silnylon vs. tyvek

“I've got new houses going up everywhere I turn in my neighborhood, so I may have to go on a scavenger hunt in the next few days.”

“I always went when there was no one around. safer that way. and i always had an "excuse" for what i was doing there: i was looking for scrap wood for a fire! never had anyone stop me, so i never had to use it. ;-)”

“I'd like to get a large square of tyvek, wash the hell out of it to get rid it of its talking back, and use it for a Hennessey tarp. Either that or get a smaller piece and use it for doghouse for my stuff. That tarp that ships with the Hennessey hammock is kind of a letdown.

I've seen the tyvek tarp setup on humanpackmule.com, but I'm willing to try a similar setup without planting grommets into the material and securing the edges with the tyvek tape. I saw an illustration on some anonymous website showing that the the tyvek could be secured and retain its strength using a sheep's bend knot. Of course, because I'm willing to believe anything I read on the Internet, I'm ready to try it out...”

“Of course, because I'm willing to believe anything I read on the Internet, I'm ready to try it out..."
Slack
12:26:02 AM
03/17/04
You're in the right place lol.”

“haha”

“...Someone expound a little more on the mylar space blanket idea. Sounds interesting. What are its drawbacks/advantages?"
StickmanWalking
11:31:06 PM

I used to carry one of those little mylar Emergency Space Blankets to use as a ground cloth.
Works great except every time the wind blows or you move the crackeling sound will wake you up!

I quit the use of it.”

“SS: what are you using now?”

“I carry one of those Emergency Space Blankets to use as an Emergency Space Blanket.”

“I have been quite happy with my piece of tyvek house wrap for a couple of years now, but it's getting time to replace it. It's nice and soft now. Still waterproof.”

“SS: thanks. I've been using a section of 2 mil plastic for years - no wear. Time to retire it for something lighter and I'm trying to decide between Tyvek and silnylon. I'm worried that silnylon might be too slippery and not puncture resistant enough. Thoughts?”

“techntrek - I tryed a piece of silnylon as a tent floor for a tent I made.
Works well for level tent sites.
I slid out of the tent one night while sleeping when I had to set it up on a slope.
I put little spots of silicon glue on the floor after that to add some friction. Worked well enough except I'm very leary of sleeping on a slope now.”

“I think that the Tyvek would be more durable than the silnylon. Sil is not very puncture resistant and is very slick.
My new bivy has a silnylon floor and I am going to use a tyvek ground cloth under it.”

“Just add stake loops, and you're good to go!

”

“Well that confirms the "too slippery" hypothesis. Not worried about the stuff ripping since it is rip-stop (usually), but still worried about the puncture factor. Thanks.”

“An advanatage of the tent footprint is that you can often use it with the rain fly and skip the tent. I've done that in the fall--before the rains and after the bugs.”

“Didn't someone post recently about finding bulk silnylon in Wal-Mart's fabric section now? This seems to be the way to go, to me...I'm thinking of making a dining tarp for bad weather days.”

“I don't know about silnylon. I've seen a store or two carry the coated nylon. I'll be bying some from a chain called Joann's Fabrics to make my own. I want to design something to be used as a tarp or a larger canopy for my Hennesy hammock.”

“yeah, but it's not really silnylon, close - the stuff at my Wal Mart isn't coated, but I was thinking if I applied the spray on silicone stuff, it'd effectively become silnylon, might have to reapply every few months, but for one dollar per yard, don't know that you could beat it.”

“buck a yard...you could definetly make that work with some aftermarket sil spray. The maintenance to the finish by reapplying wouldn't be a hassle, after all, how big is someone going to make a packing tarp.”

“Anyone have a favorite spray-on or wash-in coating?”

“not sure what the brand was, but it came from wal mart, about the size of a can of spray paint. just a silicone based spray on coating. It works good, I've used it on an old cheapo pair of rain pants that my son uses now. seems like it was back by the shoes/boots section.”

“I used that spray Roam Around mentioned and had mixed results. It repelled water but the fabric wetted out and would not "breathe".”

“Yeah, I've used that stuff before, with much the same results. That's why I was asking...I guess I'll try the wash-in stuff from REI.”

“ya, the spray stuff prolly works better on a tarp.”

“I use the $1/yard stuff fro my tarps and have not had problems with it keeping the water off of me. Just make it large enough so you don't touch the sides and you'llbe fine. I've been in some pretty solid rainstorms with my 3 tarps I made from it, and never had a problem.

My Dining Fly”

“So, I went to REI to look at wash-in waterpoof coating for the nylon I was going to pick up at the fabric store, which was to be my next stop. In my usual fashon, however, I was bitten by the lazy/practical bug and bought a Kelty Noah's Tarp 12...how many shelters do you have to own (this makes 5) before you are certifiably nuts? Nevermind, I already crossed that threshold with packs, so I guess it's a moot question at this point.”

“well, no that's not nuts - just don't get another one unless it's like for arctic expeditions or something.

you need at least one for every possible weather type or trip duration, and then maybe a backup, or two.”

“hot diggity! TYVEK!”

“Tyvek is not waterproof.”

“Pretty damn close.”

“It makes too much noise. Might as well sleep on bags of tortillia chips.
last edited: 2/09/08 2:58:34 PM”

“Once it's washed, I haven't had a noise problem with it.”

“Washing it breaks down the fibers, which does make it soft and quiet. It also makes it even less waterproof.”

“I have used a piece for 5 years now that was washed and haven't had a drop of rain come through it yet.”

“I'm not entirely sold on it's wonders. I'm not sure that it wasn't letting moisture seep through on my last rainy trip, but everything was wet so it was hard to tell. It is very puncture resistant though so it still has uses as a ground cloth.”

“Look on the mfgrs web site. They list the specs for water transmission. For a groundcloth on dry ground it is super tough but on wet ground esp if you put pressure on it water will seep through.”

“Actually, I think it works better as a tarp. I have sat through 3 inch rains in the Smokies without any water coming through.

It is not waterproof as yogisan pointed out. What it does is keep the larger particles of water from coming through, the vapor will still pass through.

When I use it for a ground cloth on really wet ground, I notice it gets damp on top. However, the major reason I use it is to keep the sylnylon floor of my tent from being subjected to the sharp crap on the ground.”

“well considering me and 25 pounds of gear were laying on it I think that qualifies as putting pressure on it.

What if you took a sheet of tyvek, and glued a space blanket to one side of it, and then always put the foil between the tyvek and your tent? You wouldn't really add any weight, but would maybe be a bit warmer, and it would serve as a vapor barrier.
last edited: 2/09/08 3:56:56 PM”

“I like that idea. It would make a hell of a ground sheet for snow camping.”

“tyvek = groundcloth
silnylon = tarp

I use tyvek for as a groundcloth for all my tents to protect from punctures. So far, so good.”

“tyvek works for me. Yo bear!”

“aluminized tyvek! now there is a thought. a quick google search shows that they used to make this stuff... interesting idea meangreen.”