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Lightwave's Starlight Cuben Fibre tarps are made from one of the lightest but most effective fabrics available and are shaped to suit protective pitching.
Lightwave says
Lightwave's starlight tarps are made of ultralight and extremely strong Cuben fabric. Available in three sizes, the Starlight tarps are uniquely built around triangles to give a range of different pitching options (e.g. canopy, lean-to and ridge-tent) and provide better tensioning.
Can be used with standard trekking poles.
Our Verdict
Lightwave's Starlight Cuben Fibre tarps are astonishingly light with a tiny packsize - and yet are very strong with a very high waterproof performance. The reason for this is that Cuben Fibre is not a woven fabric but is produced by laying out fibres and applying a coating to bond the filaments together - traditional weaving processes induce crimp in the fibers which cause stress concentrations and wear points that significantly reduce the strength and long term performance of the fabric. The filaments in Cubic Tech materials aren’t crimped so the material immediately picks up load without the fibers needing to first straighten out.
Lightwave have given some thought to the design of the tarp - the shape of the Starlight tarps enable some flexibility in pitching and lend themselves to pitching options that provide the maximum protection - so they can easily be pitched down to the ground like a tent flysheet, or as a more flexible open shelter.
The pegging loops can either be pegged straight to the ground or you can attach guylines to them and peg out at a distance.
Packsize on these tarps is not much more than handbag umbrella and they come with a stuffsack to keep things neat. There are no guys supplied or pegs, so these need to be added, and the obvious choice would be Lightwave's Lightning guylines which come in a pack of four, and pegs to suit your location.
- Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear
Features
- 6 reinforced lash points
- 4 reinforced auxiliary eyelets
Specifications
- 18g/m2 Cuben fabric
- Length: 2.75m, Front width 3.00m, Rear width 1.50m
- Area: 6.15m2
- Weighs 146g
