Compressing Silnylon?

Rob:

There is no harm in compressing silnylon. So go ahead.

The only two factors to be careful of are:

1. always clean and thoroughly dry your tarp before storing.
2. always store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

The danger of UV, heat and dampness cannot be overemphasized.

Fantastic, thanks so much, Ben.

-Rob V.

I wouldn't go too small. When your hands are frozen, and the wind is howling, and you are trying to pack a wet shelter away, bigger can be better! :)

Rob, a potentially helpful idea:

You could sew a second layer of sil around the middle of the stuff sac to put another drawcord through, and then have the option of using a small stuff sac, or a larger one.

The extra half stuff sac can be used for organization.

-Will

What Ben said.

Cheers

@Mike – Good tip, I'll take that into account.

@Will – Ha, sounds like a great idea… If I were at all handy with a needle! Some of what you guys pull off in the MYOG forum is astounding! Looks like a skill I should pick up.

@Roger – Thanks for the confirmation from the fabrics guru!

Thanks all, you guys are awesome!

i have always folded and then rolled up my tents, but now that i have a tent with a large percentage of silnylon i'm wondering if i should instead just use the "cram it in the bag" method. thoughts?

This is my first time posting, but this hit my area of expertise. I am currently a knitting, etc, teacher; but have worked before in the area of textile history and restoration/repair. I can tell you that the first place I see damage to ALL fabrics is at fold lines. Antique flags always have worn through places where they were folded even when stored carefully for many years. The first damage you see on old quilts is along the edge of the binding. I always recommend my clients to take out and refold along different lines their heritage textiles; and I always stuff, not fold, my expensive UL tarps. This will spread out the damage from "bent" fibers. –Texas Dreamer

Hi Amy:

Reading the posts over the years, I've read of tents that have been rolled (or folded or stuffed) that lasted for years (actually some even a decade or more)! Just as importantly, I've also read of tents that were ruined (usually delaminated) in just a short period because of moisture/heat/light — regardless of whether they were rolled, folded, or stuffed.

I can see how folding along the same crease lines will damage the fabric eventually — but as you mentioned, perhaps more in "antiques".

So what I'm saying is that just like how some people state that tent pole sleeves are stronger than tent pole clips — there may well be a theory behind it — but this theoretical difference is either so minute or takes so long to manifest itself that it really doesn't matter in the practical sense.

At the end of the day, what determines whether I fold/roll or simply stuff is the shape of the tent and fly themselves. A Rainbow tent just lends itself to folding/rolling. OTOH, the very odd shape Big Agnes Seedhouse 2 fly just "begs" to be stuffed instead. YMMV, of course.

Stuffing make many more folds that first folding and rolling. They don't really leave
on subsequent uses, but tend to bend at those spots again when stuffed.

A quick tumble in the dryer for a minute or two on warm will knock off a lot of dust,
moisture and wrinkles before storage when you get home.

Good point, David. Not to mention stuffing results in much harder creases than mere folding. And the thousands of hard-pressed folds from stuffing are kept that way for long periods in-between trips. And yet, the fabric still comes out just fine next season. So there. No real worries at all.