Originally Posted by
Just Bill
Failures suck. No matter how great the guarantee, the failures never ever seem to occur in the parking lot.
On a critical item like a pack, being able to swap it out easily and quickly is a big help. Not having to worry about it is a bigger help.
There is plenty of stuff you can repair or deal with in the field but most are not equipped to repair a pack failure in cuben as it's usually more than a popped stitch or broken buckle.
If you can patch a tarp or shelter... you can patch a cuben or a nylon one. But cuben in packs requires special knowledge, equipment and supplies most do not posses.
And once you're trying to reinforce, bulk up, or redesign cuben for loads much past 25lbs... you're not really ahead of the game any longer when you can get pretty bad ass traditional fabrics that can be repaired with simple needle and thread. 4 ounce per yard Hybrid-CF with added reinforcements and bonded seams looks really silly to me next to simply sewn 5 oz 210 robic gridstop. (ULA pack fabric)
I can build a bridge hammock that holds my 225lb butt standing on one foot without failing out of 1.7 ounce Robic nylon... Don't really see much reason I can't build a pack out of it too. Nor why a 110D, 3 ounce fabric like Gossamer gear uses is much of ding compared to a 2 oz cuben. Nor why I'd want to pay labor for someone to glue, bond, and sew when nylon feeds through the sewing machine in one pass.
I'm a big fan of SUL and cottage stuff... but when you can piece together 10-15lb kits with pretty bomber off the shelf stuff it gets harder every year to argue against going that route for a casual trip or for someone who doesn't know exactly what they want. A speed hike or limit pushing trip... go for it. But a casual trip with no particular reason to push... why give yourself a headache.
Save your bucks for a sweet pad and quilt... a cuben tarp... or even for a trip