim

This is what I used for the winter pack I made with the snow show pouch:



That pack was a heavy one at about 2.54 ounces

I bought my 4 - cord Cuben fiber several years ago at a real good discount. Several different "weights" were 5 yard plus - pieces left over from panels that were cut up for "sample" packs. I just called at the right time and asked what they had in "short" pieces. It was about half price.

Bill,

Do you remember the weight of that fabric, is that the .99 stuff you mentioned earlier?

Looks like i win! Cubic Tech updated the info sheet that was on their site. The CT1k.08 is now listed at 17.4gsm, i guess when stuff gets lighter everyone wins, but i am still claiming this as my victory.

-Tim

Edited by MarshLaw303 on 11/18/2009 08:07:47 MST.

Hi Tim,

The (4-directional) Cuben in my picture is 0.49 ounces per square yard and is listed as CTO.3HBK.08/F.5. I have no idea what the (F.5) means. I bought this in June - 2006.

I believe the difference in weight between what Cuben has on the list of products and what I get is the difference between a square meter and a square yard. Or maybe a sailmakers (something) and a square yard. As an example if a square yard on a product is 0.33 of an ounce that same fabric would weigh 0.39 per square meter. In the early days of buying Cuben I would just ask "what is the lightest Cuben you have? Then decide if it was what I wanted or not.

Since my first piece of Cuben I think I am close to having bought 100 yards of it. Almost all in the lightest version. I have been using Cuben Fiber since summer / fall of 2004.

My other (4- directional) cord Cuben is 0.66 and 0.99 ounces per square yard(+/-) a bit.

My Cuben sample pack is hiding so I can't check and see what the sample says on it.

Jotaro I was just wondering how the shelter has done in terms of durability with all the questions it had about durability?