heavy coated pack fabric

[Sam Farrington]

For those looking for nylon pack fabric with a heavier coat, please note this recent arrival at Seattle Fabrics:
http://www.seattlefabrics.com/nylons.html#200 Denier Heavy Coated F/R Oxford

Brace for the shipping costs on this site – unreal.

[robert perks]

I was not brave enough to look at the shipping, but maybe they are only shipping it rolled and not folded? If any body buys some I would like to hear about it. the material sounds interesting. I have been thinking about some of the vinylized materials for a couple of projects, and this could be interesting.

[Ryan Smith]

Nahh, they ship fabric folded instead of rolled. I have purchased fabric from them 3-4x. The shipping price they charge is just nuts and pretty sure it's illegal in some states.

Ryan

[Terry Trimble]

Seattle Fabrics really sucks for customer service and shipping charges and handling charges.

I called on a order back a couple of years ago I asked where my order was of some beastee dees hardware I ordered and I ordered them 7 days ago and the rude lady on the phone. Said "They only have one guy who cuts and ships and the way they pay him is by the handling and shipping fees." I said "How hard is it for someone to grab 10 beastee dees and ship them in small bubble pouch." she said rudely "I had to wait for the orders before me before they ship my order."

I will never use Seattle Fabrics after that experience !!

It a shame Seattle Fabrics has some really nice fabric and hardware no one else has access to or they don't want to stock. They use to not charge all the charges they tack on and had fast shipping.

What's sad I use to order all the time from Seattle Fabrics and Outdoor Wilderness Fabric back around the 1990 through 1994 when they were the only outdoor fabric outlets is the USA.
Terry

[Sam Farrington]

They give you the option on the checkout to have the fabric shipped folded, or rolled for even more $.

I ordered a couple yards of the green, but before seeing the shipping cost, which unlike most sites did not appear until late in the checkout, and used a service that puts a cap on the charge to the credit card. Used a cap that was twice the amount of the order, and way more than it would cost to pop the material into a USPS priority box or padded envelope, and LOL, they even exceeded that by quite a bit.
The charge has not appeared on my account, so it was probably blocked. But no word from Seattle Fabrics, not even a rude one. If they actually ship me this material, will post more about it.

I put this up because Quest ran out of their double coated 200D 4 oz oxford some time ago, has only black now, and Seattle Fabrics has several colors. Can't find any anywhere else.

So I will apologize for raising any false hopes. Suppose if someone really wanted a more waterproof nylon material for a pack at 4 oz/sq/yd at what amounts to around $18 a running yard, it might be worth it to them.

On a more positive note, I've recently run across a source of balloon cloth that is the same spec as "Hyperlast" from Dow. It is about 2.75 oz/sq/yd including the silcoat on both sides (2.3 oz base weight), Dupont 6,6 nylon, and while I don't know the HH, it proved very waterproof using my primitive squeeze tests and will be used for a pack ASAP. Am waiting for the OK from the seller to post contact info on this forum, and will do so as soon as an OK is received. Things are lookin' up!

[Sam Farrington]

Lo and behold, the fabric arrived from Seattle Fabrics in a USPS flat rate 9.5" by 12.5" cardboard envelope.
It is slightly darker than medium green and weighs on my scale at 4.46 oz/sq/yd. It is represented to be 200 denier with a 1.5 oz coating. The coating is visibly thicker than what I have seen on 4 oz. mini-ripstop Spectra gridstop much earlier purchased from Seattle Fabrics, and 4 oz. Dyneema gridstop, purchased more recently. Available in several colors, it might be suitable for anyone wishing to use nylon oxford in a very water resistant pack.

The shipping on the packing invoice was $8.90, quite a drop from the $19.90 charged on the web site. I will probably use balloon cloth first, as it is a lot lighter, and I like the double silicone coat; but someone wanting a polyurethane coat might prefer this.

They also have a 140 denier "Super K-Kote" ripstop (nylon?) with a 1.5 oz coat in more colors for more money, $11.50/yd, also represented as 4 oz/sq/yd. Probably so, as it is a lighter denier.

Hope this is of some interest.

[David Olsen]

I wouldn't call 200d pack cloth, usually 420d is called pack cloth by the factories.

That said, I have several rolls of gold 200d with 1.5 oz coating. I will sell it for

$5 a yard plus actual shipping costs either usps or ups, what ever you choose.

Dave

[email protected]

[Ryan Smith]

Samuel,

I have a few yards of their Super K-Kote ripstop. It's a nice fabric really. Just by feel I think it's close to the 4 oz/yd they state, but I haven't weighed it.

Ryan

[Sam Farrington]

Ryan,
Agree.
Did not initially note the lighter material, or would have ordered it instead.

This being MYOG at BPL, I think we can call these pack fabrics. Don't see any sense in using anything heavier, and as earlier noted, am currently planning to use even lighter balloon fabric for the next pack. A heavier material will be used for the pack bottom, and may sew protection over upper areas mostly likely to rub against rocks and foliage. Maybe twill or grosgrain tape around the top. The twill is much easier to sew, but the grosgain is tougher. Was trying to think of a lighter but tough material in tape form with finished edges.

I've found that the lighter my packs are, the more likely i am to set them down gently.

[Sam Farrington]

Thought you all should know that I finally broke down and ordered some of the 140 denier Super K-Kote ripstop nylon from Seattle Fabrics.

Began this thread with a post about their 200 denier heavy coated ripstop that turned out to weigh just under 4.5 oz. per sq. yd.

The 140 denier weighs 5.3-5.4 oz. per sq. yd. Returned it, but wanted you to know how heavy it is, despite the lower stated denier. At that weight, suppose most would go with something else.

On the shipping issue, they charged an enormous sum on the order, but I specified shipping folded not rolled, and it came to around $4 for handling and $4 for shipping, total around $8 in a cardboard envelope.

So that's one less fabric to pick from for the next pack.
Good Hiking

[Colin Krusor]

This departs a bit from the topic of your original post, Samuel, so I apologize. I just can't resist sharing this quote from the Seattle fabrics website about their Dyneema grid-like reinforced nylon fabric:

"This is a 500 denier nylon with a Spectra carbon filter ripstop reinforcement woven into the fabric. The white carbon fiber ripstop grid gives this fabric a unique look and an ample coating makes it nice and waterproof."

I don't know of any other fabrics that have a white carbon filter ripstop grid. I think this fabric is not actually currently available, but this description is a good indication of the kind of expertise to expect from Seattle Fabrics.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Quest has heavy coated oxford, and also heat sealable oxford – even heavier coating. The Rain Shed has some oxford with 1.5 oz coating as well.

[Sam Farrington]

Thanks, Colin. LOL.

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