is it silnylon?

Well my wife came across some fabric at Walmart. I've heard tales of silnylon available for 1.50 a yard on occaision. What hallmarks would this grey ripstop nylon fabric have if it were really silnylon? It's very lightweight and very slippery. I can't detect a "rubbery" side to it. she did attempt to force fluid thru the fabric by hand and wasn't successful. Did she manage to find some of the elusive walmart silnylon remants? any help appreciated.

John

That sounds like the Walmart silnylon to me. Looks like ripstop and is very slippery - check. Can't force water through it easily - check. Sounds like you got yourself some silnylon! I don't know if there are any other possibilities considering it's Walmart.

I stocked up on it a couple of years back and now that I'm retired I need to start sewing it into things (I did make a couple of daypacks, a poncho, and some stuffsacks).

If you truly have found silnylon, congratulations! A very few times I've found ripstop or coated ripstop, never silnylon.

CM

It is most likley 2.2 oz per yrd coated ripstop. Tru silnylon is considered 1.1 oz per yard silicone impregnated. Our walmart will sometimes have the ripstop. I have never seen silnylon there! Not that it isnt possible? If you have ever compared the two I think you could tell the difference. Sil is glossyer looking than reg, ripstop as well as tissue paper thin.

The last time I got some it was grey. First I weighed mine, then I made a tarp of it and tested for waterproofness. Mine weighed in at about 1.2-1.3 oz per sq yrd. So, you might have found it. How wide is the fabric? Mine turned out to be 48" instead of the standard 60" wide.

Actually, I thought that it sounded like sil... not having one side feel different than the other argues for that.

I suspect that it is not 1.1 but 1.9, still, even 1.1 tends to be the weight before silicone impregnation... usually ends up being 1.5 or so when they're done.

Having handled the 1.1 from OWF and Quest, I am usually able to tell by feel - I've never found 1.1 sil in Walmart either. But have come home with a nice swatch of 1.9 regular ripstop to make a single layer hammock.

It's not tissue paper thin. Not "glossy" at all. 8.69 yards weighed in at 23 oz so heavier that silnylon should be. prolly coated ripstop nylon of some sort. Good find none the less. so the elusive Walmart silnylon is still out there...

This will likely be some good stuff bags. Anyone have a better design than the thru-hiker instructions?

Thanks for all the comments.

John

Yes a bargain regardless, ripstop is 7.99 a yrd. at Joann fabrics!

A couple of years ago my wife was shopping for some fabric at an out of town Walmart, and I found a bolt of 1.1oz ripstop. It was marked $1.99, and whether the clerk was incompetent or what, they sold me the WHOLE bolt for $1.99. I think the clerk may just have been too lazy to measure how many yards were there. It turned out to be about 10yards of material, if not a touch more... I've just started making some stuff sacks and now just finished an 8x10 flat tarp. So far with the grosgrain guy-outs sews on, it's at about 11oz. I plan to try siliconize it myself, following some of the many instructions found online.

BM