Z Packs cuben fibre back packs?

[kanangra]

Anyone tried these? I'm guessing they would be quite unsuited to Australian conditions and would be shreded by our scrub? But they are very light?

K.

[wayno]

not necessarily. cuben is supposed to be weight for weight stronger than steel. people dont tend to use cuben for it's good looks!

[justacouch]

Cuben packs probably require more care than a canvass pack, but a little care doesn't weigh anything. A canvass pack is +1kg.

Hyperlight Mountain Gear packs (made from a similar cuben and nylon material) certainly feel durable, kind of like really lightweight waxed canvass. I haven't had the chance to use mine in scrub yet though.

[forest]

Zpacks makes his packs in 2 types of cuben.

1 is a 1.42oz/yd cuben. This alone is very, very strong material. I wouldn't want a 0.51oz/yd cuben pack but the heavier stuff is prerry strong.
Only downside is cuben alone isn't that abrasion resistant. As with any sub 500g pack that's sized around 35-50 litres it's gunna be a bit of a trade off.

Want more, he makes them too from the new cuben hybrid stuff which is the 1.42 cuben covered in 50d nylon. (Same as the HMG fabric I believe)
My Zpacks Arc Blast should be here any day now in the hybrid fabric. I read a heap of stuff on great durability of the hybrid before ordering mine, it's ment to be very good and strong.

[Dale]

I have a Blast 22 (36L) in the 2.92 oz/sqyd Hybrid Cuben material. This fabric option was only an extra 71g so no big weight penalty for the tougher fabric. It's only had a few outings so not enough to tell how well it handles abuse. Mine weighs in a t 402g with the hip belts and stays. Found it comfy and reckon I could push it to about 13kg. Average pack weight so far has been about 8 - 9kg which it handles well.

[FatCanyoner]

I wouldn't take cuben off-track in the Blue Mountains. I took an ultralight mate on an overnight walk and the combination of scrub and sandstone abrasion punched a few small holes in a brand new cuben pack. The corners seem particularly vulnerable. Hiking and bushwalking are very different. Cuben is great for hiking packs, but not for serious bushwalking IMO.

[forest]

[quote="FatCanyoner"]the combination of scrub and sandstone abrasion punched a few small holes in a brand new cuben pack. [quote]

Was that just cuben or the hybrid stuff. There's quite a difference between the 2 in durability and abrasion resistance.
I wouldn't want to lug a regular cuben pack offtrack. I will take my new pack offtrack though in the hybrid. Time will tell I guess, Hopefully it lasts more than one trip.

One benifit I guess to cuben is you can just tape it up and it holds fine to the fabric.

[FatCanyoner]

I'm not sure of the specific pack, but it was one that he'd been assured would be tougher. The manufacturer was so embarrassed by how poorly it did they replaced it. I'll have to check in with him for specifics.
Personally I love to just push through the bush. I don't want my gear to ever be a factor in deciding my route. I'm more than happy to carry a bit of extra pack weight if it means being able to walk wherever I want, regardless of how tough conditions get.

[kanangra]

Thanks guys. Forest I'd be interested to hear how your pack goes when it arrives. They might be OK for NZ walking? Or track walking.

K

[Dale]

I have a Six Moon Designs dyneema backpack which has been fine for off track and rock scraping. It's about 700g, so still pretty light.

Fatcanyoner I'd also be interested to hear which cuben backpack your buddy used. A question for you - do you find heavier gear necessary for more protection when nude bush walking ?

[FatCanyoner]

They might be OK for NZ walking? Or track walking.

That was what I thought when watching one in action. For track walking, or even easier off-track conditions, cuben packs should be brilliant. I just can't see them surviving the really tough conditions.

I have a Six Moon Designs dyneema backpack which has been fine for off track and rock scraping. It's about 700g, so still pretty light.

I've got a few mates who use dyneema packs. They are much tougher, while still incredibly light. I can think of a couple dyneema packs that have done more off-track walking and canyoning than most canvas bags could survive.

A question for you - do you find heavier gear necessary for more protection when nude bush walking ?

I'm not sure the mods will allow me to discuss my nude walking "gear" on the forum...

Unlike cuben (or any other fabric) my skin does a *&%$#! good job of healing itself... Surely someone can invent some self-healing pack fabric???

[quicky]

I've got heaps of Joe's gear, and can't fault it. Quite simply I think all of the variations of cuben are great. Hybrids and non-hybrid cuben's.......they are all more than tough enough to withstand Aussie outback and scrub. Remember too that Joe is a Triple Crown Honoree (hiking the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail...all totalling just under 13,000km)...so I have no doubt that he has experienced conditions equal to, and probably worse than (in some cases) the Australian outback. These experiences would no doubt be guiding his design choices, ensuring that his products withstand all the environments they are intended for.

[Mountain Rocket]

(Same as the HMG fabric I believe)

Just to nit-pick, it is similar stuff but not exactly from what I have read. I can dig out further info if required.

My advise from using a hybrid cuben pack every day now as my run around bag is that normal cuben should not be used for packs.
It simply does not do well with abrasion and lets face it, a pack will encounter wear even on well kept tracks. The hybrid stuff fares much better.

[quicky]

(Same as the HMG fabric I believe)

Just to nit-pick, it is similar stuff but not exactly from what I have read. I can dig out further info if required.

My advise from using a hybrid cuben pack every day now as my run around bag is that normal cuben should not be used for packs.
It simply does not do well with abrasion and lets face it, a pack will encounter wear even on well kept tracks. The hybrid stuff fares much better.

Agreed....even Joe provides life expectancies for the normal cuben packs that he makes.