Where to buy Pertex Endurance?

[Boris Pashikyan]

I want to sew a jacket with Primaloft Sport. For the external fabric I want to use Pertex Endurance. Where to buy?

[Steven Evans]

Ain't gonna happen. As far as I know, the Pertex fabrics are not available for purchase by the general DIY'er. I'd love to be wrong, so please correct me if so.

[Bob Gross]

I bought my last Pertex some years ago, and I haven't seen it available since then.

–B.G.–

[Javan Dempsey]

Might be due to the failure of Perseverance Mills, the original manufacturer of Pertex fabrics, in 2005.

Mitsui bought the rights and have been manufacturing the fabrics in Japan since 2006, and as I understand it, many of the logistics changed subsequently.

edit: added a comma for clarity

[Boris Pashikyan]

Thank you. What are the alternatives? EPIC?

[Brad Rogers]

Momentum sold by Thru Hiker is a great Pertex replacement. I think it is similar to Pertex Quantum.

[Nancy Twilley]

You can actually buy Pertex outside the U.S. from a few sources.

I got some last year while I was in Germany because I realized it was cheap and would be tough to get here in the U.S. Used it for a down quilt and a windshirt, both of which worked out well. Haven't used Momentum, so I can't compare sadly.

Here's a UK site selling Pertex 4, 5, 6, and 7, and something called "coated Pertex":
http://www.profabrics.co.uk/snap_product_search.php

And in Germany, there's Extremtextil:
Pertex 4:
http://www.extremtextil.de/catalog/Fabrics/uncoated/Nylon-downproof-Pertex-4-55-g-sqm::1154.html
Pertex classic:
http://www.extremtextil.de/catalog/Fabrics/uncoated/Ripstop-Nylon-Pertex-classic-downproof-50g-qm::1304.html

Edit: Oh, and also, this is called "Endurance"… I think maybe it might possibly be Pertex Endurance? Not really sure–you can email the guy who runs the site, he's nice.

http://www.extremtextil.de/catalog/Fabrics/breathable/Ripstop-Nylon-Endurance-laminate-65g-qm-2nd-choice::713.html

[Sam Farrington]

Thank you, Nancy, for the supplier info.
BTW, do you know of anywhere to buy Pertex Shield?
Sam f.

[Brad Groves]

I asked Pertex about fabric availability to MYOGers while at OR… they won't sell to individuals or to (most) wholesalers. Most of the really light stuff (Quantum) they do is in the sub 30 g/m2 weight range, not the 50-60 g/m2 range listed on the extremtextil stuff. That said, Endurance is being discontinued, so you might have luck finding it these places. You can also find Epic occasionally; might be worth cruising the FF website to see what they say about those fabrics.

[Nancy Twilley]

No problem… and nope, don't know about Shield, sorry. The Extremtextil site did actually have some quantum at one point, but I assume they won't be getting it again, sadly.

[Sam Farrington]

Thanks, Nancy.
No problem.
Am planning to build a sort of 'Akto' type tent, but with a slightly pyramid shape,and haven't decided whether to use all silnylon with a nanonoseeum netting inner for the rear half, or to use Epic Malibu treated with Atsko or the like for the rear with no net inner, and silnylon only for the front half.
Am doing some rainy day fabric testing, (please, no hoots-have taken enough grief already for my primitive testing) and am leaning toward the Epic, but would not want to get the tent almost if not completely done and then find out that Pertex Shield or BD NanoShield is available somewhere. So, that's why I asked.
Guess risks have to be accepted, and I can always build another one.
Sam

[Jerry Adams]

You can buy Epic at http://www.owfinc.com/Fabrics/NylonWoven/WaterresistBreathable.asp#Duravent

However, I made a jacket out of Epic but it wets out in very little rain, I wouldn't bother using it.

[Sam Farrington]

Jerry,
Quite a list you have of MYOG gear! Could you post some pics?
About the Epic – I had a similar experience with a Wild Things Epic pullover that quickly became saturated in a wind driven hail and rainstorm above treeline.
However, as I mentioned to you on another recent MYOG thread, I have been testing Epic (and silnylon) with 9" embroidery hoops weighted over bait buckets in rainstorms on my back deck. I was surprised to see that after a real nasty and lengthy storm, the Epic Malibu of the type formerly used by BD, both with and without Atsko treatment, had smaller wet out spots, less moistness on the inside, and no water in the bucket, compared to the silnylon, both samples of which had done very well on a Suter tester.
Maybe a greater problem with the silnylon is not just the amount of water resistance, or that it stretches while sewing, which can be overcome with practice and technique, but that it expands and contracts greatly on a shelter, leading to a lot of billowing (and therefore spattering), just the opposite of what one wants from a shelter. This makes it necessary to design a shelter that will cope with this, as both Warmlite and Roger have done very well; but it limits design choices a lot, and adds greatly to weight if you include a net or fabric inner. But with a good quality coating, the stretch makes it great for floors. Posted about this in Sept.
Hence the desire for light polyester fabrics for dome and single wall designs. The Pertex is nylon, according to the Point North, profabrics web site provided by Nancy, above; and I expect it would have the same stretch and sag issues as other nylons around 1 oz.(uncoated).
So, have not given up on Epic, yet. If I do, will opt for Cuben, knowing it will require a net inner (still lighter than Epic) and be a little noisy and a lot more expensive, especially if I have to buy enough to get the shaded stuff!
Sam

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