It's not listed as being waterproof. I've done the glass test and there's no seepage. How it would hold up in lashing 40mph rain I couldn't tell you. Apparently some hot air balloons are made from this. The thread is coated and then woven and the finished cloth is coated again. It's not super light but it's really really tough stuff. Hardly any give in any direction and I reckon it'll make good tarp material.
I also reckon it's perfect for backpacks. Just the right combination of toughness and weight. In a fit of madness I ordered the bright yellow I could have got black but that's just boring.
I made the backpack above about a year ago after I just started sewing. The workmanship is not great and the material is really light sil-nylon. Too light as you can see from the seams. I used the straps off an old Alpkit Gordon they weight 100g alone and the whole pack comes in at 273g which is good for a pack of this size. I've used it for about 50 miles. With the kit, food and water I was probably carrying 7-8kg. The stich holes haven't gotten any worse and its a comfortable pack, I based it on the Go-lite Jam. I don't trust the fabric though so it doesn't get used all that often.
It was good project to do. I learnt a lot about different seams, fabrics and how packs are put together. Hopefully soon mk2 will materialize from the sewing machine.
2 comments:
Like the look of the pack, interesting to see the new version with the new fabric. This one reminds me of a Gossamer Gear pack.
It's the bits of gossamer gear packs I wish were on the Jam. They take ages to make though as there are so many parts. It could be a while until I get round to starting this one!
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