Walmart "Mystery" Fabric!

[Grinder]

JUST A NOTE ON THE DIFFICULTY OF IDENTIFYING THIS FABRIC:

I thought I had it figured, from the pointers JustJeff gave, but the fabric I identified as nysil is, in fact, DWR, per Brian (aka TBACK).

I thought I couldn't blow through it and it held water for a short test.

Oh well, the USPS needs the income.

When I tried to blow through it a second time, I *guess* I could. It is really hard to get any "FLOW".

Apparently nysil is clearly coated on one side only. Is this true? And obvious to see? It must be like saran wrap for a "blow through test".

Hope this helps someone else.

Tom
Fabric newbie

[The Breeze]

it looks like and feels like wax paper looks but with rip stops in it and it will not fray on the edges when cut .and 1.1 you can see throught in about every color

[Just Jeff]

With silnylon, the silicone is impregnated into the fabric so it doesn't really have a shiny side. With some of the coated fabrics you can tell a difference...they have a "right side" and a "wrong side."

Sil is also a lot more slippery than DWR...once you see some sil, you'll remember the difference. It's kinda hard figuring it out the first time, though.

[Perkolady]

Sil also has a certain "sound" to it - it's sorta crinkly sounding, where the DWR is quiet.
That may sound weird, but it's one way I can tell if I am sifting thru the scrap stash....

Perkolady

[Bug-Bait]

I've never paid much attention to fabric until recently and just remembered the way ripstop looked many years ago on jackets, etc. I was at my local Walmart yesterday and saw the same fabric...and, just assumed that is wasn't ripstop or anything that I could use. I think that the people behind the counter wondered and were slightly amused as to what I was doing trying to blow through the various types of fabric. After reading and reading about hammocks and material, I gave up and ordered a kit from Ed Speer yesterday. I figured it made more sense to finally have a hammock I can finally use and fool with making others with modifications later.

[Just Jeff]

Yep - and once you see what the materials are, you'll be able to identify them better in the store. And besides, making the basic hammock and tarp setup will give you a good starting point for deciding which mods you think are worthy. Post some pics when you get it done!

[T-BACK]

[QUOTE=teblum;5092]JUST A NOTE ON THE DIFFICULTY OF IDENTIFYING THIS FABRIC:

I thought I had it figured, from the pointers JustJeff gave, but the fabric I identified as nysil is, in fact, DWR, per Brian (aka TBACK).

Tom,

It's not easy to blow through but there is air movement. You'll bust a lung trying to blow through silnylon. When I return your fabric I'll enclose some silnylon scraps so you can tell the difference.

Brian
T-BACK

[bobdep]

oh ok , hammock engineer , i will bear that in mind , maybe i should go check again , i didnt even look ... doh !

i went to fabricland and i got some normal nylon for 2:99 can a metre , and i spent the last hour and a half making my skins , they turned out ok , mybe i could make some more when i find silnylon , i put some elastic on each end to scruch up the ends ( to keep the crap out !). now i just need a field test mmmmmm cant wait to get out there ... bit too chilly at the mo -19 'c
cheers for the welcome note ...

bob