Topic
Is it…SIL-nylon?!?!
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Make Your Own Gear › Is it…SIL-nylon?!?!
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
Aug 28, 2008 at 11:08 am #1230902
Hi all. I want to try out making my own gear, but have hit a slight road block. I have gone around town looking at nylon in the various stores, but am unsure whether or not the nylon that I am looking at is regular (non-coated) ripstop or silnylon. The people at the local stores are pretty much clueless as to anything but what the fabric is made of (i.e. nylon) and what the weights of the materials. To top this all off the fabric spools are unintelligible to me.
So, my question is, how do I tell the difference between these fabrics? I want to make a tarp but don't want to get wet in the middle of the night because I used the wrong fabric. Thanks in advance for the help.
Cheers
Aug 28, 2008 at 12:26 pm #1448991Most nylon in fabric stores is just calendared (heat pressed) on one side so it looks shiny. I have seen some that has some plasticky coating on it but it wasn't silnylon. Silnylon feels really, really slippery (almost soapy) if you fold it over and rub it against itself. You can get the good stuff from:
Aug 28, 2008 at 4:15 pm #1449022Jeremy,
Until you learn to ID fabrics, it is much better to buy from a retailer who says they carry what you want. Look in BPL Forums: "Make Your Own Gear >> Materials Sourcing" for links to suppliers. You are very unlikely to simply luck onto good material locally. Most of it will be Nylon6 – a garment grade fabric that is vastly inferior to the Nylon 6.6 used in most outdoor gear.Aug 28, 2008 at 7:13 pm #1449065Thanks for the help, I'll take a look around the internet.
Cheers.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Our Community Posts are Moderated
Backpacking Light community posts are moderated and here to foster helpful and positive discussions about lightweight backpacking. Please be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting.
Get the Newsletter
Gear Research & Discovery Tools
- Browse our curated Gear Shop
- See the latest Gear Deals and Sales
- Our Recommendations
- Search for Gear on Sale with the Gear Finder
- Used Gear Swap
- Member Gear Reviews and BPL Gear Review Articles
- Browse by Gear Type or Brand.