Patrik Orcutt 04.13.23
Over the years outdoor companies are incorporating more and more cutting-edge materials into their tents, sleep systems, and backpacks. So much so, that it’s hard to keep track of them. With that being said, I have made a small guide to try and help you navigate what all these different materials mean and what they are good for. Everything from X-PAC to Nylon to cotton.
Cotton Canvas
A canvas backpack is a very popular backpack that lasts a long time. A canvas backpack offers different designs that allow people to choose high-quality products that are fashionable and perfect for any opportunity. Canvas backpacks are known for being very durable, they are made from high-quality, 100% waxed canvas materials. They also come in earthy-toned colors and styles. It’s easy to dye a canvas backpack so in case you wish to change the color of your canvas backpack at any point, you’ll be able to dye it into your new favorite color. The canvas backpack offers many different great benefits like comfort, versatility, and durability, and it’s easy to look stylish wearing it!
Nylon
Nylon is one of the most popular and often-seen materials used in backpacks today. It is actually a broad range of plastics (Polyamides) that can be melted down and turned into various things including fibers. It is these fibers that are woven and used for backpacks.
One of the reasons, apart from being able to be woven, that Nylon is so popular for backpacks is that it is strong, durable, and can resist abrasion and temperatures very well. You might also be surprised to learn that it can resist various insects and other common backpack issues like mold, which is yet another reason you see it used absolutely everywhere.
Ripstop
Ripstop nylon is a woven fabric where reinforcement yarns are interwoven at regular intervals in a crosshatch pattern. This creates resistance to ripping, tearing, or unraveling if the nylon is punctured and also helps to waterproof. Ripstop is very common, particularly in outdoor backpacks. It’s also used in sails, parachutes, and hot air balloons.
Ballistic
This is thick and durable nylon, originally developed by DuPont for military apparel during WW2. The name of this nylon speaks to its origin, as it was designed to protect the airmen from flying debris and fragmentation caused by bullet and artillery-shell impacts. Even though Kevlar has since replaced this function, ballistic nylon is still used today for many heavy-duty backpacks. It is typically 840-1680 denier fabric. Ballistic nylon used to be a specific raw material but is now more of a general describing term.
Polyester
Polyester is a synthetic fiber, which is strong and resistant to tears and has a greater resistance to ultraviolet rays (UV). For these reasons, it is a common material for outdoor backpacks. During outdoor activities such as travel and hikes, continuous exposure to the sun can damage or crack the material, so the resistance to UV rays adds greater protection to the backpack. The backpack made of polyester will keep the color longer without losing its hue and will not create creases. Polyester is a fabric that does not absorb water and dries quickly, so the backpack is perfect for hiking in the snow or during rainy days.
Dyneema
Dyneema is a more recent fabric used in bags and is a brand of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). It was originally designed for sails used by racing yachts but is now used by the military and other industries as well. It’s very strong and lightweight and is 10-15 times stronger than steel when measuring the same gauge strand, giving it a top-of-the-line strength-to-weight ratio compared to other fabrics. Dyneema doesn’t have the same soft text that some other fabrics have and is a bit of a stiffer feel like paper or tarp.
X-PAC
X-Pac is a laminate technology created by taking multiple layers of material and bonding them together with heat, pressure, and adhesives. This process was first developed and distributed by the sailcloth-making company, Dimension-Polyant. Seeing the potential for X-Pac to be utilized in other applications, X-PAC eventually found its way to outdoor accessories with bag makers eager to jump on board. Different types of X-PAC, utilize different densities of nylon. Include the following E.g., VX21, VX07, and X50, which use 210D, 70D, and 50D nylon layers respectively for their X-PAC.
Cordura
CORDURA is a nylon-based fabric ideal for military and law enforcement clothing and gear. Sixteen separate products make up the CORDURA range, which extends from a featherweight material to one heavy enough for use in body armor. Among CORDURA’s most deterministic features is its high “durability per weight” index. CORDURA is typically added to garments at positions most likely to be subjected to intense wear-and-tear, such as knees, instep, belt loops, and pockets. CORDURA has three main competitors: Schoeller-protect, carbon fibre textiles, and ceramic dots. Thanks to ongoing innovation, CORDURA is likely to continue as a leading favorite of producers of military and LE apparel and gear.
Robic
Robic (also called Robic Nylon) is an improved type of nylon, called high tenacity nylon, which is more tear and abrasion-resistant than the previous forms of nylon used to make backpacks, luggage, and other outdoor gear. While its early adopters included smaller backpack makers like Gossamer Gear and ULA, larger backpack companies like Gregory, Granite Gear, and Osprey have also adopted it.
Strength Indicators
D (denier)
Denier is a metric used to describe what is essentially thickness or density. It was originally intended to measure varying sizes of strands of silk and is the mass in grams of 9,000 meters of a single strand of yarn, so it’s not technically correct to call it density, which is mass per unit volume. And technically correct is the best kind of correct. Anyways… when you see a backpack that is 450D nylon or 900D polyester, that means that 9,000 meters of one strand of that fabric weigh 450 grams and 900 grams respectively. The higher the denier, the stronger the fabric (in general, but only intra-material). This does not translate directly across different fabrics, as each fabric is also inherently different in strength. For example, 450D nylon is actually stronger than 600D polyester. Adventure backpacks used for hiking and camping can commonly be found in the range of 450–600D nylon.
Tenacity
When it comes to fabrics, tenacity is how well the fabric resists further tearing after a tear has begun. It is measured in grams per denier (i.e., grams per grams per meter). Nylon backpacks come as Type 6 Nylon (a low tenacity of 3–6 g/D) or Type 66 Nylon (a high tenacity of 6–9.5 g/D). Type 6 is the most common one used in backpacks.
