200D Oxford vs. 210D Dyneema X?

I've used 200 D Oxford from http://www.owfinc.com/Fabrics/NylonWoven/PackclothOxford.asp#Nylon Oxford

A little cheaper than Quest

Works fine on a pack, but I'm fairly careful to it, my max weight is about 20 pounds

the 210 Dyneema is ripstop and it seems much stronger to me. I have the dyneema on the shelf and have used the 200oxford in a lot of packs. I have never had any issue with durability but the dyneema does seem much tougher.

-Tim

I've used both 200D oxford and gridstop dyneema for ul packs – as reinforcement and as primary body material. Both materials held up well, although I have always felt more secure about the gridstop- largely because of the difficulty in cutting it when making a pack. Anything that hard to cut just has to be strong.

If you are looking to save some money, you could try VX21 XPac fabric from Dimension Polyant. If you contact DimPoly they will sell you the material directly and it runs about $9.85 per yard normally, with 2nds at $5.85 and some overstocks at $7.50 per yard.

I like the VX21, but at 6.2 oz/yd it is pretty heavy compared to the Dyneema X or coated oxford though. If price is a concern, the $5.99/yd oxford should work fine for 90% of all backpackers in terms of strength. Dyneema X is stronger, but is overkill in a lot cases.

Ryan

Nathan,
Until my most recent pack, used either 8 oz. Cordura (before I went to BPL), or the 4 oz. PU coated nylon Oxford. Most recent pack is 4 oz. PU coated Spectra Gridstop from Seattle Fabrics when they carried it in dark green, and is very similar to some of the stuff currently selling as Dynema Oxford.

The gridstop is much more durable than any nylon Oxford I've ever used. It also turned out to be more water resistant, not requiring a pack cover after seam sealing with Seamgrip. The only drawback is that after a couple years, the fabric became a little stiffer than it was originally, but this has not caused any problem. I do have some fear that if the fabric continues to stiffen, it will eventually start cracking – but nothing like that has yet occurred.

I have used oxford in the past for stuff sacks it held up okay not very durable .I noticed most of the stuff sack for like my old seva stove would rip through the fabric or separate the weave of the fabric. Basically oxford IMHO if for making stuff sacks, lite use day packs, banners or flags.It just old technology before pack cloth came out . You do need to hot knife cut it or seal the edges with a bic lighter.

Xpac comes in WX07 that weigh in at 3.6 oz. yard it their light pack version nice fabric with a reinforcement grid plus totally water proof membrane.

I think reason the 210 denier dynema grid stop is the fabric of choice and works. It's kind of like fabric reinforced with tread stronger than steel fishing net woven in to the fabric. So that why the fabric can carry loads better.

If you want traditional fabrics Seattle fabric has Super K-Kote Ripstop 140 denier ripstop weighs 4 oz a yard that is very water proof and REI uses this 140 denier ripstop on their flash series of packs and it a proven fabric in the field. They also have new heavy coated oxford that might hold up better. Their also close out older oxford at $4.99 yard. Just be prepared for slow shipping.
http://www.seattlefabrics.com/nylons.html#super%20k

I have just been a fan of some form of ripstop fabric or modern variants like Xpac, gridstop or cordura for backpacks because it makes a more durable pack. A pack is the last thing you want to fail in the field.

Thanks for all your comments everyone. After reading I'm definitely leaning toward some kind of ripstop. I do like the weight and look of the dyneema x so maybe I'll just bite the bullet on the price. Anyone know if this stuff will take dye? I'm assuming it's the same dyneema used in ULA packs which takes RIT dye quite well (based on some BPL threads I've seen). Just thought it might be cool to change up the color a little. Thanks again.

From the experiences I've read about here, it will take dye, but the grid won't.