Are they making advances in fabric, that make 20D fabric as tough as 75D fabric, or are the new ultralight tents as delicate as tissue paper?

What denier would you choose for your backpacking tent? What type of fabric?

The cuben fiber packs, shelters are super light and stand up fairly well, not something that will last to pass on to kids. Much stronger than tissue, they just don't like sharp objects.
Duane

The big agnes fly and floor is ultralight silicone treated nylon rip-stop with a 1200mm waterproof polyurethane coating. They don't state the denier in the specifications. Hmmm... why wouldn't they?

quote from: "http://www.rei.com/share/rei-blog/2012/02/summer_outdoor_retai.html"


Is this as light/tough as the cuben fiber? Do different fabrics handle sharp objects better?

Is there a page that overviews and compares the performance of current fabric technology?

Any nylon ripstop will handle punctures better than a non-woven. However, a non-woven is inherently more water-proof.

I wonder how BA was able to polyurethane coat a sil-nylon material. Usually the silicone and polyurethane don't go well together.

Got the Fly Creek 2 Platinum this year and have to say, that floor is really thin. First tent I've felt the obligation to use a sheet beneath, so it might be a step too far in down-spec'ing.

Cheers,

Is this as light/tough as the cuben fiber? Do different fabrics handle sharp objects better?

Is there a page that overviews and compares the performance of current fabric technology?

Go to http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/ for the best I've seen. Should you wish to do business with Ron (Ron Bell, Mountain Laurel Designs), I can recommend that shop's work. I have several items and have used them hard with no complaints.

best, jcp

finallyME: I got a response from a tent producer, who wished to remain anonymous. I admire their designs and quality. Their company makes affordable tents, and doesn't actually use the advanced fabrics, but, he said the fabric technology is improving. I think that's about as good an answer as I'm going to get, without having third-party performance testing.

Rick_D: The used fly creek on ebay have holes in the fabric! Although I don't remember if it was in the floor.

Re. the Fly Creek, I'd suggest the standard, as opposed to the Platinum, for anybody who routinely camps where the ground is abrasive or has sharp things. I don't yet see a way around taking a groundsheet, closing the gap on the few ounces saved over the standard model.

Camping on forest duff I don't think it would be as necessary, but I don't get many opportunities where I hike.

Cheers,

A lot of manufacturers seem to use 15d or 20 D SIL nylon. A ground cloth seems to be pretty much mandatory these days.

now i have the problem of how to clean such a tent