I stopped into a Mall Wart in Salisbury, NC and found that they were closing out all of their fabrics. I was able to pick up 40 yards of what looks to be silnylon for .75/yd - enough to outfit my whole family. Thought I would post it to let folks know - there may be other locations doing the same. Worth looking around in that area.
Just a bit of a warning... I was duped by Walmart "silnylon". Do some tests with it before you spend a great deal of time building gear with it... most of what looks like silnylon from Walmart is actually just lightweight ripstop with DWR (usually a shade of gray).
That doesn't mean you didn't get sil, but don't do what I did and make 3 tarps from the stuff only to find out it doesn't hold up against a real shower. I'm still going to use the tarps I made, I'll probably just have to coat them myself, a la DIY silnylon.
Even if it is just DWR - it's still an amazing buy and useful for 40 yards of projects.
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good to know - i'll keep that in mind. i did a water test on it and it held up, so hopefully it will work out.
I bought some of the sil nylon like material a while ago. I did a short term test and worked fine. But I would do a a long term test to make sure it will hold up.
I do have to say it is very light. The down side it's only 48" wide.
two tests you can do:
1, try holding it up to your mouth, really tight and try to blow air through it
2, look at the cut edges and see if it's starting to ravel out
if you can do/see either of these things, then you have the uncoated silnylon. Still great stuff but not waterproof.
Make a big pouch and pour a quart of water into it. Also, silnylon feels waxy. Walmart "deals" are giving "silnylon" a bad name.
GACK!!!! I made a pouch as suggested - no good. After 3 hours it let about a 1/4 cup of water through. So it wasn't sil after all, but it will still work I think for tarps with a little Scotchguard or something.
Thanks for the warnings folks.
I just picked up about 9 more yards of this stuff last night on the way home from trail days (I keep scouring Walmarts looking for the ever elusive IMUSA mug). This gray stuff is definitely NOT sil nylon, it is just the DWR stuff. I think it works great for quilts though. Also, the DIY silicone treatment works well with this fabric and seems to add minimal weight. Still, I dont think it is as good as the more $$ stuff but the price is soo right ( I got mine for $1.50/yd).Originally Posted by ray
Adam
There is a Walmart just north of Atlanta that has them. I have to go to Atlanta on business on Wednesday and might be able to stop by the Walmart. Which size are you looking for?
Silnylon does allow water to seep through under pressure. Sorry all you folks who want to claim it is absolutely waterproof under all conditions. I have taken silnylon from an HH stock tarp and made a pouch. It does seep. There are numerous discussions on the forum about the seeping properties of silnylon. Under heavy, torrential rain, the pressure of the raindrops can be sufficient to cause the water to seep. If you are looking for absolute total waterproof properties your best bet is _PU coated__ fabric. It's heavy as all get out but it is impervious to water. Water bags are often made from that fabric due to its waterproof properties.
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