XPAC Nylon Ripstop?

[NCPatrick]

I searched HF and didn't find any hits on this. Does anyone know the weight of this fabric? I noticed they were selling it at rockywoods.com under nylons...

And does anyone have any experience with using it?

According to what I could find by Googling it, it is:

• waterproof X-Pac® fabric, which is 40% lighter than most nylons.
• X-Pac is similar to the material they use to make sails for sailboats. Super lightweight and very very tough.

I did email the folks at rockywoods.com just now about the weight. Looking forward to getting the answer.

I am still interested in anyone else's experiences or thoughts about this fabric.

[skar578]

i have no idea. but please keep us informed. its not much more then their other waterproof nylons (i dont know, is it silnylon, or light weight coated?

[NCPatrick]

I just read something about a variant of x-pac from a review of a pack made from it...

Dimension Polyant x-Pac VX-21 and VX-42 fabrics that utilize a 3-ply design with a grid of high tenacity fibers in the middle (somewhat like Spectra).

I have no idea if that's what rockywoods is selling or not (yet). I think not. I suspect that theirs is not this heavy. I'll keep you posted on what I find out.

[NCPatrick]

Here's something from a discription about an X-pac messenger bag:

What’s the difference between the x-Pac material and Ballistic or Cordura?

x-Pac, like our Ballistic and Cordura is a durable nylon. However, due to a three part laminate process it is three times lighter than Ballistic and Cordura and it is waterproof up to 200 pounds per square inch.

[NCPatrick]

Still haven't heard back from rockywoods.com yet. I just ordered 3 samples of this material from them (dark Grey, black, and bright orange).

[NCPatrick]

Bill at Rockywoods.com emailed me and said:

These fabrics weigh about 4.9 oz.sq yd. They've come
in at 52" clean edge to clean edge.

Just fyi.

I'm still waiting for my samples.

[NCPatrick]

I was told by the guy at Rockywoods.com that this material was from Arcteryx. Here's a blurb:

Arc'teryx sourced x-Pac™ fabric for exceptional long-term durability and water shedding properties. Instead of simply coating the interior, this fabric is constructed with a three-layer bonding process.

Hmmm... I still haven't made a rain hat yet...

[NCPatrick]

I got the XPac samples from rockywoods yesterday. I'll have to post some pictures.

The fabric does look heavier than 1.9oz. nylon. It's got the normal ripstop pattern of squares, but also has this cris-cross heavy duty thread going through that as well. The fabric seems colored on one side, and the other side is not as finished. I'll try to post the pictures this afternoon/evening.

[NCPatrick]

Here are the pictures of the samples I received.

http://picasaweb.google.com/brownpatri/XpacMaterial

It's a bit rigid. Would be good for pack reinforcements and such.

[Take-a-knee]

That should be awesome to make a pack from, or at least the bottom.