Silpoly vs silnylon for tarp

[dehler]

Am I right in thinking silpoly is relatively new?
I see a lot of talk about it and understand that it has less stretch then silnylon and is easier to work with.

Is there any reason to use silnylon for a tarp anymore or should I go straight to silpoly?
My only thought is with less stretch there is more risk of tearing.

I'm looking to make a winter tarp. SuperFly is nice but it's nylon. Any chance WB will come out with a poly version? I'm still on the fence wether I should attempt my own or just spend the extra $50 for a professional job from WB.

Any advice would be great.

[V_Allen]

Am I right in thinking silpoly is relatively new?
I see a lot of talk about it and understand that it has less stretch then silnylon and is easier to work with.

Is there any reason to use silnylon for a tarp anymore or should I go straight to silpoly?
My only thought is with less stretch there is more risk of tearing.

I'm looking to make a winter tarp. SuperFly is nice but it's nylon. Any chance WB will come out with a poly version? I'm still on the fence wether I should attempt my own or just spend the extra $50 for a professional job from WB.

Any advice would be great.

As long as the poly is available thats what I'll use from now on. Yes, its new, but very nice material with little to no stretch - I made a tarp a few weeks ago out of silpoly and so far have not had to tighten it up to get it tight again.

It makes a great winter tarp and at 1.1oz it will be lighter. My 12x10 weighs 20oz with lines and 22 pull outs.

Its also easy to hem and sew.

[craige]

Silpoly is quite new. Every post I have seen said it was less slippery and easier to work with than sil.

I remember reading that silpoly is not quite as strong as silnylon, but should still be plenty strong enough for a tarp, with much less stretch. The poly should be much more uv resistant.

I doubt that wb will bring out a poly version of their tarps any time soon. Ripstopbytheroll are the only ones with a polyester sil as far as I'm aware.

[ripstopbytheroll]

I haven't personally made anything with the silpoly yet, but all the feedback I've gotten on the silpoly has been very positive. Much easier to work with along with the stretch and UV advantages. The current silpoly we carry has a slightly lower waterproof rating than the silnylon, but other than that, the silpoly seems to be pulling ahead.

[Shytomboy]

Kyle, how much is "slightly lower" as far as waterproof rating...I'm looking at your website to order around 10 yds of which most will be a tarp. Can I count on the silpoly to keep me dry for a one month trip on the trail?

[ripstopbytheroll]

Kyle, how much is "slightly lower" as far as waterproof rating...I'm looking at your website to order around 10 yds of which most will be a tarp. Can I count on the silpoly to keep me dry for a one month trip on the trail?

Yes it will keep you dry. From a technical standpoint, the silpoly has a hydrostatic head of around 1000mm while the silnylon is up around 1500 mm. In an extreme downpour, the lower HH will increase the likelihood of some minor misting, so there's a trade off, but that's not a deal breaker or anything.

[Shytomboy]

Thanks! My order will be on its way in a few!

[Shytomboy]

Was just wondering, can I use the silicone/mineral spirits diy seam sealer on silpoly? This will be my first tarp so want to make sure I don't ruin it...

[Boston]

There's a lot of problems sealing silpoly right now. Check the other vendor forum for a thread discussing it.

[V_Allen]

Problems? I used 100% silicone and mineral spirits to seal the pull outs on my silpoly tarp. No problems with the application and drying. It hasn't pealed or anything - just a bit of darkening is all. It was set up outside for a week with snow and rain.

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I'll check out the vendor thread.


















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