Best place to buy X-Pac on the east coast? (At least closer)

[Travis S]

Hey guys

been lurking for the past few weeks. Thought I’d subscribe, and pay some dues.

Anyhow, so I’ve been searching this way and that for a supplier for X-Pac (~and similar). Rockywoods.com seems to be the one-stop-shop for everything, but their shipping quote was more than 25% of my total order. From the looks it, their based out of LA, California. I couldn’t justify paying it. I did place an order in at diygearsupply.com because their prices were better, and their shipping was a godsend compared to rockywoods.com (~$6 for a comparable order to rocky). Issue is, DGS seems to be out of just about everything lol, and from the looks of it, the variety just wasn’t there.

So, could anyone recommend a shop/website for me to look at, mid/east coast U.S.? Looking to purchase X-Pac (variance), and some Cordura. And I do know of Thru-Hiker.

Any help, would be much appreciated. Google is turning up zilch.  Thanks

[Jameson Tisch]

I’d see if Cascade Craftworks has what you need. Best of luck.

[Brad Rogers]

You may also try Quest fabrics but I don’t know if they sell x pack.

You ou could call Seek Outside and see if they would sell raw fabric.  They might or might not but they probably have as good of selection as just about anyone.

Last but not least I think DP used to sell small quantities direct.

[Travis S]

@jameson_tisch

@mocs123

Appreciate the quick responses. Looking at them all now. I’m not an expert on synthetics and similar. Certainly a bit of a learning curve. I’m putting together the materials now for a full frame bag now, and a few bags after that for my bike. X-Pac (depending) isn’t exactly UL, but it’ll have a bit more of the durability/water-weather-abrasion, etc.,-proof. And then looking to reinforce that with some 1000D cordura of sorts where it needs to be (might go lower though). Now that would be for the frame bag.

~Everything else, shooting more towards UL. Lower weight cordura, silnylon, and some other fabrics to fiddle around with. Cross that bridge when I get there, and see how all the expenses add up. But, for this project, DIY is just the cheapest option. Not a whole lot to pick from bag-wise, that you aren’t paying $XXX+ for.

I’ll give you guys an update. Appreciate it.

[Todd Stough]

How does X-pac compare to some of the fabrics that Rip stop by the roll has?

http://ripstopbytheroll.com/collections/dyneema-x-gridstop

http://ripstopbytheroll.com/collections/hyperd-300

There is also 1000D codura  420d Grid stop

[Brad Rogers]

210d Dyneema Grid is a nice pack fabric that ripstop by the roll sells but X PAC is waterproof having a layer of PET on the inside. It has a stiff hand which helps a pack keep it’s shape when empty making packing easier etc.

It is availible with heavy face fabrics too anywhere from 70d to 500d

[Todd Stough]

Thanks Brad, I’ve never handled Xpac.

 

I did use this for Tarp corners and it’s very stiff and heavy duty. Says it is urethane coated on the back.  Waterproof.  It would make a very heavy duty pack.  Anyway just trying to help.

http://ripstopbytheroll.com/products/420d-diamond-ripstop-black

[Travis S]

