Hey folks,

Does anyone know where to find camouflage silnylon? I'm interested in making (or just buying) a pack cover and a poncho. From searching the web it looks like a hard thing to source.

Too hard to make. Tried, but the makers ended up with a lot
of 2nds. Too many passes of the thin fabric through the
dye and coating rollers.

I know where you can get rolls of uncoated, flawed 1.1 oz!

www.rockywoods.com has several camo choices in ultralightweight w/b, but I don't think they have it in silnylon. The do have a MARPAT and ACU in 1.5 oz. urethane coated 70D ripstop nylon. Runs $6-$7 /yd. I've searched extensively for camo fabrics suitable for tents/shelters, and so far this is the best I've found. I ordered a 3" sq sample of the ACU, looks good but I haven't weighed it out and done the math yet, I don't know if that 1.5 oz figure is before or after the coating. I'll try to get to that this morning, I'll use my reloading powder scale.

"I don't know if that 1.5 oz figure is before or after the coating. I'll try to get to that this morning, I'll use my reloading powder scale."


Measured in grains? When grams are just too heavy.

If it is 70d I'm guessing it will be closer to 1.9
oz uncoated. And the coated weight will break 2 ounces
per square yard (or 875 grains).

Edited by oware on 03/24/2009 13:45:58 MDT.

Thanks for your guess Dave. There's no prize for getting it right, but sure, why not- maybe rockywoods can't measure tighter than +/- .4 oz. I'll weigh it when I get home.

Soemone check my math. A precise 3.5" square of their "1.5 oz urethane coated ripstop nylon" weighed 16.5 grains tonight. I'm confident I got an accurate measure. That's 4 frikken oz./sq yd...Rockywoods got some splainin' to do. They also list a shipping weight of 3 oz/yd which is wrong, a lineal yard of this stuff weighs more than twice that.

Their "Waterproof 70D Ripstop Nylon Fabric with Reflective Back - ACU" (looks like its aluminized) comes in at 2.6 oz per yard, which is better than I expected. They only give a shipping weight of 4.5 oz/yd, which...let's see...at 50" width...nope, they're cheating by an oz/yd there, a lineal yadr only weighs 3.6 oz.

I need to have a talk with those guys. My conversations with them have been pleasant and informative, and I get the idea they offer terrific customer service, but these fabric weights need to get cleaned up.

Urethane coatings are often listed as 1.5 ounce per square yard, and uncoated 70d is generally listed at 1.9 osy- so urethane coated 70d would definitely be around 3-1/2 ounces. Maybe their 1.5 ounce spec is the coating?

I'm interested in the aluminized product. I was planning to use some of Seattle Fabrics' solar/heat reflective ripstop for one side of a tent roof. I don't entirely trust that it would be only 1.3 ounces per yard, but they do seem to describe total weights for other fabrics.

Here's Seattle Fabrics description:

1.3 oz. Heat and Solar Reflective Ripstop
1.3 oz. per sq. yard. A tightly constructed ripstop weave with a metalized urethane/silicone coating on each side. Very light weight plus heat and solar reflective. Perfect for tents in hot climates where staying cool is necessary or cold climates where staying warm is necessary. This fabric will both reflect heat away or inwards.

Edited by jimqpublic on 03/25/2009 05:31:22 MDT.

I would be curious too about the reflective material.
Post if you find out, please.

I have urethane coated 1.9 oz ripstop that is 70d.
With a ".25 oz" urethane coating it comes in at 2.2 ozs per
square yard.

More typical is a 1 oz coating for 70d, so it would come in
at 3 oz per square yard. And also like JimQ said, their
are heavier coatings too, up to 4 or 5 ounces of urethane
for heat sealing applications.

A 1.5 oz 70d nylon (uncoated) would simply be a looser weave.

Yup, 1745.6 grains per square yard (3.99 ounces)

The 70d camo I have is similar as it has a "blackout"
coating on the back. A very thick black "clay" coating to prevent light from showing through a poncho or shelter to
avoid making yourself a target.

Thanks for the rockywoods.com suggestion. Since this would only be for a "crap hits the fan" situation and not my normal backpacking, I think the heavier coated ripstop nylon would suit me fine for a poncho/pack cover.

Ryan,

Go to an Army surplus store and buy a camo poncho. They use 1.9oz urethane coated ripstop. It will be cheaper than buying the fabric. There is one in Salt Lake on Redwood Rd and somewhere between 6500 S and I-215 on the west side of the road. A big missile in the parking lot. I can't remember the name of the store. I saw they had a bunch of ponchos in ACU. Otherwise, try diytactical.com.