I was wondering what influences you guys in your choice of fabric, and which ones you consider to be the best?

For most things, I would want a quiet, green/earthy-coloured fabric. This rules out cuben fibre, which is always white from what I've seen; and the lighter silnylons - the ones I've found in the UK below 50gsm have all been the 'crisp' type, ie. crackly and noisy.

The lightest suitable fabrics I've found are 50gsm green silnylon (1.9oz finished weight); or for a breathable jacket, it would be 70gsm black Epic Endurance (2.5oz finished).

Is this the same as what you have in the USA, or am I missing a trick?

Edited by bardsandwarriors on 01/18/2007 18:03:10 MST.

Mostly, you have the range. There are some 1.1 oz sil/urethane double coated fabrics that are less noisy and still light weight (no spray-through as well). Outdoor Wilderness Fabrics has that. Maybe other outlets. So far, anything lighter than 1.3 silicone will be noisier. Unless I've missed something as well.

Thanks Vick. Just checking ;) I'll keep a lookout for that "less noisy" 1.1.

I can import from the USA, but there are shipping costs (often $15 or more) and UK "handling charges" (often the same again), so that's only as a last resort.