Good pack material?

200d Oxford nylon is plenty strong enough. Unless maybe you're a rock climber dragging it against rocks or poking it with Yucca or something, in which case maybe Dynema would be better.

200d Oxford is $5 for 1 yard x 60" – ~ 4 oz/yd2

210d Dynema is $27 for 1 yard x 56" – 4.2 oz/yd2 – thru-hiker.com

Both of those are waterproof – no need for liner – but I go in the rain a lot and put important things in a waterproof bag, for one thing, when I open the pack up water can get inside

I used 1.5 oz/yd2 silnylon which was fine for a couple years, but finally started ripping a couple places. Another thing is, the 200d fabric is stiffer so it allows me to carry a little more weight maybe. It requires extra reinforcement so the total pack weight is the same as 200d oxford

Justin,
You can use an RTV to trap the fibers and cut through the RTV. Also the fibers melt at about 130C so with a hot soldering iron you can fuse and cut the fabric. This material is very difficult to cut with scissors, but should be durable. One company made a pack out of this in the past, and people talked about it being like new after 10 years!

Ballistic vests made from the laminate material are often sewn, (use a ball needle!).
The laminate normally includes about 20w/0 adhesive (varies depending on the grade (PU vs olifin often Kraton)and a thin Mylar(r) film. This would behave far worse than the typical Cuben fabric in typical backpacking conditions. I have done comparative testing with this and other ballistic materials and durability is not one of its assets.

Cliff

Justin,
This is the old pack I referred to./
http://sectionhiker.com/keltys-ultralight-backpack-an-introduction-to-the-cloud/

Cliff

…that's WAY overkill for a pack. That's the sort of fabric you make a pack designed to be dropped out of an helicopter at fifty feet, not one meant for hiking on well-groomed trails.

Most hiking packs are made of 330d CORDURA nylon or lighter materials (especially the ones popular here). Only on mil-spec packs will you consistently see 500d+ (and, even then, it usually tops out at "ballistic" nylon, @~1600d; you won't see too many all-Spectra packs).

If you're looking for cheap and easy to work with, check out Outdoor Wilderness Fabrics; they carry a 200d coated Oxford nylon that's less than $5/yard (on a 60"-wide bolt). It's more'n durable enough for a pack, and the only truly waterPROOF packs are dry bag haulers. Your best bet for water resistance is to use a pack liner rather than trying to design the pack itself to be waterproof.

Hope it helps!

Hi Jerry, thanks for the info. Have you ever tried 70D silnylon as a pack material?

Great info Cliff! Much thanks. I don't know what a RTV is, but no worries i'll look it up.

John, i like the idea of super ultra durable. People pay good money to get all Spectra packs from Dan, and say they last pretty much for your lifetime.

Considering how relatively cheap this material is, why wouldn't i pick this over something a bit cheaper, but heavier and less durable?

no, just 30D silnylon, which marginally worked

200D polyurethan nylon seems much stiffer so much better

Since my 30D pack weighs the same as 200D, no reason to try 70D?