Material question

**Frolicking Dino** · 04-17-2007, 09:40

I bought 8 yards of what I thought was a tightly woven polyester fabric with a light DRW coating in Franklin, NC. I was planning to make hammocks with this. I got it out yesterday to test the water resistance. This fabric is 100% waterproof (tested over a large cofee can with 2 cups of water for 3 hours - no leakage). I weighed the fabric 2.5 ozs per square yard.

Any suggestions on what to do with this fabric?

BTW, this fabric is a dark blue (nearly navy) with a tiny black line every 1/4" or so.

**Coffee** · 04-17-2007, 09:44

Sounds like a good canidate for water carry bags.

**lvleph** · 04-17-2007, 10:00

Sounds like some sort of Dynema. If you could post a pic it would be easier to know. And I would love some Dynema. Good for making back packs. Also, good for tie out reinforcements on tarps.

**Coffee** · 04-17-2007, 10:05

Originally Posted by lvleph

Sounds like some sort of Dynema. If you could post a pick it would be easier to know. And I would love some Dynema. Good for making back packs. Also, good for tie out reinforcements on tarps.

Good idea, that material might be good for a luxury lite pack cylinder knockoff.

**seuss** · 04-17-2007, 10:27

No sort of Dyneema. The white grid of dyneema gridstop is white because the strong grid threads (the Dyneema or Spectra) won't take dye at all. If the threads are black, they're not Dyneema.

**lvleph** · 04-17-2007, 12:04

Interesting, since this is suppose to be spectra.

**Otter1** · 04-17-2007, 12:35

Originally Posted by lvleph

Interesting, since this is suppose to be spectra.

That line probably uses a cover similar to Hennessy's (black around a white Spectra core).

**seuss** · 04-17-2007, 12:42

Originally Posted by lvleph

Interesting, since this is suppose to be spectra.

If Tinman says it's spectra, it's spectra. But I think the apparent color in the photo may have more to do with shadow and reflection than dye.

I got some odd length lots of 725# flat weave spectra from Gossamer Gear a couple years ago and it's a glossy/unmarkable white. Sharpie does nothing.

Does the thread running through the mystery fabric look something like this?

I also picked up some mystery fabric a year or so ago from the $1/yd table that I thought might be dyneema. I was wrong. (Oh boy, I hate saying that.) It was white with a black thread, and on close, close inspection the black thread was no different from the white. That's when somebody told me that the spectra thread is always white.

Of course, that same person also tried to send me out looking for a left handed smoke shifter. Duh. Everybody knows that smoke shifters only come in right handed versions.