Material Suppliers - a thread for suppliers and material types...

el manana

Thru Hiker
I thought i would start a thread for MYOG material suppliers. Some of this info is dotted about on various threads but i've lost my links and struggling to find some of it.

I'm interested in decent quality...
Groundsheet material
30D Silnylon - cant find this at extremtextil
Cuben Fiber - not sure what g/m for groundsheets

Inner fabric -the lightest coated material suitable for inners?
Midge proof mesh -

Any US sellers out there worth buying from?

Surely there's more out there than Pennine and Extremtextil?...
 

theoctagon

Thru Hiker
ET are good but often only have the sil in seconds and usually 20 or 40d. They do decent inner material, I got a load recently, can't remember the exact spec at the moment but there's a couple on there, I'll update this reply tomorrow with a link.

Cuben I wouldn't go below .74 for a floor, 1.0 probably better, more hard wearing and puncture resistant. You do lose some of the weight advantage over sil though and it isn't cheap but it's not slippery and I find it much easier to work with.

US wise thru hiker worth a look, especially for silnylon, pretty sure their shield sil is the same as the stuff some manufacturers call pro silnylon.

Zpacks carry a lot of different weight cuben as well as pertex quantum gl and their new ventum. They sell midge netting, zips etc as well

Also check out ripstopbytheroll in the US, plenty of fabrics, their gen 2 silpoly might be worth a look, similar spec to silnylon but supposedly not as slippery to work worth and a lot less stretch in it. I've got some on the way so will let you know. They also do the worlds lightest midge netting if you want to go very lightweight
 
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Mole

Thru Hiker
I've had black silnylon which I used for bivi floors from Bearpaw - used 2 weeks last summer - ok so far...

Also bought black silnylon from
Montanasoftware on ebay
not made anything with it yet but seems ok....

Don't Extrem still do the decent yellow inner tent fabric at 38g/sq m (1.1oz/sq yd)? Have you an objection to using that?

Careful of ultralight fabrics for an inner - often calendared and not breathable enough (like pertex- low CFM - single figures) though I've read on BPL, folk claim Argon is breathable enough (40-50CFM)
 

el manana

Thru Hiker
Thanks, that's a decent list to start from :)

I'm making a new SL3 half inner, 30d Sil or Cuben floor, solid walls (cf?...), t door, hoping it will end up sub 400grams.

Might make it something like an SMD inner so its compatible with a new MID...

Cathy - did you use extrem?
Anyone used ZPacks for material?
 

Teepee

Thru Hiker
CH Cross sell some miltary vehicle cover fabric that I've made a few tarps and a my bathtub groundsheet from. It's triple PU coated , massively waterproof, non slippy, packs down very small and comes in at 1.3 oz.

Downside is its brown and sand but would make a great floor for an inner and it's nicer to work with that sil. I used brown down and sand inside.
 

Mole

Thru Hiker
Have you got a link Mole, not sure which you mean?...
this one - though it's listed as 40g/m these days - very similar to that used in TN inner tents (think it's what Oookworks use)
http://www.extremtextil.de/catalog/Ripstop-Nylon-impregnated-inner-tent-40-g-sqm::1972.html



CH Cross sell some miltary vehicle cover fabric that I've made a few tarps and a my bathtub groundsheet from. It's triple PU coated , massively waterproof, non slippy, packs down very small and comes in at 1.3 oz.

Downside is its brown and sand but would make a great floor for an inner and it's nicer to work with that sil. I used brown down and sand inside.

got a link for that Teepee? can't find on the site. sounds interesting.


Thanks, that's a decent list to start from :)

I'm making a new SL3 half inner, 30d Sil or Cuben floor, solid walls (cf?...),
really?
Shap has an oookworks half mesh inner with cuben at the short ends (head and foot) - even with all the mesh it attracts condensation - not recommended I imagine any unbreathable fabric e.g. sil would be similar.
 

Teepee

Thru Hiker
It's not listed Mole, needs a phone call. ;) I'm sure they sell or have sold it on Ebay too. They will know what you are asking for.
 

edh

Thru Hiker
What's so good about the Quest Silnylon - I thought 'Shield' silnylon was meant to be the 'best'...or are they the same?
 

Teepee

Thru Hiker
if thats the tank fabric Pete then mine is 2oz

One of our scales is wrong. :D

What's so good about the Quest Silnylon - I thought 'Shield' silnylon was meant to be the 'best'...or are they the same?

I know nothing about using 'Shield' TBH. Thru-Hiker commission it directly. The Quest silnylon is high quality IME-it's got a very thick sil' coating and hasn't let any water in over the time I've been using it. IMO it's a better fabric than the Sea to Summit Cordura sil-Nylon. Great price too on their seconds, faults are very sparse and minor, and don't impact at all on performance.

I've 2 tarps, 6 stuff sacks and a pack liner made from it and it's all as good as new after around 50 days of trail use.
 

Shewie

Chief Slackpacker
Staff member
Midge netting from midgie.net is to be avoided if you come across it in your searches, I sent some to America to be fitted into a hammock. Compared to no-see-um or nano-see-um apparently it's a pig to work with, long story short it didn't last very long before the weave started pulling out of shape and letting the flying teeth in, I had to get it replaced with nano-see-um eventually.

If you can find the net Beatons use for their jackets you'll be onto a winner, it's much more supple and hard wearing than the midgie.net stuff, I'd have a lot of confidence if it was used for an inner.
 

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
Cathy - did you use extrem?

Yes, used Extrem. I ordered various fabrics - most not tried/used yet. Once you've committed to their initial postal charge adding more to the order doen't push the postal cost up any further => might as well get everything else from them too.
 

el manana

Thru Hiker
really?
Shap has an oookworks half mesh inner with cuben at the short ends (head and foot) - even with all the mesh it attracts condensation - not recommended I imagine any unbreathable fabric e.g. sil would be similar.
Whose Shap?...i thought id read someone had done it somewhere, wasnt sure of its viability though. Thanks
 

Mole

Thru Hiker
whose?:(

Shap is a member on here. An occasional TGOer, recent trip companion (as reported on here) and UL/MYOG type like many of us.

I personally wouldn't have more than a tall bathtub of any fully waterproof/non breathable fabric in an inner tent - bound to get condensation trouble at some point sooner than with a breathable fabric. (though I see Bearpaw offers sil and cuben as an option....)
 

Teepee

Thru Hiker
You may be surprised 7 at how it lasts. I'm exactly your weight and I've got 40 nights in one out of even lighter nylon. It's outlived a 70gsm low tenacity nylon job.:)
 

7wave

Trail Blazer
You may be surprised 7 at how it lasts. I'm exactly your weight and I've got 40 nights in one out of even lighter nylon. It's outlived a 70gsm low tenacity nylon job.:)

Just remember to take all the sharp objects out of your pockets :)
 
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