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I have some nylon (?) panels from an old chute I was going to use for another project but I think I'd rather turn them into a hammock. I have no idea of the strength or qualities of the stuff.
Is it suitable in general or should I just skip it and get something else?
hey, (first I have no idea what kind of fabric you have there)
but I tested several nylons that claimed use for parachute,
none of them had enough strength in seams, some teared only a bit some lot worse,
if its material to be "wasted" its worth the try.. you can make test hammock chair or something like that not to waste a lot of material.
I reckon it must be perfectly adequate, as I have one myself and love it!! Plus, it seems to have passed the test of time for a company to have been making hammocks for the last 20 years - http://www.ticketothemoon.com/
pretty sure parachute nylon are rated to 400lbs. Company like ENO and grand trunk makes parachute nylon hammocks that rated to 400 lbs. I think they are like 2.0 ripstop nylon or something do that degree. Pretty heavy comparing to ultralight materials that are available.
Afaik, "parachute" hammocks are not made from actual parachute fabric. Parachute fabrics I have seen are pretty much always treated to be water repelling or proof. Maybe the first hammocks were made from parachute fabric? Maybe parachute fabric isn't the same as 50 years ago? Or they just call the fabric "parachute" fabric because it looks similar?
If the fabric in question is not treated and wide enough, I would say give it a try. If it's very thin, consider doing a Warbonnet whip instead of channels. In my experiments, the WB whip spread the weight on the fabric instead on the seams. Or you could do a double layer hammock.
The fabric one of the first hammocks I tried to make was the green nylon the old T10 parachutes was made from (but new). I never finished it because the fabric opened around the seams under load. I had to join 2 pieces because it was too narrow.
I don’t know how wide and long your fabric is but if you have to join 2 or more pieces forget it!
Thin nylon will stretch and if there is a seam in the area where you lay it will not stretch because of several layers and then the hammock will not be comfortable and the risk for ripping a seam.
The fabric you have may be actual parachute nylon but generally “parachute nylon” is just a phrase. “Parachute nylon” does not say anything about the fabrics properties or the quality. It is a misused word and it will fool a lot of people.
It's white, thin and the panels are likely too small so they would need to be joined. I think it is a drogue chute used to deploy a larger parachute.Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowball
So with that in mind I think maybe it might be better suited for an underquilt.
I appreciate the feedback from everyone.
Please also be careful regarding using it for an UQ if you want to use down. Fabric used for down has to be downproof. I don’t know if there is a method you can use to test it. If its anything like the fabric I had it will not work well with down.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigBill