MTN series 30D Silnylon 6.6

[Kyle Baker]

I wanted to give everyone a heads up on a new Silnylon we’ve come out with. One of the holes I’ve seen in the market for some time is the availability of a super strong, highly waterproof silnylon that is still relatively light. I’ve wanted to make this line for probably two years now, but it’s taken until now to get the fabric right.

What we’ve come up with is the following:

Base Fabric – 1.1 oz/30D Ripstop Nylon 6.6

Coating – 100% silicone both sides

Weight (finished) – 1.3 osy (44 gsm)

Hydro Head – > 3000 mm (ISO-811 E)

Tear Strength – 20 kgf (warp), 13 kgf (weft)

-> Full spec sheet HERE

Since I think most folks here appreciate pure performance specs, I’ll say right away that for the combination of weight, waterproofness, and tear strength, I think this is one of if not the best 30D sil out there. Of course it’s more expensive than others, but like most of the time you get what you pay for.

Qualitatively I can say that the tear strength alone is absolutely uncanny compared to similar weight materials, including our own 20D silnylon and silpoly.  Not even in the same ballpark. The video below is a BOTE, unscientific test for sure, but I think it illustrates the point:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FRSgiupfQQ

Let me know if anyone has questions. I’m excited to get some of this out into the field. We’ll also be putting together some new kits for different pieces of gear from this silnylon and other MTN series fabrics to come. If you have any ideas along those lines, feel free to let us know.

Thanks!

 

[Eric Blanche]

Thanks for the heads up. I noticed this on the webpage the other day and hadn’t yet heard about it.

What would you say some of the more useful purposes for this would be? I’m thinking this would be a bomber shelter floor. It seems to me that silpoly was/is the new lightweight preferred fabric for shelters/tarps with your PU4000 option as well. How does this new MTN silnylon compare against the silpoly and pu coated silpoly in terms of strength, stretch, water absorption, etc?

Ron from MLD suggests his new pro silnylon has far less stretch than previous silnylon. Again, how does this stuff compare against the silpolys and the standard silnylon?

Thanks a bunch Kyle, love your company and find myself making orders every couple weeks! Keep up the awesome work!

[Kyle Baker]

Disclosure: I am the owner/founder of Ripstop by the Roll.

You could use this as a floor. On top a higher HH (> 3000 mm), the MTN silnylon also has a more durable sil coating, so it should hold up better over time with abrasion.

In terms of other uses, really it’s anywhere you want a lighweight sil that’s super strong with great waterproofing. Compared to silpoly it will have more stretch when wet, but be MUCH, MUCH stronger and more waterproof. I think that’s a worthwhile trade in a number of circumstances:

• Exposure to high winds or beating rain with no tree cover
• Shelter designs that place more stress on the fabric
• You prefer bomber strength and sil coat longevity over the absolute lightest weight

When you think about it, < 5% extra weight isn’t bad for the strength and waterproof rating you get in return. That being said, silpoly has gained a lot of popularity for a reason. It doesn’t stretch when wet and has better UV resistance. It also comes in a lot more colors if that is a consideration. It’s a great fabric. The MTN sil is just a different beast for a different set of requirements/goals.

[Sam C]

Hey Kyle, I appreciate all that you do with fabrics but I’d like to see this MTN line expand into pack fabrics, if possible.  In particular, with plain weave (that is, non-ripstop) fabrics.  Outside of basic oxford, packcloth, and Cordura fabrics, in the U.S. it seems impossible to source plain weave, high abrasion, fabrics.  Perhaps an oxford woven with 6.6 nylon, or a taffeta weave with the 6.6 nylon.  PU coating on the backside with DWR on the frontside, of course.

[Gregory Hardy]

Interested in the increased abrasion for bivy bottoms and how the abrasion compares to silpoly.

Good work,

Greg

[Nick Smolinske]

This fabric is really intriguing. I’m planning out a new tent* and this may be the floor material I use – a little bit lighter than the PU 4000 silpoly and stronger too! Just one question, how slippery is it?

* It’s gonna be Duplex/Haven style but wider, with Silpoly XL for the fly – looking to fit 2 people + 2 dogs.

[Kyle Baker]

We’ll definitely add a pack fabric or two eventually. Is there a reason you want plain weave over ripstop? Just curious.

On the topic of packs, we also have an N66 4-way stretch fabric that I’d like to get added to this line soon.

[Kyle Baker]

It’s slippery, but IMO on par with our 1.1 Silpoly or Silnylon (nylon 6).

[Jean-Francois Jobin]

Hi,
when will be available?light gray color?
any discount for BPL member at the release?
Similar fire resistance than standard 30d silnylon?
i look for this kind of silnylon(as good as MLD silnylon )since long time.
thanks

 

[Sam C]

We’ll definitely add a pack fabric or two eventually. Is there a reason you want plain weave over ripstop? Just curious.

In part, aesthetics.  For one, there is no nap, or visual, directional, orientation.  I would imagine the weave still being directional, but in terms of appearance it would look the same no matter how it was oriented to the rest of the pack.  Take HyperD; this ripstop pattern is definitely oriented in the vertical when going from selvedge edge to selvedge edge.  Of course, it could be also laid out in the horizontal, but, cut it at a slight angle from the 90˚ vertical orientation and the piece, panel, etc. will look crooked.  Same is true with box patterns.

The other thing is when building a pack from different fabrics–say a more abrasion resistant fabric for the bottom panel, a better-than-average abrasion resistant but still lighter-weight fabric for the side panels, perhaps an even lighter-weight fabric for should straps and roll top/ drawstring closure, etc. you might end up with 3 or 4 different ripstop patterns ranging from “3D” square to double square to small square to large square to diamond (of various sizes as well) to hex and so on.  In the end, it just looks weird.

So, if one or two of those fabrics could be of a plain weave, the resulting pack would not look so hodge podge.  Both ULA and SMD (thanks to Brian Frankel) use a plain weave 210D Robic.  So does Mystery Ranch and perhaps a few others.  Gossamer Gear now uses a 100D and 200D plain weave Robic, so this stuff is out there yet where to buy in the U.S.?

 

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