4 Mil Polycro Tarp Material in Green; 20’X100′

[Pointless Traveler.com]

http://www.bigshrink.com/dr-shrink-shrink-wrap-roll-20-100-4-wci

I don't want to shoot myself in the foot, since I'm sure I'll have some left over to sell on BPL; but here is a link for a ton of lightweight polycro in green to make into tarps and ground cloths. I'm pretty sure 4 Mil is really thin; it's measured in microns.

Guy lines can be attached to the tarp with, "3M 3641-1254 3m 45 Yards All Weather Duct Tape 2245." Tyvek loops can be used to reinforce the duct tape.

[John S.]

The usual mil thickness used in polycryo may be even thinner. The stuff people buy at walmart is 0.7 mil thickness. 4 mil could make a fairly strong shelter.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81xNTWHnayL._SL1500_.jpg

[Jerry Adams]

4 mil polyethylene is about 2.5 oz/yd2 which should be about the same as polycro. Standard silnylon is 1.5 oz/yd2 and and typical Cuben is 0.7 oz/yd2.

a little heavy for a lightweight tarp

good for a groundcloth that has smaller area

good for prototyping

[Anonymous]

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[John S.]

The GG website puts large size polycryo at 100 gauge thickness (medium is 75 gauge). http://gossamergear.com/polycryo-ground-cloth-large.html

That large size may convert to about 1 mil thickness. http://www.ehow.com/how_7304626_convert-mils-gauge-thickness.html

[Jerry Adams]

How do you wash DWR out of fabric?

It seems like they always like to put in DWR, but usually, I don't want it.

[Anonymous]

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[Jerry Adams]

kind of funny trying to figure out how to remove DWR when most people want to maintain/restore it

[Anonymous]

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[Pointless Traveler.com]

Thank you for this comment:
"4 mil polyethylene is about 2.5 oz/yd2 which should be about the same as polycro."

I have two of the large polycro ground cloths from Gossamer Gear and I am really happy with it. It's actually my favorite material and I wish the two cloths were combined so I could use them as a nice long A-frame with doors. I have been able to stay dry and collect a lot of condensation with my A-fram made out of the Sol Double Mylar Bivy–cut down the sides. The Polycro worked the best from my perspective. It seemed to collect condensation, stay warm and handle moisture better than the mylar. I haven't used a .55 cuben tarp yet, although I'm working on it. If there's a noticeable advantage to the cuben, I'll keep it, but otherwise I'm looking at the polycro 4 mil in green. It's 14 feet long and that's the length of my A-frame. 100 feet will give me 10 chances to get the tarp right and maybe sell some of them.

[Harald Hope]

Good info, I'd noticed that the GG polycryo was definitely stronger and thicker than the hardware store roll of window polycryo, and the 1 mil vs .75 mil difference is about what I thought the difference was, though 0.25 mil is so thin that it's hard to really know this.

It would be cool to find something like 1.5 or 2 mil polycryo, that to me would be about perfect for a ground sheet, my feeling is the .75mil stuff won't last very long, though it's very cheap to buy a roll of it at Ace Hardware.

bpl thread, here, on this very question

"Not that anyone is all that interested, but i found out that the 84 in X 120 in and 1.2 mil thick window insulation sold online at Ace hardware IS indeed cross linked polyolefin (in BPL slang, "polycryo")."

just Justin Whitson, who posted this, remember, google knows, and nobody but people here apparently ask about 1.x mil polycryo on the internet, so these posts live a long time in google's memory.

But, sadly, looking at the Ace hardware site, this appears to be vinyl now.

More bpl old threads:
bpl polycry thread

"Doing a little research and have identified the following brands and thicknesses.

Ace Hardware – Most kits are .6 mil, but they do have 1.2 mil outdoor kits available, item number 5604277. I have yet to find one in store.

Scotch – 3M – Indoor and outdoor kits are .75 mil

Dennis – interior are .6, exterior are 1.2

Duck – Exterior kits are .7 mil

Frost King – They replied to my email and say the exterior kits are .75 mil"

thanks robert van putten. Maybe the stuff they call vinyl is the right stuff.

[Dan Yeruski]

I know polyethylene is easily charged and is a PITA to keep clean in dry weather. Does polycro get charged up also?

Is the 1mil polycro easy to fold? Same question goes for the 4mil.

[Harald Hope]

It's easy to wash, when I get back from a trip I just hang the sheet off a clothes drying rack and hose it off. It acts like most plastic sheeting as far as I can tell, not better or worse, except for being WAY stronger and way more puncture resistant. 1 mil is easy to fold and roll up, and doesn't stick together when you unfold it after the first time. The first time you have to sort of unpeel it from itself but it's not hard, it's just thin so hard to get a hold on to start. AFter use, crinkling, this goes away completely.

[Harald Hope]

Here is it: Ace 84in x 120in Outdoor Patio Shrink Window Kit

I'd noticed this difference a while back while cutting out ground sheets for two tents, one was using the gossamer gear, which was slightly stiff and felt very strong, and the other made out of the store bought ace stuff, which felt soft and thinner. Now I see why, it was thinner, and didn't feel like it would be as durable or puncture resistant.

Keep in mind, Ace hardware stores are very helpful and can just order it for you if they store doesn't carry it, you just need the part number: 5604277

[Mammoth Codger]

This thread piqued my interest in a thicker version of the Gossamer Gear polycro. A quick Google search produced a potential candidate in the following generic brand of 3M's Velostat film:

Linqstat VCF-S Anti-Static Plastic polyolefin/polyethylene film that is available in sheets in varying thicknesses, including 2 mil and 3 mil. It seems to be available in 36" wide rolls too.

The film is heat-sealable, flexible and has exceptional abrasion resistance. It comes in a black color. If my math is reasonably close, it seems to weigh about 5.55 grams per square foot. So, a 3' x 7' 2 mil groundcloth would weigh roughly 116 grams or 4 ounces.

The film gives good thermal stability and has outstanding chemical resistance. It is apparently used in "anti-static packaging" for electronic circuit boards and similar components that should be isolated from static electricity. So, perhaps it wouldn't be attractive to dust and debris at camping spots in the wilderness? Dunno…I'm not a scientist! In a bag form, it is used to transport ordnance…but that doesn't necessarily mean that its bombproof!

Here are two links to some background information for further evaluation and critique (I certainly might have missed something in my cursory assessment…again, I'm not a scientist!) :

http://www.caplinq.com/blog/linqstat-volume-conductive-film-for-emf-shielding_37/

http://www.caplinq.com/electrically-conductive-plastic-film.html

[Dan Yeruski]

Last 3 posts very helpful…thank you.

[Author]

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