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  1. #1

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    Anyone heard of DCF shrinking?

    I recently came across a thread on Reddit in which someone says that a small stuff sack they made from DCF has shrank over time. With a photo linked. And lots of questions/comments, as you would imagine.

    Has anyone else heard of DCF shrinking? I'd think that if this were a common problem, we'd be hearing a lot more about issues with DCF tarps. Wondering what could be different/wrong with the poster's starting fabric that would cause it to shrink.

    (Wasn't sure whether to post here or in "Weather Protection." Could go either place, I suppose.)

  2. #2
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    No, I have never ever heard of DCF shrinking, but if I had, that info definitely would have come from Reddit! I have never found any useful information about anything on Reddit - not a lot of expertise there.

    From what I could find on the web, DCF is not particularly prone to shrinkage, maybe 2% when heated. And of course, leaving DCF out in the sun all day can destroy it rather quickly. There are a few threads on HF of someone leaving their DCF tarp in the backyard for two or three months, and were disappointed that the tarp delaminated. It seems like if you left any tarp out in the sun for three months, the UV, wind and rain damage would be substantial.
    Last edited by SilvrSurfr; 08-26-2020 at 00:35.
    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

  3. #3
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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  4. #4
    Senior Member NOBOZax's Avatar
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    Ha! Awesome

    Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Senior Member Otter1's Avatar
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    Shrinkage!

  6. #6

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    Didn't take long to get to that joke.

    Yeeahh Reddit in general is like any large, unspecialized collection of people of the internet, and I take most things there with more than a grain of salt, though some subreddits are quite useful. This poster is apparently associated with an established brand of climbing and backpacking gear (whether owner, employee, or what, I'm not sure): https://www.hanchor.com/?locale=en

    But I sure would have thought that if normal "use" as stated resulted in 15% shrinkage, we'd have heard plenty about it here. That would have a huge effect on a tarp.

  7. #7
    cmc4free's Avatar
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    I wonder if the perceived issue is not actual shrinking of the material, but more like scrunching of the material. If a DCF tarp is randomly stuffed into a sack and then compressed strongly, when taking the tarp out the next time, it will be very wrinkly and scrunched up (especially so when the tarp is new). From what I can tell, that's not a permanent deformation of any kind; once it's flattened by hand or from the tension of being pitched again, it seems to go back to normal.

    I didn't care to read the reddit, to be honest, but I did read that the item in question was a stuff sack, not a tarp. That seems oven more odd to me.

  8. #8
    New Member Dano1972's Avatar
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    I've noticed shrinkage in several of my older stuff sacks and my 3/yo pack liner. I just chalked it up to me going crazy! But apparently it is a real issue...it just happens to be more pronounced in stuff sacks and other applications that aren't under tension and repeatably stuffed. (I haven't noticed it in my HG tarp) As for the lack of quality information/expertise found on Reddit, it always behooves the beholder to question the source. Although I'd say that Dan Durstan's and Gen Shimizu's (yamamountaingear ) participation in that thread debunks that presumptuous generalization regarding expertise...at least in the r/Ultralight sub

  9. #9
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Over the years I've used a fair number of DCF items — packs, tarps, tents, stuff sacks, ground sheets, poncho — and never noticed any shrinkage.
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dano1972 View Post
    I've noticed shrinkage in several of my older stuff sacks and my 3/yo pack liner. I just chalked it up to me going crazy! But apparently it is a real issue...it just happens to be more pronounced in stuff sacks and other applications that aren't under tension and repeatably stuffed. (I haven't noticed it in my HG tarp) As for the lack of quality information/expertise found on Reddit, it always behooves the beholder to question the source. Although I'd say that Dan Durstan's and Gen Shimizu's (yamamountaingear ) participation in that thread debunks that presumptuous generalization regarding expertise...at least in the r/Ultralight sub
    meh, it's reddit, discard. it's funny, isn't it?

    uhmwpe is well known to be dimensionally unstable (namely, shrink) at "high temperatures". the problem is for dyneema, 70C is high, as 150C is already melting point. in other words, if something made of dyneema is allowed to overheat in that range of temperature (which is quite possible for instance if left in a car in direct sunlight), expect funny things to happen. this is, for instance, one of the main reasons why paraglider manufacturers still bother with kevlar/aramid fibers: dyneema is better in almost every way, except it's high maintenance (one needs to check the line length periodically, and be ready to recognize unreasonable behavior of the glider early), so it is not "for everyone".

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