1. Cascade Craftworks. It’s a definite bonus to see a vendor that sells by the half/yard. And your actually paying a fair-priced half yard compared to competitor pricing. By appearance, they also seem to sell X-Pac more so exclusively. With that said, they have a fairly limited color-palette available. Link
2. Quest Outfitters has a great selection as well. And per their “X-Pac is Here!!” banner on the coated fabric homepage, apparently says something. Similarly, their pricing is spot on as well, and actually cheaper albeit; not significantly. However, their “It is not uncommon for X-Pac to have minor imperfections in the fabric that are created during manufacturing”. Now, I realize this isn’t something that’s necessarily uncommon with vendors with any fabric (albeit; limited(Link)) but…..
3. ….Rockywoods. I did read somewhere on their site that they are the only “authorized seller in the U.S.” of X-Pac fabric. Whether that’s just marketing hype, or maybe they are, not sure. If they are, then I’d have to assume all other U.S. shops would be buying from them (?) There site is user-unfriendly imo, and could stand for a little better organization (least for a newbie like me). You’d think they’d have lower than competitor pricing on X-Pac for the above reasons, but they don’t (for 1 yard; disregarding wholesale). They are incredibly overpriced on just about everything else, and I’d look elsewhere for the majority of other things (~hardware). I suppose their biggest redeeming factor is that you can readily purchase $0.50 samples of everything or sample kits. Well, they do have a huge selection of fabrics (one-stop-shop). Link
4. OWFinc.com. Man, they have incredible prices on just about everything under the sun, coupled with a huge inventory. Unfortunately, with X-pac, the only available I could find was…link . The biggest issue/deterrent with them is their ordering/processing. You need to physically or electronically fill out an order form, along with including your CC information in full. Not bad for a recurring wholesale buyer/seller presumably, but not ideal for someone like me. I still may bite the bullet anyways and buy from them, as they sell quite a few things other vendors don’t. And the same stuff elsewhere, is priced better. Not sure on their shipping, but they say it’s priced exactly to shipping rates.
5. Diy Gear Supply, again I had bought some miscellaneous things from them. I actually talked to the owner. Great guy, so that was nice. He said it’ll be awhile before he gets any X-Pac, as they cater more to lightweight fabrics. There site is better organized and easier to use than the above and priced cheaper overall. Seems they used to have a fairly good supply of it. Link

That about sums it up from what I could tell on x-pac sellers, and in general. Thanks again.

[Travis S]

Here’s an update for you guys. So, it would have seemed I didn’t order from RockyWoods.com, but I did (along with a couple others). Shipping and handling…a steep $20. And I didn’t order anything on the roll. My order doesn’t justify that price imo, but I guess we’ll see per the weight, packaging, etc.,..

I ordered Feb 5th…and it just shipped today; Feb 17th. 2 weeks later lmfao. 

I only received a response from support when I reached out myself. Email and then calling (too early; left a message) and then a response to my email a day later.

This is where I got pretty frickin’ ticked. The response I received In a nutshell; “We’ve experienced a higher number of orders than usual, and we are doing our best to process, ship, etc., the orders”….(to note: I’d be more than comfortable posting screens of the emails albeit; I doubt anyone cares too much lol)…anyways….

NO APOLOGY AT ALL I’m not asking the person, business, etc., to plead here, but come on. ~2 weeks!! Everything I ordered, was in stock. I’m paying $20 for shipping/handling here, and I can’t even get a couple words strung together.

So I laid into support…but delicately. Me: ~”This is frankly ridiculous for reasons x, y, z. yada, yada…I realize it’s likely not your direct fault for the delay. Really excited to start with the fabrics already. (and more of me, rounding it out delicately). Hope you understand”

…only then did I really get an actual, and not canned/generic response from support, and more to follow. No discounts, didn’t ask for any. I really just wanted to get my stuff. So it all begs the question…

If I hadn’t reached out myself and had a conversation with support. Would my order have even shipped out (let’s say by friday)? 

It ended on a bittersweet note to say the least. I buy A LOT of stuff online, and this isn’t an issue I rarely run into, as long as I have a decent gauge on the seller.

I’d give them 1 more try. And if it’s the same deal, I wouldn’t ever go back, nor would I ever recommend. I’m sure my issue is relatively isolated, but still…

And not to plug diygearsupply.com, because it’s just going to sound like a sales pitch lol. But whatever. ~$5 shipping for a comparable order to rockywoods, and I got in no more than 3 days. Incredible. I wish they stocked more, because I’d love to buy everything from them. Too bad.

 

[Todd Stough]

I spoke to Kyle at Ripstop by the roll and they are going to be offering xpac very soon, he’s in NC and they ship fast and cheap as well.

[Travis S]

Awesome, that’s cool to hear. It’s nice to have a few good options. Take it they didn’t give you an ETA on that?

 

[Todd Stough]

No date but he made it sound like very soon.  They are also developing a wpb fabric and some other “big” news.

[Travis S]

I’m ignorant to some of this stuff….but have they ever created a fabric of their own? I should say altered an existing enough to actually be able to call it something new and better. It’s a full time job staying on top of all these variants and what not haha.

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