Spec:
Length 264cm
Front width 175.5cm
rear width 138.5cm
Weight 210g
Weight above included 1.1mm dyneema reflective guy-line and CL266G set of 6

Spin VS Cuben,

Spin PROs:
- Lot of colors to choose
- price cheaper
- easier to handle with
- More durable

Spin Cons:
- Waterproof may be an issue,
- Heavier compare to Cuben
- Noisy if the tarp is in a larger size.
- Pack size bigger.
- will get stretch for a period of use

Cuben Pros:
- Weight is less
- 100% waterproof
- Pack in small
- unique look
- almost zero stretch
- pack in small size

Cuben Cons,
- Thinner version of cuben easy to have holes req repair often.
- Noisy?!
- not easy to handle when under making
- Not durable
- cost expensive
- not much color to choose from.

Pls point out if my Pro & Cons are not correct!

Happy MYOG !

1p Flu Green with large cat cut on the main seam:


1p Ocean blue with less cat cut on the main seam:


more pics here:

Those colors look great. Especially the way you finished those edges.

I do think a lot of people have misconceptions about the durability of cuben for shelters. I think its more than plenty strong and durable for this purpose. Stronger than sil and I get the impression my cuben tarp is stronger than my spinntwinn.

I was thinking of making a .75 oz/yd cuben tarp. For the same weight, Spinn sounds good. Where can I buy Spinn?

Those are beautiful Jason. How were the edges finished?

First, your designs look great, Jason. They are very tidy and polished looking. These are some of the most clean and handsome minimalist 1-person tarps I've seen.

But, I disagree with a few of the minor details in the spinn vs. cuben Pros/Cons accounting.

First, I just want to emphasize that "0.75 oz" spinnaker doesn't weigh 0.75 oz/yard. I cringe whenever I see the "commercial weight" for spinnaker used instead of the actual weight. There is a convention (that has nothing to do with the sailmaker's yard vs. textile yard calculation) that spinnaker fabrics are sold with nice, round nominal weight labels that are gross underestimates. I have some "0.75 oz" spinnaker that weighs 1.8 oz per yard (and 1.4 oz per sailmaker's yard). This arose from competition between sailcloth mills and sail lofts and deceptive marketing, and it is now considered conventional. There are companies making "0.4 oz" spinnaker that generally weighs about 0.9 oz/yard (about 0.75 oz/sailmaker's yard). The 0.75 oz cuben, in contrast, actually weighs about 0.75 oz/yard (a little less, even), and, as you say, Jason, it is much lighter than the "0.75 oz" spinnaker.

The 0.75 oz cuben has a warp breaking strength of about 100 lbs per linear inch. This is nearly four times the warp breaking strength of a typical "0.75 oz" spinnaker. And any pinholes that appear in the 0.75 oz cuben will be microscopic and it will still be more waterproof than a typical spinnaker in the 1 oz/yard range. So, I think most people who have any experience with these materials will balk at the suggestion that 0.75 oz cuben is less durable than "0.75 oz" spinnaker.

Also, spinnaker can be quite loud, depending on the composition. The classical "Spinn" (ie. Spinnntex) that has been used for backpacking shelters (Spinnshelter, etc.) is polyester, and this material is famous for being ridiculously loud (much louder than cuben). Nylon spinnaker is quieter because it is more stretchy, but the cuben still is not so loud (once tautly pitched) that most users consider it a problem.

Despite all this, it has to be conceded that no cuben tarp could match the smooth and color-coordinated beauty of your spinnaker tarps. They look great.

Edited by ckrusor on 05/02/2012 10:27:13 MDT.

I have had both cuben and spinnaker tarps,I would never go back to spinnaker,I found the spinnaker more fragile(it tore easily)and I had an issue with leaking in heavy rain,and yes very noisy.

Edited by annapurna on 05/02/2012 10:25:59 MDT.

@ Patrick:
I think the stretching point of view, Cuben do hold very well, on Spin or Sil didnt hold well after use for a while that is no doubt about it. Just worry the chafe on the film easily make tinny holes


@John,
I think there are lot of place in US can get Spinn ie:
http://www.rockywoods.com/
I have seen they offer lot of different kind of spinn cloth, you can take a look.
My spin was purchase direct from cloth supplier.

@Michael

The edges were not even folded it was finish by sticking a strap of self adhesive cloth on it to prevent loosing the edges and all edges was heat sealed too, so it was a test see how does it go.

@Colin:
Yes sail oz is totally not the actually weight of the fabric!
also argee with you on the breaking strength spinn vs cuben, only point out is like i say before, cuben seem easy to get chafe damage on the film. however spinn wont have this issue but spinn will be loose shape after use for a while, and cuben wont have this problem.

may be is the alternative on price issues with the consumer! see do they willing to pay the high price for the cuben or lower price on Sil or Spinn.

It was funny that my cuben wallet was sold to a lady who not into backpacking field when she receive the wallet she was complain that what the hell is this a paper or oil paper material and it even have mark after folded. The point i mean is, if people know what is cuben is ok they welling to pay for the price and expected what is it, but for a new comer they will expect the unexpected!! :P funny!

@ Anne,
Yes i also agree with you, if the Spinn used for a while the coating gone then the waterproof or resistance will also gone, but when the coating is gone the noisiness also disappear!!
For Spinn to making a tarp, i suggest it the best to make it in 1P or 2P tarp not bigger then that, if not is it super noisy!!, As i have make a 4mx5m big tarp for family camp it was noisy like hell if it is windy !

Nice try Jason! The tarp with very clean design, love it! 0% Stitching but work very well under a storm. :D

Try some new size for the RHS 1p spin tarp, which is wider

Middle one is new shape, plan to use for solo or as a extended shelter for tent setup

LHS pyramid with some shape small adjust to increase the head room and leg room

Sorry, I just can't let that go by without a comment. At some point it becomes visual pollution. :)

Edited by randalmartin on 09/04/2012 09:52:34 MDT.

@ Randy
Yup it does wake you up when the sun shine on the PINK shelter when you sleep under it :P