Can I make Sil Nylon ?

[John Sheridan]

Is Sil nylon something special or can I just get some ripstop Nylon and make it like I see on youtube where they dunk it into silicone they get out of those sealant tubes, I suppose I would need some thin Ripstop Nylon to get the same weight as the premade stuff.

Thanks for any info.

Cheers.

[Bluegum Mic]

Have you had a look on places like DIY gear supply and quest outfitters. They often have silnylon seconds (often have tiny line or mark on the fabric but fully functional) and are like $3 a yard. You'll be hard pressed to find the lighter ripstop nylon here in oz (like the 1.1oz etc) and I find the stuff I do find in fabric stores heavier and or expensive. Sometimes you stumble across a gem in the bargain bin though

[Moondog55]

My limited experience says "Buy it!"

The reason being that the silicon and the Shellite are both expensive and environmentally unfriendly to apply as pteparation of raw materials.
It works but best used as a repair technique that is reasonably durable.
Postage on the fabric from Rockywoods or through-hiker isn't too bad at all

[Orion]

You could always give it a shot. It's not as if silnylon seconds are 100% waterproof to begin with. What's a little misting or drip-thoughs? It's only water.

I've coated silnylon tent floors in order to reduce slipperiness and increase durability and waterproofness. Just coating one side added about 0.5 oz/yd^2 (17 g/m^2). If the fabric were uncoated to begin with I'd have coated both sides and ended up with a relatively heavy fabric. You might be able to do better though.

Is it hard to get silnylon from US fabric retailers shipped to Australia? I buy seconds from OWF (currently $5.90 USD per linear yard).

[John Sheridan]

Someone said they can get rip stop nylon from spotlight, not sure how heavy, what grade that is though, probably good enough to use for my ground cloth until I can get my hands on some tyvek


Cheers.

Will go and ave a look on the weekend and see if my store has any, also have a material store in the main street I will have a look in as well.

[Liamy77]

Someone said they can get rip stop nylon from spotlight, not sure how heavy, what grade that is though, probably good enough to use for my ground cloth until I can get my hands on some tyvek


Cheers.

Will go and ave a look on the weekend and see if my store has any, also have a material store in the main street I will have a look in as well.

this topic might be of help

[Bluegum Mic]

John I have a spare tyvek groungsheet. I've even sewn peg loops so you can peg it down. $10 to cover postage and the fabric and its yours. Its the homewrap style (not the soft stuff). PM me if interested
EDIT- Apologies. I've just looked at it and Id forgot Id shortened it for use under my hammock ie I put my pack on it so its no longer big enough to lie on. Sorry

[michael_p]

I'd say buy it but if you are interested in DIY here are some videos:

[Macca81]

Check out the diy section of the hammock forums, there is a sticky on it there...

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[John Sheridan]

What grade and or type of Tyvek do I need for ground sheet, I want it as light as possible for a single tent, but still stong enough to protect me and my sleep gear !!!!

I think it' graded as GSM right, I can get some 75gsm and 105 gsm tyvek, which would be better, also how thin should I go for tent material ?


Cheers.