IDing Walmart ripstop

[G...Hawk]

IDing Walmart fabric :
( We do not have Walmarts in NYC. Look for fabric depts whenever in one elsewhere.
Yesterday, did a favor for a friend, nearby a Walmart an 1.5 hours away.
Perhaps should go back and get more.)

What is this ?

Bought 9.5 yards of ripstop. OD/gray in color. 52" $1.50 yd
Slippery and both sides look about the same.
Can not blow thru, like blowing out a candle.

Currently : 2 hours into a water test; tennis ball size water ball hanging with no leaks.
Does not leak when patted firmly. No sweating yet.

It is more coated than the breathable 1.1 of the Speers Snugfit ("1.1 oz/sq yd breathable Ripstop Nylon shells" )
and not as "noisy" as the Snugfit sack ( "Silnylon Stuff Sack 7" x 14" Included" ).

Spent some hours reading :

If you can drape that fabric down into a bucket and fill it half full of water, the gather up the edges and lift the "water ball" out of the bucket and it doesn't leak, it is most likely silnylon. If water starts "weeping" through the weave, but the fabric doesn't wet out, it is DWR.

I have also purchased some of the gray ripstop with the coating in it. It looks like 1.1 ripstop with a heavy DWR on it. I ended up buying the whole bolt (10yrds) for those potential projects. I did a waterproof test also, by taking a piece of the material and formed it into a megshift sack and poured water into it. the water didn't leak through at all.

I'm not sure if I would use it for a tarp since it seem a bit tooo thin, to me,to use it for that. Also my bolt was 48 inches wide and not 60.

But on the other hand @ $1.50/yd it's worth the try. Small investment for an experiment. If it works!! then you have a $15 tarp (not including labor of course)

I think we need an article on this one. Seems to come up every once and a while.

There is a really easy way to tell not involving burning, blowing, water, or anything that gets you strange looks.

Ripstop - has the box pattern we all love
untreated/uncoated - it is not shinny, frays, if you look real close it is rough. You can even see the very tiney holes in it (great for hammocks, not waterproof)
treated/coated - it is shinney, usually 1 side more than the other, it frays, the surface is smooth (great for quilts and hammock socks, water resistant and breathable)
sil - does not fray, is shinney, is smooth (great for tarps, is waterproof)

1.1 thin and can kind of see light through
1.9 thicker and hard to see through

That's how I tell and it hasn't let me down. Poly versus nylon is a little harder. Most of what you find is nylon. I think poly stretches a little more, but not sure. I only have a little bit.

Walmart seems to have a ton of cheap taffeta. OK for testing, but doesn't hold up over time.

The big question is : is there a cheaper silnylon that does not have the noise?
Is this possibly silnylon?

Would this be good for hammock sock / traveler pod with face hole like Just Jeff's adjustable opening?
Plus with Insultex bottom, either built in or removable, following MacEntyre's?

[attrezzo]

Interesting... 1.50 for silnylon is a very tempting price, especially without shipping! I'll have to check into that..

Any word on whether or not people have had similar experiences at places like hancocks or joanne's?

[opie984]

That ia exactly the same material I just used to make my first tarp with. Ans as one of your quotes stated, for 1.50 a yard I figured it was worth a go. The only thing I haven't been able to test is how wind will affect it (for obvious reasons, can't generate wind ). My only real concern was the threads tearing through the fabric from the stress of stretching it when pitched. However, a little research on what seams hold up best will go a long way. I flat felled (blue jeans hem) my ridgeline with great results.

[WarmSoda]

I'm not new to fabrics. I've been wearing clothes my whole life. I can tell the difference between Jersey knit cotton and polar 100 fleece, and maybe be able to tell 100 fleece from 200 fleece, but not if my life depended on it. I have absolutely no idea between one type of ripstop nylon vs another ripstop nylon. Any helpful hints or suggestions about how to differentiate different types or what makes a first vs a second would be really helpful.

I'm lucky enough to have a Walmart in town that carries fabric and I did go on a scouting mission after reading a few posts about cheap fabric there. I found two different ripstop nylons and bought them both. After bringing home and testing ( a bowl under a colander, lined with the fabric, and filled with water for 24 hours), one is much more water resistant than the other, with just a few drops getting through. The other would shed drops, but this static test allowed all the water to drain through into the bowl over 24hrs.

There is no label on any of it other than "Reduced $1.50/yd". It is all very frustrating. I asked a Walmart-Teammember and they had no idea, but did tell me that there was no way to know what was in the $1.50 area. They just put in an order for cheap cloth and a shipment of grab bag cloth shows up. They don't know what they are going to get and can't put in any special requests for certain fabrics.

[Spock]

I've never seen real silnylon in at any Wallyworld. What they usually have is a grey 1.9 oz. Nylon 6 (garment grade) with a decent dry water repellent treatment. The bag test will not show its limits unless you load it with a gallon or so. Silnylon feels much lighter than that fabric and has a waxy surface on both sides. PU coated fabrics have a rubbery coating on one side. It's an obvious difference. I've used the Wallyworld fabric for hammock bodies. It holds up reasonably well and has less stretch than the *much* stronger Nylon 66.

[tlbj6142]

Silnylon won't fray (easily) when you cut the edges, un-coated nylon will fray rather easily if you just rub your fingers on a freshly cut edge.

[BOB1520]

Silnylon won't fray (easily) when you cut the edges, un-coated nylon will fray rather easily if you just rub your fingers on a freshly cut edge.

Exactlly.
The stuff that is at WalMart, I believe is not true silnylon, due to it's fraying after it is cut. Therefore, I think it has a heavy DWR coating or some other water proofing. I'm sure it's not a PU coating since it doesn't mimic any of the other PU nylon that I have or have used previously.

BUT for $1.50/ yd.... you can make two of what you are making and have a backup when/ if the first one fails. I would... make sure you reinforce the tie-outs and ridge-line for better end results.

[WarmSoda]

Silnylon won't fray (easily) when you cut the edges, un-coated nylon will fray rather easily if you just rub your fingers on a freshly cut edge.

Good to know. The stuff that won't hold water is literally fraying at the ends with big clumps of threads sticking on everything. It's like a spider web the way it grabs.

[WarmSoda]

Exactlly.
The stuff that is at WalMart, I believe is not true silnylon, due to it's fraying after it is cut. Therefore, I think it has a heavy DWR coating or some other water proofing. I'm sure it's not a PU coating since it doesn't mimic any of the other PU nylon that I have or have used previously.

BUT for $1.50/ yd.... you can make two of what you are making and have a backup when/ if the first one fails. I would... make sure you reinforce the tie-outs and ridge-line for better end results.

Thanks for the info. I picked up a thread injector at a garage sale for $10 and am thinking of some stuff sacks for a first sewing DIY project.

[BOB1520]

Thanks for the info. I picked up a thread injector at a garage sale for $10 and am thinking of some stuff sacks for a first sewing DIY project.

Stuff Sacks was one of the first project I did. If you haven't checked it out already... go to thru-hiker.com and they have nice directions and a formula to figure out the materail needed to get the stuff sack size you want. RamblinRev has some how to videos you might want to check out also, Well... that is if you haven't already done so...