I just received some fabric I ordered for a couple of projects, and am pretty disappointed, and wondering if anyone else has run into this.

First, I ordered some 400x300 nylon/polyester "diamond ripstop" and discovered that it's ripstop in one direction only. That is, it tears quite easily in the longitudinal direction, but going across the fabric from selvage to selvage, the ripstop grid stops the tearing.

Before I go on, I should mention that the way I'm testing these fabrics is by making about a 1" cut, then tearing it by hand. There's a machine for this, but I'm not quite that well-equipped.

So, out of curiosity, I also tested the other fabrics I ordered, namely, 1.9oz coated ripstop nylon (2 colors), 1.9oz silnylon, and 330d Cordura.

The Cordura was fine.

All the remaining fabrics ripped easily in BOTH directions! So I tested some other 1.9oz ripstop I'd had for a while (from the same source). It tore easily, too. Then I tested a piece from a different source (The Rain Shed) and as soon as I hit one of the ripstop threads, it wouldn't tear any further (as it should be).

Upon further examination, it appears that the easy-tearing fabric was just woven to look like ripstop nylon. It's a little difficult to tell on coated material, but with a jeweler's loupe you can see it if you sort of shred the fabric.

So, is this common now? I haven't bought any ripstop fabric for a while.

I'm not naming the source until I find out more. I mean, if everybody's selling this pretend-ripstop I can't blame them too much. They are one of the major suppliers. I did email them my displeasure, though.

Later...I checked a few older pieces of 1.9oz ripstop, both coated and uncoated, and got the same results. That is, they tore easily once cut. So, I've probably used this material in several packs without realizing it. I've also determined that I can't always tell, even under magnification, which is the real thing. It occurs to me that the difference could be the type of nylon, i.e., the tenacity...whether its nylon 6 or nylon 6/6 or whatever.

I realize that tear strength isn't the only consideration in selecting fabric, but it's driving me nuts anyway.